多模态话语的文化语境——社会符号学视角

Context of Culture in Multimodal Discourse: A Social-semiotic Perspective

文化语境是系统功能语言学的重要概念之一,表示整个语言的语境。社会符号学重视实践,强调语境在社会交际中的作用,但却没有发展一种系统的多模态话语的语境概念。在系统功能语言学的社会符号学和文化研究的基础上探讨了文化语境的基本研究范围和主要组成部分、社会符号学的符号系统、社会符号系统的机构性特点、社会符号系统的类别及其与文化语境的关系。研究发现,文化语境是意义系统,从外部表现为社会系统,包括社会结构,从内部表现为意识形态,从交际的角度表现为体裁系统,由行动、语言等各种符号系统实现。符号系统可以是两个层次的简单系统,也可以是三个层次的复杂系统。文化语境为每个符号系统提供了生存和发展的环境,同时又由符号系统共同表现。某个或某组符号系统通常是在一定的领域或机构内被激活,具有机构性特点,在社会交际中产生多模态话语。

Social semiotics focuses on practice, so it emphasizes the role of context in social communications. However, it does not develop a systematic theory of context for multimodal discourse. Based on the theory of systemic functional linguistics and cultural studies, this paper discusses the basic scope and major components of context of culture, the types of social semiotic systems, the nature of insitutionality of social semiotic systems and the relationship between context of culture and social semiotic systems. It finds that context of culture is first and foremost the semantic system, manifested as social system, including social structure externally, and as ideology internally, and as genre in terms of social communication, realized by actions, language and other social semiotic systems. There are simple two-level and complex three-level social semiotic systems. The context of culture provides the environment for the existence and development of every semiotic system. A social semiotic system or a group of social semiotic systems are generally motivated in a certain institution or area of practice, so social semiotic systems have the feature of institutionality and produce multimodal discourse in social communication.