沃尔特·翁“原生口语文化”的概念外延及适用性探赜

The Denotation and Applicability of Walter Ong’s Primary orality

口语文化与书面文化是沃尔特·翁最重要的研究议题,其建构了口语文化二分法推动“口语-书面文化定理”的研究进程,其核心概念即“原生口语文化”。本文致力于对翁“原生口语文化”概念的外延进行深度剖析,对概念适用性及其根源进行多维度、多学科阐释,试图将其置于知识话语和传播语境的体系中重新审视。研究表明,“原生口语文化”的概念继承了媒介环境学的旨趣,着重关注基础媒介形态的特征,概念外延却局限在文艺学的经典案例,在传播学语境中相对单一,主要表现为表述者与被表述者呈现知识逆差的单向度传播状态,是群体参与的个体传播现象。概念的偏差根源就在于翁的学术背景及跨学科意图,“口头传统”本就有深厚的文学研究根基,同时学者又受到媒介环境学的旨趣影响,在进行跨学科讨论时形成了概念的扩大化。

Orality and literacy are Walter Ong’s most important topics. He constructed the dichotomy of orality promoting the research process of orality-literacy theorems, and the core concept of which is "primary orality". This paper is devoted to the in-depth analysis of denotation and applicability of primary orality, as well as its multi-disciplinary roots, attempting to re-examine it in the context of knowledge discourse and communication. It is shown that the connotation of "primary orality" inherits the purport of media ecology that focuses on the characteristics of media forms.However the denotation of "primary orality" is limited to classic cases of literature. It is relatively single in the context of communication, which is an individual communication phenomenon with group participation, and mainly manifested in the one-way delivery of knowledge between the speaker and the listener. The root of the deviation lies in Ong’s academic background and interdisciplinary intention. "Oral tradition" has a deep foundation in literary research, at the same time, Ong was influenced by media ecology, leading to the expansion of concept during interdisciplinary discussion.