邓迪斯谜语结构分析之得失

Merits and Demerits of Alan Dundes' s Structural Analysis of Riddle

阿兰·邓迪斯的谜语结构分析主要体现在他与罗伯特·乔治斯合写的《关于谜语的结构性定义》一文中。该文详尽探讨了谜语的结构和分类,给出了谜语的定义。此后,邓迪斯推测了谜语结构与谜语使用语境的关系,反思了民俗结构分析的最小单位。邓迪斯的谜语结构分析给人以方法论的启迪,但不足也显而易见,如谜语分类过于琐碎并存在不合逻辑之处,谜语的内涵和文本表面形式被彻底忽略,等等。

In the work coauthored by Alan Dundes and Robert Georges, ＂Toward a Structural Definition of the Riddle＂, the structural analysis of riddle is presented. The merits are a definition of riddle as well as its structure and classification, using context as a thread, reflecting on the minimal unit of structural analysis of folklore. The demerits are trivialized non -logical classification and the total neglect as to the implications of riddle and the surface form of text.