关于英语写作中连贯性的探讨
第23卷 第2期 2003年4月
桂 林 电 子 工 业 学 院 学 报
JOURNAL O F G UILIN UNIVERSITY OF ELECT RONIC TECHNOLO GY
Vo l. 23, N o. 2A pr . 2003
关于英语写作中连贯性的探讨
韦储学
(桂林电子工业学院外语系, 广西桂林 541004)
X
摘 要:连贯是英语写作的一种重要技能, 亦是基本要求之一。它与文章的形式密切相关, 又与文章的内在语义相联。连贯从结构上可以分成整篇文章的连贯、段落间的连贯以及段落内部的连贯; 从语义上可以分成作者意图的连贯和读者理解上的连贯。关键词:英语写作; 连贯; 构思连贯; 语义连贯
中图分类号:H315 文献标识码:A 文章编号:1001-7437(2003) 02-35-04
引言
《大学英语教学大纲》规定:大学英语教学目的是“培养学生具有较强的阅读能力和一定的听、说、写、
[1]
译能力, 使他们能用英语交流信息”。社会和学校把英语写作能力看作是英语学习最重要的目的之一。人们通常认为写作有两大功能:其一, 它是一种重要的交流方式, 一种输出技能; 其二, 它又可以在语言学习中协调其他语言技能的学习[2]。英语应用能力的提高是建立在大量的语言输入, 尤其是大量的阅读基础上的。英语写作作为英语学习必须掌握的五项基本技能之一, 它是学习者的英语语言知识能力和水平的综合体现。人们经常借助于书面表达形式把自己的思想完整地表达出来, 但要想把自己的思想观点、所见所闻清楚地展示在读者面前, 必须懂得如何使行文连贯、流畅。不连贯, 是学生作文中常见的问题, 是学生英语写作的拦路虎。“I can't follo w your arg um ent ”, “I do n't understand what you are say ing ”等评语是英语老师常用来说明学生作文中存在的语义上的不连贯问题。不连贯问题不像语法错误那样容易识别和改正。所以, 在教师要求修改作文时, 学生常常只注意语法有无错误, 而忽视了行文的连贯、流畅。连贯是英语作文的一种重要的技能, 应引起广大英语教师和英语学习者重视。本文拟从文章的构思连贯、语义连贯两方面入手, 通过例文(段) 的分析, 阐明在英语写作教学中重视连贯性训练的迫切性。
1 连贯的含义
连贯指的是与文章的内在结构相关的一些特征[3]。它与文章的形式密切相关, 又与文章的内在语义相联。连贯从结构上可以分成整篇文章的连贯、段落间的连贯以及段落内部的连贯; 从语义上可以分成作者意图的连贯和读者理解上的连贯。
判断一篇文章是否连贯, 需从其特定结构来分析, 这一结构源于一个称为聚合的句法概念, 该概念指的是与文章意思的相关。而文章中一些内容的理解依赖与其它内容的结合, 称之为文章的聚合。如果说话者或文章的作者用聚合来表示内容结构, 那么, 听众或读者也会对此做出相应反应, 并理解它。
连贯可以把一篇文章的各个部分有机地连在一起。连贯的重要性在于其像一根线那样把文章的各个部分紧密的联系在一起。
2 构思连贯
文章的连贯体现在其观点和结构的一致上, 即一篇文章中所有内容均围绕一个中心展开, 句子、通篇文章的结构合乎逻辑理性, 合乎表达习惯。2. 1 观点一致
每篇文章均有主题。各个段落的中心(主题句) 则紧扣文章的这一主题。所以, 每个段落中的内容都必须围绕该段落的中心展开。观点的一致让一篇文章连
X () .
36 桂林电子工业学院学报 2003年4月
贯、顺畅。例1:
CITIZENSHIP:DO ILLEGAL IM M IGRANTS DESERVE IT ?
Ever since its first existence, man has know n po w er as the hig hest target . No one do ubts that economy is the strongest w eapon of total co ntrol. Sing apore , w hich is smaller than Pahang , fo r example, is actually the giant in So uth East Asia. It has an eco nom ic g row th rate of 11percent and fo reig n sav ing s of 230billio n do llars. M an dares to do any thing including beg ging and killing in order to fulfill his desire and sense of self love. Due to this very statem ent , I str ong ly believe that no illeg al immig rant should be g iven citizenship in view o f the co untry's developm ent.
上述例子是在连贯性上明显不足的一例。这个引言段的内容与该主题的论点不连贯。这个引言段并没有提出任何与文章主题“CIT IZENSH IP:DO ILLEGAL IMM IGRANT S DESERVE IT ? ”相关的背景内容。虽然有些观点在提供背景内容时或许有用, 但这些论点之间的关系并没有显现出来。该学生应清楚地阐述, 是什么原因使他(她) 认为非法移民不应给予公民资格, 是因为该国出现的诸如乞讨或凶杀之类的社会问题, 从而会影响该国的秩序和发展? 学生应在引言段运用相关事例来支撑他(她) 的观点。例2:
THE IM PORTANCE OF OU TSIDE READING Now adays ,
m ore and
more teachers
and
students have realized the im portance o f outside reading. Outside reading helps us a lot in our studies. First, by o utside reading, w e can broaden our vision because w e can obtain the know ledg e that w e can't get fro m our textbooks . Second , in Eng lish study, r eading som e Eng lish novels out of class can help us enlarg e our vo cabulary . …So outside reading is a go od w ay to so lve this pro blem. Third , o utside reading can also help us incr ease our reading speed. …Consequently, it is po ssible fo r us to accelerate our reading speed .
It is true that outside reading is important, but how to choose reading mater ials is also important . I think the materials sho uld contain a w ide rang e of Meanwhile, the reading m aterials shouldn't be too difficult. Otherw ise, we w ill lo se our interest in outside reading .
Though w e ar e very busy w ith our studies, w e should still set aside som e regular time for o utside reading. If w e keep this habit, w e w ill surely make pro gress in our studies .
本篇文字切合题旨, 观点清晰, 文字连贯, 结构安排合理。作者在第一段中运用了充足的证据来支持自己提出的观点“Mo re and m ore teachers and students 。观have realized the im portance of outside reading ”点统领材料, 材料服务观点, 言之有理, 言之有据。2. 2 结构一致
结构一致指的是在一篇文章里面段落之间以及段落内部的有机联系和材料的紧密组织。一篇文章的内容均是论述一个主题, 每个段落都是围绕着一个中心展开, 该文章的结构便可称为一致。2. 2. 1 段落间的连贯
段落之间的连贯指的是各段落之间的相互联系和组织。读者在阅读文章时, 段落之间的不连贯会导致理解上的脱节。不相关联的内容, 不管多有趣, 都不应添加到文章之中, 否则会导致文章内容的不连贯。
每篇文章有若干段落, 每个段落都有中心(主题句) 。在作文中, 作者可以把段落安排有序, 让各个段落之间的内容相互连贯, 一个段落的内容自然而然地过渡到下一段落, 各段落相互呼应, 组成一篇好文章。所以, 在每一段落的段首用一个过渡句来承上启下, 把文章的段落与段落有机地连贯起来。过渡句可以引导读者的思路, 使其跟上作者的思路, 了解作者的写作意图; 过渡句还可以让读者知道作者已经做的、正在做的、即将做的、以后再做的或根本不会去做的事情, 同时也可以引导读者的思维由前一个段落顺利、自然地过渡到下一个段落的内容。请看下列例子。例1:
…intelligence is an ex cellent of mind that is em plo yed w ithin a fairly narro w , imm ediate , and predictable range. …Intelligence w orks w ithin the fram ew or k of limited but clearly stated goals . …
Intellect, o n the other hand, is the critical, creativ e , and contem plative side of m ind . …例2:
n
第2期 韦储学:关于英语写作中连贯性的探讨 37
long as w e do thing s w e will surely encounter difficulties. Of course w e should try our best to get over them , but in m any cases , it is not so easy , o r even im po ssible. T hen how should w e face failure?
…
这两个例子中, 作者均使用了过渡句来引导读者的阅读思路。例1中, 作者用了“Intellect , on the other
hand,
is
the
cr itical,
creative,
and
这样一个表示转折的句co ntemplative side of mind ”
子来承接上下文; 而在例2中作者使用了“Then how 这样一个文句来保持与下面should w e face failure ? ”
段落的连贯。如此环环相扣, 段段相缀, 秩序井然, 流畅、连贯。
2. 2. 2 段落内的连贯
段落内的连贯指的是句子之间的联系和组织。句子安排合理、合乎逻辑且过渡顺畅、自然的段落, 可谓之内容连贯的段落。因此, 读者可以容易地跟上作者的思路, 了解作者所要表达的思想内容。通常我们可以采用一些适当的关联词和结构、平行结构、重申等手法把自己的观点陈述得充分而有序, 合乎逻辑, 以便让段落之内的句子之间连贯、顺畅[4]。例1:
Sty le cannot be distinguished fro m m atters. When a w riter co nceives an idea he conceives it in a fo rm of w ords. T hat form of w ords co nstitutes his style , and is absolutely g overned by the idea . The idea can only exist in w ords, and it can o nly ex ist in one for m of wo rds . You cannot say ex actly the same thing in tw o different w ays. Slightly alter the expressio n , and you slig htly alter the idea . Surely it is o bv io us that the expressio n cannot be alter ed w ithout altering the thing expressed! A w riter , hav ing conceived and ex pr essed an idea, may and pr obably will, ‘polish it up'. But w hat does he po lish up ? To say that he polishes up his sty le is merely to say that he is polishing up his idea, that he has discovered faults or imper fections in his idea , that he is per fecting it. A n idea ex ists in proportion as it is expressed ; it ex ists w hen it is ex pressed , and not before. It ex presses itself. A clear idea is expressed clearly , and a vag ue idea vaguely . 例2:
statesman, like any o ther sensible hum an being, alway s learns mor e from his opponents than from his fervent suppo rters . For his suppor ters w ill push him to disaster unless his opponents sho w him w here the dangers are. So if he is w ise he w ill often pray to be delivered from his friends , because they w ill ruin him. But, thoug h it hurts, he ought also to pray never to be left w itho ut o pponents , for they
keep him on the path of reason and goo d sense .
例1段落主旨鲜明, 内容统一, 段落内的句子均与此主旨的阐述相关, 且安排有序, 内容连贯。作者在第一句陈述主旨“Style cannot be disting uished from matters ”, 并在随后的内容里对此进行解释、说明。所有句子紧扣主旨, 全段结构完好。在例2中, 作者运用了like, unless, so, because, but 及thoug h 等关联词来组织句子, 把整个段落内的句子联在一起, 语句流畅, 意思完整, 保证了文章内容的连贯, 同时很好地说明了计算机的优点和不足之处。
3 语义连贯
语义连贯指的是一篇文章如何才能让读者读起来意思连贯、顺畅[5]。毫无疑问, 一篇字面意思连贯且语义连贯的文章才能算得上是一篇好文章[6]。有些文章从字面来看结构正常, 但读来却难以理解作者的真实意图, 这是在语义连贯上存在的问题。所以, 文章的内容除了语法、句法正确外, 应力图将作者真实意思清晰呈现, 令读者能清楚作者的意图, 同时应把一些不相干的东西排除在外, 真正保持文章语义上的连贯。例1:
Co llege is very different fro m high scho ol. The pro fessors talk a great deal mo re and give lo ng er ho mewo rk assig nm ents. T his interfer es w ith yo ur social life . It may even cost you a girlfriend . Girls don't like to be told that y ou have to stay hom e to study w hen they want to go to a sho w o r dancing. So they find some other boy who doesn't have to study all the time. Ano ther w ay in which co lleg e is different is the examinatio ns. 例2:
In recent y ear s the Chinese bank has cut the
38 桂林电子工业学院学报 2003年4月
pr esent interest rate is so low that people are unw illing to save and beg in to invest in other fields. …There ar e m any factors that may acco unt for the interest r ate cut , but the follo wing are the most typical o nes.
First, there are plenty of perso nal saving s in the bank and the country cannot bear the heavy burden o f interest. Besides, the bank cuts interest rate so
as
to
stimulate
co nsum ption.
Most
important o f all , the cut of loan interest rate alleviates the heav y debt burden o f enterprises and stimulates eco no mic grow th.
In conclusio n , our peo ple are thrifty and are unw illing to consume for histo rical reaso ns . …Althoug h the bank cut inter est rate several tim es in the last few years, people w ere still keen on sav ing. …
第一例的起首较好。第一句点明主题, 第二句则围绕主题展开。但随后的内容却脱离主题渐渐远去, 最终造成了语义上的不连贯。当然, 作者意图表达的不连贯, 必然导致读者理解上的不连贯。此属输出技能上的严重失误。而第二个例子中, 作者较好地解决了文章的字面和语义层次上的连贯问题, 整篇文章中心突出, 连贯、流畅, 读来能清楚了解作者的写作意图、观点、看法。
连贯是一个涵义丰富的概念, 它涉及一篇文章的形式和内容, 关系到作者和读者的有效沟通。英语写作训练中, 一个突出问题是, 一些学生误认为作文内
容越多, 作文就越有份量, 便把一些不相干的内容加了进去, 结果跑了题, 造成字面和语义上的不连贯。
可见, 应强化英语写作中的连贯性训练, 多给学生介绍语言表达连贯性方面的技能, 并尽可能多举例; 同时还可以把学生作文作例, 让学生通过自己的亲身体验来学习。在课文的讲解中, 亦应有意识地利用课文来帮助学生了解他人是如何在写作时运用连贯这种技能的。总之, 在认真学习他人的写作技巧的同时, 加强实践, 就可能掌握好连贯这种写作技能, 表达清楚自己的思想。参考文献:
[1] 《大学英语教学大纲》修订工作组. 大学英语教学大纲(修订本)
[M ]. 北京:高等教育出版社, 1999.
[2] 唐力行. 英语教学方法与技巧[M ]. 上海:上海外语教育出版社,
1983.
[3] 丁往道. 英语写作手册[M ]. 北京:外语教学育研究出版社,
1984.
[4] Geoff Th om pson Edw ard. Prin ciples of learning grammar [M ].
Arnold Publis her s Limited , 1987.
[5] Br amer, et al. Writin g for readers [M]. Bell &How ell C om pany ,
1981.
[6] 胡壮麟. 语篇的衔接与连贯[M ]. 上海:上海外语教育出版社,
1994.
4 结束语
A Study on the Coherence in English Writing
WE I Chu -x ue
(Dept . o f Fo reig n Languages , Guilin 541004, China )
Abstract :Coherence , an important technique in Eng lish w riting , is closely asso ciated w ith the inherent semantics as w ell as the internal str ucture o f the ar ticle itself. From the structure, w e can see coher ence of the w hole article, coherence among paragraphs and co herence within paragraphs w hile from the semantics w e can have tex t -based co herence and reader -based coherence . Co herence is one of the basic requirem ents in Eng lish w riting .
Key words :English w riting, co herence, conceptual coherence, semantic co herence