陸麗華

摘 要:隨著語料庫技術(shù)的不斷發(fā)展,語料庫的應(yīng)用越來越廣泛。文章概述了基于語料庫的英語近義詞辨析:詞義、語義韻、語體以及在教學(xué)上的應(yīng)用。作者認(rèn)為基于語料庫的英語近義詞辨析是迅速掌握英語近義詞行之有效的方法。

關(guān)鍵詞:近義詞;辨析;語料庫

[中圖分類號]H030

[文獻(xiàn)標(biāo)識碼]A

[文章編號]1006-2831(2009)08-0103-4

Abstract: With its rapid development in technology, corpus is widely used in English teaching. This paper mainly introduces how to distinguish synonyms in terms of meaning, semantic prosody, style and the teaching application. The author believes corpus-based study is effective to help learning of synonyms easier.

Key words: synonyms, discrimination, corpus

1. 引言

現(xiàn)代語料庫語言學(xué)(modern corpus linguistics)是20世紀(jì)中后期興起的一門語言研究科學(xué)。語料庫是指在隨機(jī)采樣的基礎(chǔ)上收集的、有代表性的真實語言材料的集合,是語言運用的樣本(楊惠中,2002:9)。它以其容量大、語料真實、檢索快捷準(zhǔn)確等獨特的優(yōu)勢在現(xiàn)代語言學(xué)研究和語言教育等領(lǐng)域發(fā)揮著越來越重要的作用。詞匯學(xué)習(xí)是外語學(xué)習(xí)中的一個重要組成部分,直接影響到一個人的語言交際能力。Wilkins(1972: 111)的名言——“沒有語法只能傳達(dá)很少的信息,沒有詞匯則什么也無法傳達(dá)”足以證明詞匯學(xué)習(xí)的重要性。在多年的英語詞匯教學(xué)中,筆者發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)生對于近義詞的辨析頗感困惑,教師憑借詞典簡單地呈現(xiàn)例句或者憑經(jīng)驗來分析詞匯的異同點往往是片面的、不可靠的。而語料庫可以幫助學(xué)習(xí)者獲得包含某一檢索詞的很多鮮活例子,通過大量真實語境的出現(xiàn),讓學(xué)習(xí)者體會、發(fā)現(xiàn)、歸納近義詞的異同,揭示特征,掌握規(guī)律,鞏固深化。

2. 基于語料庫的英語近義詞辨析方法

2.1 運用近義詞的搭配進(jìn)行詞義辨析

英語中有著豐富的近義詞,它們雖然意思相近,但是在語意、語用等方面仍然存在差異。弄清差異有助于理解詞語的內(nèi)涵,利用這些差異有助于增強(qiáng)語言的表達(dá)效果。近義詞大致可以分兩種:絕對近義詞(Complete Synonyms)和相對近義詞(Relative Synonyms),英語中更多的是相對近義詞。搭配(collocation)是指詞語經(jīng)常一起使用的表達(dá)形式,體現(xiàn)的是詞語之間的具有典型性的共現(xiàn)現(xiàn)象,是基于語料庫的詞匯研究中最為活躍的部分。如和“pretty”經(jīng)常搭配的詞有:“girl”、“woman”、“flower”、“garden”、“color”、“village”等;和“handsome”經(jīng)常搭配的詞有:“boy”、“man”、“car”、“vessel”、“overcoat”、“airliner”、“typewriter”等。筆者對“stage”和“period”兩詞進(jìn)行了比較。根據(jù)《英漢大詞典》(陸谷孫,1993:1825,1347),這兩個詞都有“階段”、“時期”的含義。通過運用語料庫的檢索,可引導(dǎo)學(xué)習(xí)者觀察近義詞的搭配,在真實的語境下發(fā)現(xiàn)它們之間的細(xì)微差別。

(1) operating conditions in the first stageand always using the optimal **f-st

(2) both before and after this crucial stage;and maximum length, with confirmation

(3) are m operating variables at each stage and that the state is specified by

(4) put E (in the case of the second stage,for the first phosphor screen emission

(5) which considers culture as a third stagein biological evolution fits quite

(6) ain so well at a relatively early stage in the evolutionary scheme, tended

(7) by two actors of the contemporarystage. In the field of entertainment

(8) resolution limitations for a single stage are given by the inherent resolution

(9) can only be expected in the final stage of an image intensifier at rather

(10) prepare the human race for its next stage of development, an eventual merging

(11) be to assure that movement into astage of self-sustaining growth is not prevented

(12) transformation may be effected in the first stage of an R-stage process, the remaining

(13) interpret them as an apogee of the first stage of Greek civilization. On this

(14) SOURCES OF DATA:_The first stage of operation has centered on the

“stage”一詞在Brown語料庫中出現(xiàn)了190次,說明使用頻率較高。在以上提取的14條索引行中,該詞除了“舞臺”詞義外,大部分的意義為“階段、時期”。

從以上典型例子中發(fā)現(xiàn):“stage”前面常出現(xiàn)序數(shù)詞,如“first”、“second”、“third”等;前面與其相搭配的形容詞為“crucial”、“each”、“early”、“contemporary”、“single”、“final”等;該詞后經(jīng)常跟隨“of+名詞”的結(jié)構(gòu),如“development”、“growth”、“process”、“civilization”、“operation”等。筆者進(jìn)一步深入提取該詞所屬語境資料,以下語篇為第(6)條索引行中“stage”所在語境:

(6) of adaptation and defense that are just too complete and too satisfactory. Mollusks are a case in point. The shell, which served the strain so well at a relatively early stage in the evolutionary scheme, tended to cancel out the possibility of future development. Though this may or may not be good biology, it does aptly illustrate the strength and the weakness of American Catholic.

在該語境中,“stage”是指“發(fā)展的進(jìn)程,階段或時期”,著重于事物的演變發(fā)展。

再來觀察下面索引行中“period”的用法?！皃eriod”一詞在Brown語料庫中出現(xiàn)265次,使用更為頻繁。從提取的索引行中發(fā)現(xiàn):“period”前有“the”、“this”、“that”出現(xiàn);修飾的詞為“l(fā)ong”、“same”、“considerable”、“short”、“brief”、“10-year”等;該詞后面也有“of+名詞”結(jié)構(gòu),出現(xiàn)最多的為“time”、“year”、“illness”、“report”等。分析該詞所處語境后發(fā)現(xiàn),“period”為“一段時間、時期”,著重于從開始到結(jié)束。查閱有關(guān)資料,“period”來源于希臘語的“periodus”,意思是“周期,循環(huán)”,“period”至今仍保留著這層意思。筆者進(jìn)一步查閱在語料庫基礎(chǔ)上編纂的COBUILD英漢雙解詞典(柯林斯伯明翰大學(xué)國際語料庫)(辛克萊,2002:1432,1900),“period”的解釋為“一段時間,期間,(歷史上)時代,時期”;“stage”的解釋為“(連續(xù)過程中的某個)時期,階段,(有若干階段的發(fā)展過程中的某個)階段”,與本研究結(jié)果相符。

(1) slide sets. _2._ During this period, a total of 762 exhibits were presented

(2) political account. Finally, the period after 1870 receives little attention

(3) and extend over a much shorterperiod, approximately 30 months for boys

(4) he the only animal who has a longperiod after the decline of his procreativity

(5) only 122,158. Yet during the sameperiod there were 1,080,062 additions.

(6) but not to exceed such twelve-year period, the Secretary shall proceed as

(7) held open for her for a considerable period. But she decided to stay at Spelman

(8) space on the planet. For a brief period each year, the rays of the sun are

(9) roads and trails for the 10-year period 1963-1972 are as follows:_1._

(10) slide sets. _2._ During this period, a total of 762 exhibits were

(11) admission that evenat the worst period of his second illness it neveroccured

(12) emotional states drawn out over aperiod of time and expressed slowly, rather

(13) of the cost may be spread over aperiod of months or years. In many cities

(14) Forces Medical Services. During theperiod of this report, 63 panel exhibits

2.2 運用近義詞的搭配進(jìn)行語義韻分析

語義韻(semantic prosody)是指關(guān)鍵詞項的典型搭配在其語境中營造的語義氛圍,大體上可分為消極語義韻(negative prosody)、中性語義韻(neutral prosody)和積極語義韻(positive prosody)。對以英語為母語的人來說,語義韻本身就是其語言能力的一部分,往往能夠下意識地運用。但對將英語作為第二語言學(xué)習(xí)的人來說,就很難理解和運用自如了。在詞匯教學(xué)中,筆者利用語料庫索引引導(dǎo)學(xué)習(xí)者了解詞的語義特征。在英語里,“cause”一詞具有強(qiáng)烈的消極語韻義,英語本族語者常用“the cause of failure”、“the cause of trouble”等說法。多與表示疾病、傷害、不佳情緒、問題、困難等含義的詞語一起出現(xiàn),幾乎全含有否定和消極的意味,這說明“cause”導(dǎo)致的基本都是壞的結(jié)果,而漢語里卻常用“成功的原因”、“經(jīng)濟(jì)飛速發(fā)展的原因”、“取得進(jìn)步的原因”(楊惠中,2002:294),語義韻特征上傾向于肯定和積極。再觀察“l(fā)ead to”的語義韻分析,通過查閱BNC(英國國家語料庫),筆者抽取了其中的14條索引行進(jìn)行分析。

(1) and promotion policies may inhibit learning and lead to maladjustments for Studies conducted

(2) on land; lack of abilityand common sense can lead to just as much tragedy. Hand in

(3) that a lack of competition can, most certainly, lead to inefficiencies, but it also identifies

(4) loring the possibility of an agreement that could lead to a ceasefire and freedom for

(5) overall trends within the Britisheconomy could lead to significantly higher levels of

(6) hat poor transport links with the mainland could lead to a massive loss of business a

(7) or the operation of restrictive practices, could lead to resource misallocation and a

(8) weekends of the promotion play-offs. That could lead to problems with players stamina

(9) and in competitive markets this will generally lead to the most efficient use of those assets

(10) cussion of these or any other subjects that may lead to peace with justice. Certainly

(11) be undertaken not because they are likely to lead to academicallyinteresting

(12) how well intentioned one may be, is sure to lead to trouble, or at least to the discomfort

(13) through them and NRA officials hope it will lead to the development of new saltmarsh

(14) Egyptian insistence on this position would lead to a withdrawal of Israeli

研究發(fā)現(xiàn),“l(fā)ead to”搭配沒有明顯的傾向性,既可以表示肯定的結(jié)果,如:“a ceasefire and freedom”、“significantly higher levels”、“peace with justice”、“the most efficient use”、“academically interesting results”、“the development”等;也可以表示否定的結(jié)果,如“maladjustments”、“problems”、“just as much tragedy”、“inefficiencies”、“a massive loss of business”、“trouble”、“a withdrawal”等。由此可見“l(fā)ead to”不存在語義韻的顯著差別。

2.3 運用詞頻進(jìn)行近義詞的語體分析

語體是人們在各種社會活動領(lǐng)域,針對不同對象、不同環(huán)境使用語言進(jìn)行交際時所形成的習(xí)慣用語、常用句式、結(jié)構(gòu)體式等一系列運用語言的特點。語言學(xué)習(xí)者應(yīng)該對不同語境下的英語語體有所了解,才能在書面語體和口語體中正確、貼切地表達(dá)自己的思想。Rundell(1995: 31-43)就曾利用BNC的口語子庫進(jìn)行調(diào)查,結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn):“began”在書面語中出現(xiàn)的次數(shù)幾乎是“started”的兩倍,而在口語中出現(xiàn)的頻率要比“started”低得多。筆者通過對BNC筆語子庫和口語子庫的檢索,對一些近義詞在不用語體中的使用頻率進(jìn)行了分析統(tǒng)計。例如:

顯然,“get”在兩種語體中使用最為廣泛,使用頻率明顯高于“buy”和“purchase”;“purchase”使用最少;和書面語相比,“buy”在口語中使用更為頻繁;而“purchase”在兩種語體中使用的頻率都很低,它通常用于正式場合或商業(yè)環(huán)境中。

利用詞頻,筆者又對其他一些近義詞進(jìn)行了分析。如:“sure”在BNC口語子庫中出現(xiàn)445次,“definite”僅出現(xiàn)12次,說明口語中使用“sure”多于“definite”。又如:“enter”在BNC口語子庫中出現(xiàn)24次,在BNC筆語子庫中出現(xiàn)63次;“come/go in”在BNC口語子庫中共出現(xiàn)286次,在BNC筆語子庫中共出現(xiàn)47次,說明“enter”通常用于書面語中,“come/go in”常用于口語中。

3. 基于語料庫的英語近義詞辨析的教學(xué)應(yīng)用

目前,英語教學(xué)越來越強(qiáng)調(diào)學(xué)習(xí)者的重要性,由以教師為中心向以學(xué)生為中心轉(zhuǎn)變已經(jīng)成為一種趨勢。在英語近義詞教學(xué)中,傳統(tǒng)的做法是用通常被稱為PPP(presentation-practice-production)的模式,教學(xué)過程一般為:呈現(xiàn)、練習(xí)和輸出。它表面上體現(xiàn)了教學(xué)過程,實際上往往壓抑了學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)主動性的發(fā)揮。隨著語料庫的引入,英語近義詞教學(xué)由PPP教學(xué)模式向OHE(observation-hypothesis-experiment)模式轉(zhuǎn)變,即利用語料庫讓學(xué)生接觸大量的語言素材,并對其進(jìn)行觀察、分析、研究,引導(dǎo)學(xué)生在語料庫真實豐富有意義的語言環(huán)境中積極自主地探索,從而總結(jié)歸納詞的特征和規(guī)律,開展有效的學(xué)習(xí)活動,構(gòu)建關(guān)于近義詞區(qū)別的知識。在具體教學(xué)中,可以將近義詞學(xué)習(xí)過程分為起始、發(fā)現(xiàn)、歸納、鞏固、拓展五個階段。在起始階段,教師以講座形式向?qū)W生介紹有關(guān)語料庫的知識、相關(guān)的學(xué)習(xí)網(wǎng)站以及檢索方法;在發(fā)現(xiàn)階段,學(xué)生根據(jù)老師提供的豐富例句進(jìn)行近義詞詞義的辨析,推斷其在例句中的準(zhǔn)確意義,教師適時展示近義詞所在的具體語境;在歸納階段,學(xué)生通過觀察檢索行發(fā)現(xiàn)近義詞的用法搭配和使用頻率,并進(jìn)行語義韻和語體的分析歸納;在鞏固階段,教師利用語料庫檢索之后得到的語境共現(xiàn)資料編輯加工成多種類型的練習(xí)和測試卷,主要有選擇填空、翻譯、填空等題型,供學(xué)生練習(xí)鞏固;在拓展階段,學(xué)生檢索相關(guān)的語料庫網(wǎng)站,如:http://www.edict.com.hk/concordance/、http://www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/concord_e.html等,開展近義詞的辨析。學(xué)生還可以通過選擇不同類型的語料庫來了解該詞在不同語域的用法。

基于語料庫的英語近義詞辨析既避免了教條的講授和死板的查字典,又可以讓學(xué)生掌握地道的英語,最終達(dá)到自然流暢地使用語言進(jìn)行有效的語言交際的目的,還能提高學(xué)生自主學(xué)習(xí)的能力。教師不再是知識的灌輸者和傳授者,更重要的是學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)的幫助者、指導(dǎo)者和促進(jìn)者,是教學(xué)活動的組織者、設(shè)計者和指導(dǎo)者。學(xué)生是研究者和參與者,通過主動地探索、發(fā)現(xiàn)、總結(jié),在“做中學(xué)”,在“學(xué)中悟”,培養(yǎng)自主學(xué)習(xí)的能力。

4. 結(jié)語

語料庫為語言學(xué)習(xí)者提供了生動真實的語言環(huán)境,縮小了課堂語言和真實語言的差距?；谡Z料庫的英語詞匯學(xué)習(xí)方式可以拓寬學(xué)習(xí)者的視野和學(xué)習(xí)思路,幫助他們通過分析語料提高運用詞匯的能力,發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)習(xí)語言的規(guī)律。更重要的是,它可以激發(fā)學(xué)習(xí)者的興趣,調(diào)動學(xué)習(xí)積極性,在觀察、分析、歸納、深化的過程中培養(yǎng)自主學(xué)習(xí)的能力。本文只談到利用語料庫進(jìn)行近義詞辨析這一方面,相信隨著網(wǎng)絡(luò)技術(shù)的不斷進(jìn)步,語料庫技術(shù)會在英語詞匯教學(xué)中發(fā)揮越來越重要的作用。

參考文獻(xiàn)

Rundell, M. The Word on the Street[J]. English To-day. 1995: 31-43.

Wilkins, D. A. Linguistics and Language Teaching[M]. London: Edward Arnold, 1972: 111.

陸谷孫. 英漢大詞典[M]. 上海:上海譯文出版社,1993:1825,1347.

辛克萊. COBUILD英漢雙解詞典[M]. 上海:上海譯文出版社,2002:1432,1900.

楊惠中. 語料庫語言學(xué)導(dǎo)論[M]. 上海:上海外語教育出版社,2002:9,294.