析约翰_肯尼迪就职演说的文体特征_英文_

[作者简介 ]何海珍,广东教育学院外语系教师。 On Stylistic Features in InauguralAddress Delivered by John F. Kennedy � H eH aizhen ( Guangdong Institu te of Education, Guangzhou, G uangdong, 510303 ) � [Abstract] � The inaugural address delive red by John F. K ennedy, wh ich gave deep im pression to thew ho le of the w orld, was apprec iated as one o f the best inaugura l addresses. The ana ly sis is m a in ly conce rned w ith the sty listic features on lex ica l leve,l syntactic leve l and rhetor ica l leve.l � [K ey words] � Inaugura l address; � Sty listic Features; � lex ica;l � syntactic; � rhe torical � [中图分类号 ] H315� � [文献标识码 ] A � � [文章编号 ] 1672�8610( 2010) 04�0019�03 I. Introduction It is a un ique Am erican institution fo r the new president to de liv er an inaugural address on Inauguration Day. In these ad� dresses the speakers are expected to make h is government po licy known to the pub lic and to persuade the public to accept and support h is po licy. In order to ach ieve these a im s, the speakers o ften resort to language skills among othe r th ings. The fo llow ing ana lys is aim s to reveal the stylistic features of an inaugura l address de livered by John F. Kennedy s in 1961. H is inaugura l address, w hich gave deep impression to the aud i� ence, the c itizens o f Am er ica, and even the w ho le o f the wo rld, w as apprec iated as one o f the best inaugura l addresses. The anal� ys is is m a in ly concerned w ith the sty listic fea tures on the lex ica l leve,l syntactic level and rhe to rical leve .l ! . L exica l leve l 2. 1Word leng th Sty listic ians usua lly set six lette rs or three sy llables in a w ord as a standard to ana lyze the leng th of the words. Thew ords w ith m ore than six letters are usua lly reg arded as long wo rds. These long wo rds m ay be wo rds of Latin, F rench o r G reek or i� g in, wh ich are usually fo rm al w ords. There are 349 wo rds w ith six letters, wh ich is 26% of the whole w ords in Kennedy s ad� dress. The percen tages in da ily conversation, instant comm enta ry, and even advertisem ent are not m ore than 20% . [ 1] So com pa ra� tive ly speaking, the w ords used in inaugura l addresses are quite form a l and the structures of the wo rds are mo re com plica ted. There are tw o reasons: first, the presiden ts de liberate ly use fo r� m al w ords to m ake their speeches m ore ser ious; then, the intrin� sic structures o f the words are quite comp licated. Kennedy s address embodies mo re features o f a w ritten va� riety, wh ich is character istic of long, comp licated, form a l w ords. These features correspond w ith the tenor o f d iscourse: both consu ltative and form a,l and m ode of discourse: w r itten to be spoken. 2. 2Word c lasses A. Nouns: M any abstract nouns w ith such su ffixes as: - tion, - m ent, - cy, - ty∀ abstract nouns, referr ing to the sta te, qua lity, cause o r resu lt of an action. one type o f public po litica l speaking, m any po litical term s a re abstract. It is natura l for him to usem any abstract nouns in the speech. B. Ad jec tives: There a re 7. 4% words in the Kennedy s inaugural addresses are ad jectives. This percentag e is obv iously h igher than that in instant comm entary, wh ich is 5% . [ 1] 221 M ost o f the adjectives are subjective and emo tiona l words, such as: fruitful, peaceful, great, pow erful, solemn, hard, s teady, etc. Som e o f the ad jec tives are even in the ir com para tive o r super la� tive form s, such as: better, m ore, m ost, longest, greates t, etc. On the othe r hand, the pe rcentage of ad jectives is much sm a ller than that of the advertisem en t, w hich is about 30% . [ 2] 309 Th is is because as a politica l address w ith wo rldw ide influence, Am erican presidential address is much m ore ser ious than adve r� tisem en t. It should seem m ore sub jective and cou ld no t be too ga rish. P reach ing po litica l v iew s is d iffe rent from promo ting goods. In o rder to achiev e the ir a im s, the speake rs o ften resort to em otional appeal am ong othe r th ing s, adjectives are very use fu l in expressing one s emo tion. C. P ronoun: Ano ther noticeab le fact is the use o f the first- person pronouns, w hich is de term ined by the persona l tenor of the inaugura l address, and is re lated to its interpersona l func� tion. The m ost frequen tly used pronouns a re the first- person pronouns: I, w e and the ir derivational form s: m e, us, and our etc. In Kennedy s address, we can find many sentences w ith the first- person pronouns: #19# 语文学刊 ∃外语教育教学 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2010年第 4期 Because the speaker usua llym entions h imself and h is opin� ions, it is very na tura l for him to use I orm e frequently. W e o r us in Eng lish are the form referr ing to both the speake r p lus the aud ience. F irst, the inc lusiv e pronouns un ite the speaker and the aud ience. They a re he lp fu l to build a sense o f closeness between the speaker and the audience. The American president appears to be one member am ong o rd inary Am erican c itizens. Second, the first person p lural can encourage a sense o f group un ity, a feeling of cohesiveness. Th is practice m inim izes differences w ith� in our group, and em phasizes d iffe rences between group m embers and those on the outside. Fo r examp le in Kennedy s address, he sa id, % Le t every nation know, whether it w ishes us w e ll o r il,l that w e sha ll pay any pr ice, bear any burden, m eet any hardsh ip, suppo rt any fr iend, oppose any foe to assure the surv iva l and the success of liberty. & ( para 4) The first person plura ls: w e, us in th is sen� tence d istingu ish Am er ican people from the other na tions, en� courage a sense o f group un ity, aw aken a sense o f nationa l pr ide and responsibility, thus m ake the speech very inc iting. ∋ . Syn tactic level ( tense) In th is address, simp le present tense ( 80. 8% ) and future simp le tense ( 11. 5% ) are used frequen tly, no sim ple past tense appeared. These po lic ies are planned to be adopted in the future. So the future simp le is frequently used. And these po lic ies are based on the present situation. H e need to d isp lay the present facts to the pub lic, exp la in the reason for the reform, and thus persuade the public to suppo rt the new po licy, so the simp le present tense is frequently used. A lthough they need to m en tion som eth ing in the past, the present perfect is used, wh ich empha� sizes the influence o f the past events to the presen t situa tion. W hen Kennedy took office in 1961, he w as only 44 years o ld. A s the youngest pres ident, he was very confidence in his own govern ing po licy, and was hopeful of the future. Itw as na tu� ra l for h im to neg lect the past and stress the presen t sta te and the future plan. So in h is address, the simp le past tense w as not used e ither. (. Rhe torica l leve l Rhetor ica l dev ices are c lo se ly re lated to the sk ill o f public speaking. And accord ing to H a lliday, m any rhe torica l dev ices, such as alliteration, pa ra lle lism and m etaphor a re foreground ing features, wh ich m ay have som e sty listic effects. So the ana lysis o f the rhetor ica l fea tures in Am erican presidentia l inaugural ad� dress is not on ly necessary but a lso im portant. The ob ject o f a po litica l speech is no t only to exp la in, but to conv ince and pe rsuade. Thus the addresses shou ld be mov ing, forceful and e ffective, Kennedy s inaugural address emp loyed suitable rhetor ica l dev ices to create the des ired em o tiona l im� pact. 4. 1 Para lle lism Pa ra lle lism is a syntactic rhetor ica l dev ice. [3] 33 It refe rs to a structura l arrangem ent o f parts o f a sentences, sen tences, pa ra� g raphs, and larger units of d iscourse by w hich one elem ent of e� qua l importance w ith anothe r is sim ilarly developed and phrased. In para llel construction it is necessary to ba lance word for w ord, clause w ith c lause, sentence w ith sentence o r parag raph w ith parag raph. ( 1) W e observe today no t a v ictory o f pa rty but a ce lebration of freedom, symbo lizing an end as w ell as a beg in� n ing, signify ing renewa l as w ell as change. ( Pa ra 1); ( 2 ) To� ge ther let us exp lore the stars, conquer the dese rts, erad icate d isease, tap the ocean depth and encourage the arts and com� m erce. ( Para l7 ); ( 3 ) ∀ ask not what Am erican w ill do fo r you, bu tw ha t togetherw e can do for the freedom o fm an. ( P ara 26); ( 4) Parag raphs 15, 16, 17, 18 beg in w ith the same type of phrases: % Let bo th s ides∀ & Ow ing to its ba lanced structure, neat rhym e, pa ra lle lism p lays an im po rtant ro le in mak ing the inaugura l address em phat� ic, fo rcefu,l thusm ak ing it a successfu l appea l to the em otions of the aud ience. 4. 2 Repetition Repetition is used w ith pa ra lle lism to em phasize the equa l im po rtance and we ight o f the paralle l parts. In m ost o f the above paralle lism s there are repe titions. A s fo r repe tition of im po rtant w ords it conta ins: % a ll forces& and % belief& ( P ara 2); % com� m itted& ( Para 3); % good& and % free& ( pa ra 9), etc. 4. 3 A llite ration A lliteration is a phone tic rhetor ica l dev ice. In a llitera tion the sam e consonant sound is repeated a t intervals in the in itia l position of w ords. Kennedy m akes a w ise use o f it in h is ad� dress. ( 1 ) Le t the w ord go fo rth from th is tim e and p lace, to fr iend and foe a like, ∀ ( Para 3) ; ( 2) Let every nation know, whether it w ishes us w e ll or il,l tha t we shall pay any pr ice, bear any burden, m eet any hard� ship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the surv iva l and the success o f libe rty. ( Pa ra 4); ( 3) ∀ ask of us here the sam e high standards o f streng th and sacrificew hich w e ask o f you. ( Para 27) These a lliterations not on ly adds musica l beauty to the ad� dress, captures the aud ience attention, but through repetition of like in itia l sound, the speaker can a lso m ake a strong em otiona l response to h is sub ject, and impress some thing on the audience m em ory. 4. 4 M etapho r M etapho r is a lex ica l rhetor ica l dev ice. It is an im plied compar ison be tw een two un like elem ents hav ing at least one qua l� ity o r charac teristic in common. It is an im portant rhetor ica l de� v ice used in the inaugura l addresses. In Kennedy s address, w e have the fo llow ingm e taphors: ( 1) ∀ tho se w ho foo lish ly sough t power by riding the back o f the tiger ended up inside. # thosew ho foo lishly sought pow� e r by calling in strong, greedy countr ies ended up by los ing the ir independence to these coun tries. ( 2 ) But this peace fu l revo lution o f hope cannot becom e the prey of ho stile pow ers. # W e w ill not a llow any enem y coun� try to subve rt th is peaceful revo lution. M etapho rs relate the strange or abstract th ing to the one that is fam iliar to the audience, and m ake it m ore understandable. M e tapho rs are usua lly full o f em otiona l co lor ing. They play an im po rtan t role in mak ing the speech v iv id and e ffective. The lec ture g iv ing by P resident Kennedy is one o f the m ost fam ous ones among allAm er ican pres idents assum ing o ffice lec� tures. Theo retica lly, th is study can broaden the scope o f sty listic #20# LANGUAGE� � � He Ha izhen / On Sty listic Features in InauguralAddress De livered by John F. Kennedy study of public po litical speak ing. P ractically, w ith the ana lysis o f their sty listic fea tures, it can he lp the readers better apprec iate Am erican presiden tia l inaugural addresses, deve lop language skills o f the public speak ing learne rs, and improve readers reading and w riting abilities and conno isseurship. Therefore, a sty listic study of Am er ican presiden tia l inaugural addresses is significant. ) References∗ [ 1] 王佐良,丁往道. 英语文体学引论 [M ].外语教学与研究 出版社, 1987. [ 2] 秦秀白. 英语语体裁和文体要略 [M ]. 上海外语教育出 版社, 2002. [ 3] 冯翠华. 英语修辞大全 [ M ]. 外语教学与研究出版社, 1995. [ 4] 徐有志. 公众演讲英语 [ J]. 外语教学与研究, 1994( 2). [ 5] 徐振忠. 英语演说辞文体刍议 [ J]. 外国语, 1990( 5). [ 6] Leech, G. N. , M. Shor t. S ty le in F iction[ M ]. London: Lonman, 1981. [ 7] H a lliday, M. A. K. , H asan, R. Language, Contex t and Tex t [M ]. V ictor ia: Dek in Un ive rsity P ress, 1985. [ 8] M ichae l O sbo rn, Suzanne Osbo rn. Pub lic Speaking [ M ]. H oughton M ifflin Com pany, 1988. 析约翰 ∃肯尼迪就职演说的文体特征 何海珍 (广东教育学院 外语系, 广东 � 广州 � 510303) [摘 � 要 ] � 美国总统约翰∃ 肯尼迪 1961年发表的就职演说, 是美国历史上最精彩的总统就职演说之一。 本文从文体学的角度, 在词法、句法、修辞等各个层面, 对肯尼迪的就职演说进行分析, 揭示其文体特征。 [关键词 ] � 就职演说; � 文体特征; � 词法; � 句法; � 修辞 (上接第 11页 ) ) References∗ [ 1] 赵静.广告英语 [M ]. 外语教学与研究出版社, 1992. [ 2] 崔刚. 广告英语 [M ].北京理工大学出版社, 1993. [ 3] 徐有志. 英语文体学教程 [M ].高等教育出版社, 2005. [ 4] 胡壮麟. 理论文体学 [ M ]. 外语教学与研究出版社, 2000. [ 5] Leech, G. N. , Short, M. H. Style in F iction A L ingu istic Introduc tion to Eng lish F ictiona l P rose [ M ]. N ew York: Longman, 1981. [ 6] Thornborrow, J. , W are ing, Shan. Patterns in Language: Sty listics for Students o f Language and L ite rature[M ]. Fo r� e ign Language Teach ing and Resea rch P ress, 2000. [ 7] R icha rds, J. C. , L ongm an D ictionary of Language Teach� ing and Applied L ingu istics[M ]. F oreign Language Teach� ing and Research P ress, 2000. [ 8] Ox ford Advanced Learner s Eng lish - Chinese D ictionary 6th Edition[M ]. The Comm erc ia l P ress, 2004. 广告英语中的质量前景化赏析 杨胜兰 (宁夏大学 外国语学院, 宁夏 � 银川 � 750021) [摘 � 要 ] � 在现代商业化社会中, 广告已经渗透到人们日常生活的各个层面中。语言是构成广告最基本的 要素。本文将从质量前景化角度来赏析广告英语中特殊的语言学特征及其文体效果, 旨在能够更好地帮助读者理 解和欣赏广告英语所体现出的语言艺术。 [关键词 ] � 广告英语; � 质量前景化; � 文体学; � 偏离 #21# 语文学刊 ∃外语教育教学 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2010年第 4期