英语修辞学措辞.ppt

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1、Diction,1,Warm-up Question,What are the two aspects of rhetoric?,Introduction Two aspects of rhetoric - Communicative/Active rhetoric Aesthetic/ Passive rhetoric,3,In the case of content, communicative rhetoric stresses the choice of words and sentence structures, clarity and fluency; in the case of

2、 form, it stresses balance and rigorousness(严谨性).,4,Aesthetic rhetoric stresses appealing to emotion, imagination, association and the use of figures of speech so as to achieve artistic effect by making language more active, beautiful, powerful and convincing.,5,Definition of DICTION the choice of w

3、ords, and an indispensable first step in communication,6,Words used must match the thought.,It is the first characteristic of a well-dressed man that his clothes fit him; they are not too small and shrunken here, too large and loose there. Now it is precisely such a prime characteristic of a good st

4、yle that the words fit close to the thoughts:,they will not be too big here, hanging like a giants robe on the limbs of a dwarf; nor too small there, as a boys garments into which the man has with difficulty and ridiculously thrust himself.,You do not feel in one place that the writer means more tha

5、n he has succeeded in saying; in another that he has said more than he means; or in a third something beside what his intention was;,and all this from a lack of dexterity in employing the instrument of language, of precision in knowing what words would be the exactest correspondents and fittest expo

6、nents of his thought. (On the Study of Words),Three principles of diction (1) CORRECTNESS e.g. homonyms同音异义词 1) air, heir Man cannot live without _. He is an _ to property.,11,2) sight, site, cite He _ quotations from Shakespeare. The sunrise is a beautiful _. This is a suitable _ for a cotton mill.

7、 .,12,e.g. words similar in pronunciation / spelling 1) affected, effected The hot weather _ his health. The medicine _ nothing. 2) conscious, conscience He has a good _. They were _ of being watched.,13,(2) APPROPRIATENESS - proper words in proper places (Swift) Whether or not the words used are ap

8、propriate depends to a large extent on the subject, audience and the purpose of the writer /speaker.,14,1) standard and non-standard English - Standard English: the English recognized and used by well-educated speakers of English - Non-standard English: the English not usually found in the speech of

9、 educated speakers of English,15,E.g. nowheres - nowhere irregardless - regardless aint - are/am/is not haint - have/has not I dont want nothing. - I dont want anything.,16,2) three layers of English vocabulary The core of English vocabulary is made up of three layers of words, with the learned/form

10、al at the top, the colloquial at the bottom, and the common in the middle.,17,E.g. formal common informal inform tell tell obtain obtain get however but but,18,formal words: in formal writing, such as scholarly or theoretical writing, political and legal documents, and formal lectures the colloquial

11、 in daily conversation,19,3) synonyms: fine shades of meaning,E.g. A man is walking.- A man is marching, pacing, patrolling, stalking, striding, treading, tramping, prancing, strutting, plodding, strolling, staggering, sidling, toddling, roaming, loitering Each conveys a slightly different meaning.

12、 synonyms three sets of English synonyms early English French origin Latin origin e.g. small/little petite diminutive ask question interrogate time age epoch -,21,- - derogatory terms vs. euphemisms derogatory: e.g. Japs (for Japanese) Huns (for German soldiers) honky/honkie (for White man),22,- -

13、 derogatory terms vs. euphemisms euphemism: e.g. die: pass away, cease ones breath, fall asleep be pregnant: be expecting, be in the family way lavatory: rest room, lounge, john, convenience the poor people: the disadvantaged, the underprivileged, the low income group,23,(3) EXACTNESS (or Accuracy)

14、Exactness of diction depends much on connotation and denotation of words.,24,Denotation： what a word literally means as defined by the dictionary (specific, direct, literal meaning) 字面意义 Connotation: feeling or idea suggested by the word (associative, suggestive meaning) 内涵意义,25,Words with similar d

15、enotation may have connotations that vary widely,E.g. 1) I am firm; 2) you are stubborn; 3) he is pig-headed. 1) I am slender; 2)you are thin; ）he is skinny.,connotation: favorable/ neutral/ unfavorable,In the examples above ） favorable ）neutral ）unfavorable,connotation: historical/ social,E.g. (in

16、literature) Twilight: a time of day/ melancholy or romance Watergate: the name of a place/ a political scandal,connotation: personal/ general,Personal connotations may vary greatly, due to peoples different experiences E.g. seaside: not the same connotations to people,connotation: personal/ general,

17、general connotations are shared by most people E.g. home- warmth, security, love, comfort,Connotations: constantly changing, varying with the context,E.g. sly- skillful (before) vs. tricky (now) propaganda- a reliable and trustworthy source of information vs. slanting and deception,Literature: words

18、 with connotative meaning vs. technical and scientific writing: words with denotative meaning,e.g.,I see a lily on thy brow, With anguish moist and fever dew; And on thy cheeks a fading rose Fast withereth too. 你的额角白似百合,垂挂着热病的露珠,你的面颊像是玫瑰,正在很快地凋枯。-“ Lily: the paleness of the brow Rose: the pink fadin

19、g from the cheeks,general vs. specific words General words: refer to characteristics that many things have in common and indicate general names, qualities or modes of actions. Specific words: indicate particular things, qualities and actions. tend to give color and tang, appeal to the imagination.,3

20、4,E.g. general words specific words house cottage, hut, shed, mansion, villa, office building, skyscraper, person king, queen, prince, worker, farmer, policeman, lawyer, doctor, teacher flower chrysanthemum, lotus, rose, daffodil do work, study, read, write, sing, dance move walk, jog, run, wander,

21、stroll, hop, skip, drag, stumble, creep, climb ,35,Classroom exercise Compare the following sentences: a (1) He loves literature. (2) He loves novels, poems and the like. b (1) From the primary school through the high school, later in his college course, he was always a diligent and painstaking stud

22、ent. (2) Through the whole course of his education, he was a diligent and painstaking student. c (1) He fought like an animal. (2) He fought like a tiger.,36,abstract vs. concrete words abstract words: refer to concepts concrete words: have objects as their referent,37,abstract words (2) good food c

23、f. (1) a good man: kind, honest, just, generous, sympathetic, honorable，warm-hearted, hardworking, helpful, selfless (2) good food: delicious, tasty, nourishing, wholesome, rich, fresh, substantial ,39,concrete words & specific words: fresh, vivid but not always better than abstract words & general

24、 words:,40,e.g. Compare the following pair of sentences: (1) Children need sympathy. (2) Children do not like frowns. Cold looks scare them. They flinch from harsh words. Awkward and ineffective,41,A case study The following is part of a dialogue taken from the American film Man, Woman and Child wri

25、tten by Erich Segal. Please analyze the diction the writer uses for the dialogue.,42,Background introduction: Robert: a doctor His wife：Sheila Their son A woman doctor: gave birth to a child without telling it to Robert. Later, seriously ill and going to die,43,Husband (H): Honey, I gotta to talk to

26、 you. Wife (W): Sure. Is there something wrong? H: Well, sort of. Yes. W: Bob, something in your voice scares me. Have I done anything? H: No. Its me. Ive done it. Sheila, remember when you were pregnant with Paula? W: Yes?,44,H: I had to fly to Europe - Montpellier - to give that paper W: And? H: I

27、 had an affair. W: No. This is some terrible news. Isnt it? H: No. Its true. I - Im sorry. W: Who? H: Nobody. Nobody special.,45,W: Who, Robert? H: Her - her name was Nicole Guirin. She was a doctor. W: And how long did it last? H: Two, three days. W: Two days or three days? I want to know. - from Man, Woman and Child by Erich Segal,46,