语言信息结构及其多视角研究述评

A Review of Multi-Perspective Studies of Language Information Structure

语言信息结构有别于单纯的语法、认知或修辞手段,跟会话含义也无关,它是话语命题的语用结构的形式表达,旨在帮助说话人将其话语的命题意义更为有效地传递给听话人。信息就是说话人在特定语境中根据其对听话人的认知情况的评估,通过话语的命题意义对听话人的知识储备所做的贡献。语言信息结构的多视角研究涉及3种切分标准:句首性、相关性与信息状态。这3种标准之间既相互联系,又相互独立,对它们的不同取舍是建立和区分不同视角的主要依据。

The information structure (IS) of language is distinct from purely grammatical, cognitive or rhetorical means and is irrelevant to discourse implicatures. Rather, it is the formal expression of the pragmatic structuring of discourse propositions, serving to help the speaker pass to the hearer the propositional contents of his utterances more effectively. Accordingly, the information of an utterance is the part of the propositional content that is assumed by the speaker to make a contribution to the hearers knowledgestore. So far, three major related but independent standards are involved in the multiperspective studies of IS, namely, sentenceinitialness, aboutness, and informational status. Selection and priority among them are the main basis on which different perspectives of IS studies have been defined and differentiated.