《英语修辞学》第一章

1、Chapter One Introduction to English Rhetoric English RhetoricPage 2Contents of This Chapter. About the Course.Definition of Rhetoric.Classification of Rhetoric. Purpose of learning rhetoric. Arrangement and RequirementsPage 31. Optional course of English Major2. Learners: Seniors of English Major3.

2、Main content: About the CourseuGeneral idea about English rhetoric a brief and interesting survey of the history of rhetoric with emphasis on several major classical rhetoricians and their theories and applicationuCommunicative rhetoric the choice of words, the choice of sentences, paragraph and ess

3、ay constructionuAesthetic rhetoric: figures of speech (phonetic, syntactic, semantic, logic)Page 44. Assessment: Exam Total grades = 20% of Regular Grades + 80%of the Final Exam * Regular Grades consists of 10% of class attendance and 10% of assignments5. Text Book 胡曙中：现代英语修辞学，上海外语教育出版社，2011年9月第1版6.

4、 Reference Books黄 任：英语修辞与写作，上海外语教育出版社，1999.张秀国：英语修辞学，清华大学出版社、北京交通大 学出版社，2005 李鑫华：英语修辞格详论，上海外语教育出版社，2000Page 5Whoever does not study rhetoric will become a victim of it.-Ancient Greek wall inscriptionHistories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep, moral, grav

5、e; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.-Francis Bacon Definition of RhetoricPage 6Plato and AristotleThe study of rhetoric goes back to ancient Greece, when speakers began to practice the art of persuasion in courts of law. The ancients realized that presentation is as important, or perhaps more imp

6、ortant, as facts.Page 72.1 Origin of Western RhetoricIt is said that the “art of rhetoric” originated in Syracuse锡拉库扎锡拉库扎(意大利西西里岛东部一港市意大利西西里岛东部一港市), a Greek colony on the island of Sicily, in about 465 B.C. When the dictators on the island were overthrown and democracy was established, people went t

7、o court to claim the ownership of the land which had been taken from them during the dictators reign. However, the Greek system required that citizens represent themselves in court instead of hiring attorneys to speak on their behalf as we can today. Therefore, the rhetoric came into being to “make

8、the best possible case and to represent it persuasively to the jury” (Hu Shuzhong, 2011:433). Probate court 遗嘱检验法庭Page 8Page 9 Over the years the word “rhetoric” has taken on a wide range of meaning. Negative connotations: skillful, but often deceptive, eloquence a fraudulent practice to deal exclus

9、ively with language, rather than with ideasPage 10 Positive connotations: Historically, “rhetoric” had positive connotations, suggesting a commendable skill with words. Today rhetoric, as it was in history, is something that people have to resort to. Rhetoric is generally understood as a tool or a m

10、ethod. Its content is more concerned with the Hows of what people are talking about than the Whats of what people are talking about. As a tool, rhetoric is inherently neither good or bad. A deceitful person will use it to deceive and an ethical person will use it to make truth and justice prevail.Pa

11、ge 11Page 12 1. Cold war diplomacy and rhetoric 2. As the clamor for basic skills continue to grow, it may be time for the fourth RRhetoricto reenter the classroom. 3. Campaign promises have proved to be empty rhetoric. 4. Despite their tough anti-American rhetoric, the government is privately tryin

12、g to maintain good relations with the U.S. 5. the rhetoric of filmDiscuss:Identify the different meanings of “rhetoric” in the following phrases/sentences:辞令辞令修辞学修辞学花言巧语花言巧语电影的修辞艺术电影的修辞艺术言论言论Page 132.4 Definitions of rhetoricThe word “rhetoric” has been defined differently. a. The study and practice

13、 of effective communication. b. The study of the effects of texts on audiences. c. The art of persuasion. d. An insincere eloquence intended to win points and manipulate mnipjuleit others. 现代英语修辞学研究的是人类使用符号互相交流的能力，这种能力是人类所持有的，人类使用符号来构建自己的世界，来认识自我，来和其他人一起互动，使生活更有意义。Page 14 通过对语言材料的选择、调整、修饰，使语言美化，更好地交

14、流思想，表情达意。所谓“调整”，主要指依据题旨(subject) 情境 (occasion / context)的需要，对词语、句式、段落篇章作恰当地选择和安排；所谓“修饰”，主要指恰当地选择一些修辞手段、修辞方法，增强语言表达的艺术效能。调整的目的，就是要求语言准确、鲜明，没有丝毫的模糊，也没有丝毫的歧义，使人家清楚、明白。 - - 杨鸿儒杨鸿儒当代中国修辞学当代中国修辞学Page 15 Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men.“ (Plato) Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of obse

15、rving in any given case the available means of persuasion.“ (Aristotle, Rhetoric) Rhetoric is the art of speaking well.“ (Quintilian) eloquence to persuade their fellows of the truth of what they had discovered by reason (Cicero) Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natura

16、l philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.“ (Francis Bacon)读史使人明智，读诗使人聪慧，数学使人周密，自然哲学读史使人明智，读诗使人聪慧，数学使人周密，自然哲学使人深刻，伦理学使人有修养，逻辑修辞使人善辩使人深刻，伦理学使人有修养，逻辑修辞使人善辩.一种能在任何一个问题上找出可能说服方式的功能。一种能在任何一个问题上找出可能说服方式的功能。Definitions in the pastPage 16Definitions in dictionaries published in t

17、he twentieth century “the art of using language so as to persuade or influence others; the body of rules to be observed by a speaker or writer in order that he may express himself with eloquence” The Oxford English Dictionary, 1933 “the art or science of using words effectively in speaking or writin

18、g, especially of literary composition” Websters New World Dictionary of the American Language, 1972 “the art of persuasive or impressive speaking or writing; language designed to persuade or impress (but perhaps insincere or exaggerated)” The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1982 “language used to persuad

19、e or influence people, especially by politicians; the art of speaking or writing to persuade or influence people” Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1995Page 17 Classifications of rhetoric（1）Theoretical rhetoric（理论修辞）（理论修辞） and practical rhetoric（实践修辞）（实践修辞）: Theoretical rhetoric deals with

20、 theoretical problems of rhetoric; Practical rhetoric helps us improve our ability to use the English language effectively.（2） Communicative rhetoric（交际修辞）（交际修辞） and aesthetic rhetoric（美学修辞）（美学修辞）Page 18u Communicative rhetoric : （passive rhetoric) Emphasizes the choice of words and phrases, and sel

21、ection of sentence patterns, organizing paragraphs and whole pieces of writing in such a way that ideas are expressed more clearly, more accurately and more appropriately and the best results are achieved in communication. Rhetoric of words(the choice of words); Rhetoric of sentence(the choice of se

22、ntences); Rhetoric of paragraphs(the arrangement of paragraphs ); Rhetoric of discouse(the discursive(推论的，论证的推论的，论证的)patterns)Page 19E.g. a:她的耳朵上她的耳朵上戴着戴着两只金色的大耳环。两只金色的大耳环。 b:她的耳朵上她的耳朵上吊着吊着两只金色的大耳环。两只金色的大耳环。 c:她的耳朵上她的耳朵上挂着挂着两只金色的大耳环。两只金色的大耳环。 d:她的耳朵上她的耳朵上缀着缀着两只金色的大耳环。两只金色的大耳环。 e:她的耳朵上她的耳朵上镶着镶着两只金色的大

23、耳环。两只金色的大耳环。 f:她的耳朵上她的耳朵上摇着摇着两只金色的大耳环。两只金色的大耳环。We are very busy and have to be on time by taking school bus every day.We are awfully busy and have to be punctuate by shuttle bus every day.We are as busy as bees, and have to be accurate like a space shuttle as commuters every day. Page 20例如：在例如：在Eliz

24、abeth Razzi写的题为写的题为10 Ways to Lose Pounds 的文章中，的文章中，“减肥减肥”的表达竟有的表达竟有8种，文笔活泼，文采灿然：种，文笔活泼，文采灿然：1. Try to shed a few extra pounds? 2. Studies show these efforts may shave off the pounds quickly. 3. Here are ten simple strategies that can help melt away your fat forever. 4. like a logical way to peel of

25、f a few pounds. 5. roughly the amount needed to burn off one pound.6. You must eat less to lose weight. 7. A key obstacle to dropping extra pounds is after-dinner snacking. 8. 10 Ways to Lose Pounds. 以上以上8句中的斜体字让我们欣赏了英语词汇的活力与风采。句中的斜体字让我们欣赏了英语词汇的活力与风采。 Page 21One more example English offers a fascina

26、ting variety of words for many activities and interests. When we say a man is walking, we can also say that a man is marching, pacing, patrolling, stalking, striding, treading, tramping, stepping out, prancing, strutting, prowling, plodding, strolling, shuffling, staggering, sidling, trudging, toddl

27、ing, rambling, roaming, sauntering, meandering, lounging, loitering, or creeping. But each of them conveys to us a slightly different meaning. No matter which word we use, it should match our thought and suit to the occasion.Page 22 stalk: 高视阔步高视阔步, 大踏步走大踏步走 stride:大踏步走大踏步走; 跨过跨过 tread: 步行于步行于, 在在上走

28、上走; 踩踩(烂烂), 践踏践踏 trudge trd trd : :v. 沉重地走沉重地走,蹒跚地走蹒跚地走 prance pr:ns pr:ns v. 腾跃腾跃, 欢跃欢跃, 昂首阔步昂首阔步 shuffle fl :拖曳拖曳,慢吞吞地走慢吞吞地走 Sidle saidl : v. (偷偷地偷偷地)侧身而行侧身而行 saunter s:nt : v. 闲逛闲逛,漫步漫步 lounge laund : v. 闲荡闲荡,懒洋洋地躺卧懒洋洋地躺卧 loiter lit : v. 闲荡闲荡,虚度虚度,徘徊徘徊 creep kri:p :v. 爬爬,徐行徐行,蠕动蠕动Page 23uAestheti

29、c rhetoric: (active rhetoric) Figures of speechPhonetic figures of speech (sounds);Syntactic figures of speech (structures);Semantic figures of speech (meanings)Logical figures of speech (reason)Alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia,Repetition, anaphora, parallelism, antithesis,Climax, a

30、nticlimax, rhetorical question, Simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, Allegory, allusion, hyperbole, understatement, Irony, oxymoron, Page 24Communicative rhetoric concise (简洁) clear (清楚) precise / exact (精确) coherent (流畅) expressive (富于表现力) Aesthetic rhetoric vivid (生动) -To form a picture in your

31、 mind. colorful expressivePage 25有学者指出：修辞修辞与语法语法、逻辑逻辑的关系： 语法语法研究语言的结构规律； 逻辑逻辑研究思维形式和思维规律； 修辞修辞研究如何根据需要有效地使用语言，强化语言信息、提升语言感染力、增强语言表达效果的一种艺术，一种说话、写文章得体、优美、有效的“美言美言术术”。 也就是说：语法语法管的是“通不通”， 逻辑逻辑管的是 “对不对”， 修辞学修辞学管的是“好不好”。 Rhetoric、Grammar and LogicPage 26 Purpose of learning rhetoric 1) To improve our abi

32、lity to polish our writing. Best choice of words Best choice of sentence constructions Appropriate use of figures of speech2) To improve our ability of analysis and appreciation.3) To improve our ability of comprehension and translation.4) To improve our flexible ability by rhetorical transformation.Page 27Example A invites B out to dinner, but B cant make it because he has another engagement. What would B say? Here are two versions:l(1) “Im sorry I cant.