德里达论文学语言——以《罗米欧与朱丽叶》为范例

Jacques Derrida on Literary Language:A Case Study of Romeo and Juliet

语言的实质是什么?文学语言是怎么样的?这是德里达前期理论探索的核心问题。1971年,他发表了名作《签名事件背景》,对英美言语行为理论进行了解构主义改造,提出了解构式的语言理论,明确指出,语言不是记录事物的工具,而是以言做事的行为,是述行性的。20世纪80年代中后期,他发表了两篇文学理论专论《格言错乱》和《“这种被称作文学的奇怪机制”:与德里达的访谈》,指出文学语言是一种独特的以言做事的行为方式。它的独特性在于:不是整体有序化的,而是分离零乱化的;不是统一一体化的,而是矛盾双重化的。德里达给这种独特的文学语言形式取了一个新名字叫“格言”。他借莎士比亚的《罗米欧与朱丽叶》对之作了极充分的论证说明。德里达的这种文学语言理论观念一举突破了千年传统,旷古烁今,很值得我们深入研讨开发。

The substance of language and the pattern of literary language are central to Jacques Derrida’s early theoretical explorations. In 1971, Derrida published the masterpiece “Signature Event Context, ” in which he proposed the deconstructive language theory by revisiting Anglo-American speech act theory. He pinpointed that language is not an instrument of recording, but a performative act of doing things. In the mid-and late 1980s he published “Aphorism Countertime” and “‘This Strange Institution Called Literature’: An Interview with Jacques Derrida”, indicating that the characteristics of literary language is fragmented and dualized. Derrida defined such a language as “aphorism” and elaborated on it with the example of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This is a great breakthrough in the theory of literary language.