(英语版)书评：外研社2000年版Ralph Fasold27s The Sociolinguistics of Language

TheReviewofRalphFasold’sTheSociolinguisticsofLanguageIntroductionRalphFasoldistheoneofthefourconsultantsintheseriesofLanguageinSocietyandhewritestwobooksoftheseries--TheSociolinguisticsofLanguageandTheSociolinguisticsofSociety.Thetwobooksintroducethecomparativelynewsocialdisciplineintwodifferentresearchlevelswithintermixedcontentsinmacro-andmicro-scopewithsocietyandlanguagerespectively.TheSociolinguisticsofLanguagecontainsninechapterswithashortintroduction:chapter1addressform,chapter2theethnographyofcommunication,chapter3discourse,chapter4languageandsex,chapter5linguisticpragmatics:conversationalimplicature,chapter6moreonlinguisticpragmatics,chapter7pidginandCreolelanguages,chapter8linguisticvariation,andchapter9someapplicationsofthesociolinguisticsoflanguage.ThebookTheSociolinguisticsofLanguagesetsmoreemphasisonthemicro-scopediscussiononlinguisticproblem,orprecisely,itaimstoinvestigatethevariousissuescloselyconcernedwithlanguagepragmaticusageinthesocialcontext.TheSociolinguisticsofLanguagemainlydiscussfiveissuesindetail:hot/focusissuesdiscussiononsociolinguistics,includingthecontentsinthechapters1and4;discourseanalysisresearchonsociolinguistics,focusedonthecontentsinthechapters2and3;pragmaticexplanationonsociolinguistics,containedinthechapters5and6;languagedevelopmentandvariationresearchonsociolinguistics,concerningthecontentsinthechapters7and8;applicableissuesdiscussiononsociolinguistics,whichisthemaincontentinthelastchapter.DiscussioningeneralHot/focusissuesdiscussiononsociolinguisticsAddresssystemresearchandsexdiscrepancyresearchisthetwofocusissuesinthesociolinguisticsallthetime.Theformerbeginsatthespecificresearch--thepronounsofpowerandsolidaritybytwoAmericanscholarsRogerBrownandAlbertGilman;thelattermainlyclaimslanguageandwomen’splaceintheirthesisbylinguistRobinLakoffintheearly1970s.Intheirresearch,BrownandGilmanproposeauniversalprinciple--pronounreciprocalityandtheyassumepronounreciprocalityincludestwofundamentalsemanticopposite--power(V)andsolidarity(T)intheWesternlanguages.Theyalsoclaimsthattheusagefieldsinsolidarityhasaincreasinglyexpandtendency.Thethesisisregardedasoneoftheclassicsinthesociolinguisticsaddressformforitsexcellenceoftheoreticalpatternsanddiversityoflanguagedata.Itactivateswidespreadcross-culturalcontrastivestudyandstillhasaveryhighvalueatpresent.DiscourseanalysisresearchonsociolinguisticsItconcernswithtwobranchfields--theethnographyofcommunicationanddiscourseanalysis.Theformerdiscussesapatternonethnographyofcommunication腹有诗书气自华精品文档你我共享精品文档你我共享腹有诗书气自华腹有诗书气自华bysociolinguistDellHymes;thelatterintroducesthesimplestsystematicbyHarveySacks,EmanuelSchegloffandGailJefferson,thefunctionofturninhigh-involvementstylebyDeborahTennenandtransitivityhypothesisbyPaulHopperandSandraThompson.PragmaticexplanationonsociolinguisticsThebookintroducesthethesisofPaulGrice,J.L.Austin,JohnSearle,GeoffreyLeech,PenelopeBrownandStephenLevinsonandmainlydiscussesthefollowingfouraspects:Communicationalimplicature;Speechacts;Politeness;PresuppositionIt’sshownthatsociolinguisticsexplorestosolvetheissuesoflinguisticphenomenawhichcannotbecompletelyandsuitablysolvedbytruthsemanticsandproposesanewsemanticanalyticapproach.Meanwhile,fortheintroductionofparticipantscommunicativebackground,ect.thenewapproachdistinguishesthepragmaticsinsociolinguisticsfromthatinphilosophyandlogic,andhelpbroadenthefieldinpragmatic.LanguagedevelopmentandvariationresearchonsociolinguisticsItintroducesthevariationtheoryinlanguagechangebyWilliamLabovandbioprogramhypothesisbyDerekBikerton.Accordingtodiscussioninthispart,presentconditionofsociolinguisticsstudyisnotsatisfiedandthereasonsarethat:first,itlacksthedirectivepatternofuniversaltheory;secondly,itdependsontheoreticformulaonrelevantdisciplines,andtherearefewcreativetheoriesinsociolinguistics.ApplicableissuesdiscussiononsociolinguisticsItdiscussessociolinguisticsapplicationinmicro-scope,suchaslanguageandteaching,legalprofession,advertisement,eveninthemedicalprofession.Insuchaview,sociolinguisticscanbeappliedonmorewidefieldandservesthewholesociety.ReviewofeachchapterIntroductionThepartintroductionisquiteconcise,andinlengthisequaltoaself-preface,however,italsogivesavarieddescription:itnotonlydefinesgeneralarrangementbutdepictsauthor’sbasicbeliefandviewpointinsociolinguistics.Themaincontentsofintroductionasfollows:Firstofall,itemploysthedifficultiesincompilingsuchatextbookandhowtheauthorundertakesthestrenuoustaskinordertogiveanintroductionofsociolinguisticstoreadersinadeepinsight.Secondly,itdescribestheauthor’slinguisticviewpoint,andthattheauthorassumedsimplereductionismpatterncanhelpbetterunderstandlanguage,linguisticsandsociolinguisticsanddistinguishlinguistic-sociologystudyinmacro-scopefromsocial-linguisticsstudyinmicro-scope.Theformerdiscussestheissuesonstudyandpolitics;thelatterdiscussestherelationbetweenformandusageoflanguage.Itprovidesafurtherexplanationaswellthatlanguagephenomenonisaco-influencedproductionintheprincipleofformandusage.Accordingtotheviewsmentionedabove,linguisticsandgrammaticscanberegardedasadualism.Thirdly,itdescribesauthor’slinguisticviewpointonsociolinguisticsandthatassumesthereexistsnouniversalprincipleinsociolinguistics.Lastly,itgivesabriefintroductionofeachchapter’sarrangement.AddressformOnthesuperficialphenomena,addressformstudyseemstobeverylimited,evencannotbeformedintoadependentchapter.Infact,pronounreciprocalityandaddressformhasbecomeoneofhot/focustopicsinsociolinguistics.FromthepublicationofThepronounsofpowerandsolidarity,oneofBrownandGilman’sclassicsintheearly1960stotheendof1990s,thereexistmanystudiesonaddressform,eventheresultsfromthesestudiesexceloverthetotalstudiesofpastseveralhundredyears.Inspecificarrangement,chapter1consistsofsevensections:(1)introduction;(2)pronounreciprocalitybyBrownandGilman;(3)AmericanEnglishaddress;(4)variation;(5)universalofWesternsociety;(6)addressinAsianlanguage;(7)summary.It’sworthilynotedthatBrownandGilmansummarydevelopmentandvariationofreciprocalitysysteminEuropeanlanguagesandcomestoadeductiveconclusion:earlyreciprocalitysystemdistinguishedbypowermeaningorientatedandsolidarityassistedhaschanged--solidarityhasbeenprincipalelementsinchoiceofthetwosemanticmeaning.Thecauseoftransformationcannotbeexplainedprecisely,however,thepopularviewisthatthesolidarity’sconsciousnessdevelopsintheprocessofsocialmodernization.Since1990s,BrownandGilman’stheoreticuniversalhasbeenchallengedbythestudyofaddresssysteminancientGreekandAfricanlanguages.Insection6,thestudyofChineseaddressformisdatedwithlittlevalueforreference.TheethnographyofcommunicationIngeneral,itmainlydiscussesthepatternofethnographyofcommunicationbyHymesforthestudyofanthropology.Itdiscussesthetwoco-existandindispensableobservantviews:relevancestudyonparoleinanthropologyandlanguagecommunicationinethnography.Inthiscase,itnecessarilyfurtherdiscussesthedevelopmentprocessofethnographyofcommunicationandhowtoevaluateit.Sapir-Whorfhypothesisisnotcloselyconnectedwithethnographyofcommunication,ifitsurelyis,therelationisnotreallyprominent,therefore,thearrangementmaybenotsuitableforthepart.Thechapterconsistsofsevensections:(1)introduction;(2)essentialconcepts;(3)methodology;(4)theSapir-WhorfHypothesis;(5)anexample;(6)evaluation;(7)summary.Lastsectioninthischaptershouldbecarefullyreadforsomeconceptsaredefinedpreciselyandspecifically.DiscoursePrecisely,discourseanalysisisneitherthepatentforsociolinguisticstudy,northemainstreamintraditionalsociolinguistics,andtheresearchmethodprovidesanewtheoreticpatternandanalyticsolutionforthoselinguistswhodon'tsatisfythatformdiscussionexclusivelyonsyntax.Since1970s,withthepromotionoftheoreticalconstructionandresearchmethods,ithasbeenarelativelyindependentdisciplineatleastinEurope,generallycalledas"textuallingustics".精品文档你我共享精品文档你我共享Thechapterconsistsoffoursections:(1)thescopeofdiscourseresearch;(2)turn-taking;(3)discourseandgrammar;(4)summary.Judgingfromconstructionoftheoryandarrangementofcontents,somepromotioncanbeproposedinthischapter:ifthediscussionoftherelationbetweenlanguageandcognitionintheorycanbeintroduced,itcanconcludefurthersummaryonresultsofmanystudiesinordertoprovideacomprehensiveexplanation;iftheintroductionofsomestudiesrelationonlanguageandcultureandconstructionoftext,itwillembodytheimportanceofsociolinguisticstudyoncross-culturalcontrast.Thetwopointsmentionedabovecangivesolidsupportondichotomyindiscourseanalysis.Thechaptergivesadeepdescriptionontherelationbetweensociolinguisticstudyandsyntacticgrammarwhichhasformedacomplementarycondition.Differentaspectsonsociolinguisticstudy,suchasturn-takingsystemandconfusedgrammarproblemscanbesolvedbyscientificanalyticmethods,inprocessofwhichthelinguisticscomestoadeepunderstandingthanbefore.LanguageandsexItiswidelyknownthatinthepastfortyyearssexdisparitystudyinsociolinguisticshasundergoneaunsmoothway,evengonebackward,however,ithasrunintoarelativelydevelopedpath.Thechapterdescribesvariousaspectsofsociolinguistics,butthosearelimitedpartinsexdisparity.Itconsistsofeightsections:(1)introduction;(2)men'sandwomen'slanguageforms;(3)thesociolinguisticgenderandpattern;(4)sexdifferencesinlanguageuse;(5)termsrelatedtosexinlanguage;(6)thedefaultgenderinlanguageandinnature;(7)otherresearchonlanguageandsex;(8)summary.Infact,thediscussiononso-calledsexpatterninsociolinguisticsinvolvestheofchoiceofdifferentlanguagevariationpatternandexpressioncausedbysexdifferences.Thestudyissocloselyconcernedwithsocialculturewhichincludesmanydifferentfieldsthatitisregardedasoneofsocialdialectpatterns.Inashort,theinfluenceonlanguagesexdifferenceisnotonlyfromsocialculturebutcognitivepatternevendeepelementonphysiologicalconstruction.Itcausesdifferentunderstandingonproposition"natureversusnurture",anddisplaysthathugespacefordevelopmentoflanguagesexdifferencestudy.Linguisticpragmatics:conversationalimplicatureChapters5and6bothconcerndiscussiononpragmatics:theformermainlydiscussesthetheoryofconversationalimplicatureanditsapplication;thelatterincludesspeechacts,politenessandpresupposition.Fasoldaddstheepithettermlinguisticbeforepragmatic,andhispurposedepictsthedifferencebetweengeneralpragmaticstudyandthatinsociolinguistics,whichexplainthattosomeextentthediscussionisdifferentfrom"purepragmaticstudy"onphilosophyandsemiotics.Fromwhatismentionedabove,it'sclearlyshownthatthereisanindispensablerelationbetweenpragmaticsandsociolinguistics,andthereasonisthatbothfocusesoncontext.Sociolinguisticssetemphasisonthestudyofsocialcontextinprocessoflanguageuse.Chapter5consistsofeightsections:(1)introduction;(2)reference;(3)contradictionandtautologies;(4)logicaloperatorsandlanguageequivalents;(5)Grice'ssolution:conversationalimplicature;(6)evaluation;(7)modificationsofGrice'sapproach;(8)summary.It'sprovedinpracticethatdevelopmentofmodificationofthreetheoriesinthepast15yearshasbecomeanewacademicviewpointwhichincreasinglypush腹有诗书气自华pragmaticstudyforward.Themodificationisgenerallycalledasnew-Griceanpragmatictheory,andgainspopularattention.Moreonlinguisticpragmatics:speechacts,politenessandpresuppositionChapters5and6bothinvolvediscussionsonpragmatics,whichcanbegeneralizedintofollowingthreepoints:(1)thestudyonpragmaticsconcernscontext,whichinvolveswithspecificuseoflanguage,andthereforepossessessignificationofsociolinguisticstudy;(2)traditionalstudyofsemanticsbasedontruthjudgementcannotsufficientlysolvemeaningofallsentencesandtheirsemanticmeaning,anditisnecessarytodescribeandexplaintheseproblemsfrompragmatics.(3)conversationalimplicature,speechacts,politenessandpresupposition,etc.arefocus/hotissuesinpragmaticstudy.Thediscussionsonissuesmentionedabovecanhelpusbetterunderstandrelevantlinguisticproblems,esp.phenomenaoflanguageinspecificcontextandtheconcept"HowtoDoThingswithWords".Chapter6consistsofsevensections,includingthreemainaspects:speechacts,politenessandpresupposition,whichare:(1)introduction;(2)speechacts;(3)politeness;(4)presupposition;(5)cross-culturalissuesinpragmatics;(6)thetruescopeofpragmatics;(7)summary.PidginandcreolelanguagesTheappearanceofpidgindatesbacktheperiodofred-crossarmyOrientcrusadeinMiddleAges:thelanguageSabirisusedasamedievallinklanguageinthecommunicationbetweenred-crossarmyandthenMuslimpeople,andfrequentlyappearsintheearlyadventurenovelssince17thcentury.Withpropositionofthein-builtlinguisticbioprogramhypothesisbyDerekBikertonsince1980s,theformandcreolisationofpidginhasappealedgreatinterestinlinguisticcircleandbecomecenterofdiscussionforvariousschools.Meanwhile,thestudyonbothinvolvestheissuessuchaslanguagevariation,languageattitudes,languageandbrain,languageandsociety,ect.whichbecomeacademicattentioninsociolinguistics.Chapter7consistsoffivesections:(1)introduction;(2)creolisticsandlinguisticvariationandchange;(3)thebioprogramhypothesis;(4)creoleandUSABE;(5)summary.Theissuesinchapter7arenotonlyabundandinlonghistory,butmuchmorecomplexinreadingthediscussionontheories.However,summarygivesaconciseconclusionofthewholechapter.LanguagevariationChapter8mainlyintroducesLabov'stheoryonstudyoflanguagevariation.TheadvantageofLabov'stheoryliesintheintroductionofdiscussiononstructurediversityandemphasisonlanguageunderstandingandchange'sexplanationinsocialcontext.Thestudyonlanguagevariationmustgiveanswerstocauseandtendencyofitschange.Throughdescriptiononthetwoissues,thechapterprovidesanewtheoretichorizonandexplanation.Itconsistsofninesections:(1)introduction;(2)classandstylestratification;(3)variationandlanguagechange;(4)socialnetworkanalysis;(5)theinitiationofchange:the"actuationriddle";(6)thelinguisticmarket;(7)variationrules;(8)developmentallinguistics;(9)summary.Someapplicationofthesociolinguisticsoflanguage腹有诗书气自华精品文档你我共享精品文档你我共享腹有诗书气自华腹有诗书气自华SociolinguistTrudgilldefinitelyproposestheconcept"appliedsociolinguisticssincethemiddleof1980s,andpushesappliedstudyonsociolinguisticsforward.Sociolinguisticscanbeappliedindiversifiedfields,suchaslanguageplan,languapolicy,andlanguagereform,bilingualeducation,ect.evenintribunaldiscourseanalysis,butmostobviousreflectionontheapplicationofsociolinguisticsisinthfieldoflanguageteaching--communicativeapproachteachingfollowingaudio-linmethodbecomesamostwidelyrecognizedapproachbasedonthecommunicativecompetencebyHymes.Chapter9istheendingchapterinthebook,andconsistsofeightsections:(1)introduction;(2)sociolinguisticsandlanguageartsteaching;(3)languagetesti(4)ethnographyofeducation;(5)bilingualismandbilingualeducation;(6)sociolinguisticsandthelegalprofession;(7)sociolinguisticsandthemedicalprofession;(8)summary.Inashort,chapter9presentssitua