陳乾峰
摘 ? ?要: 文章通過對學(xué)習(xí)者語料庫和參照語料庫的對比分析,很好地呈現(xiàn)了學(xué)習(xí)者詞匯“豐富性”現(xiàn)狀,對形容詞、副詞、動詞和名詞方面展開了深入分析,提供了對策以幫助學(xué)習(xí)者進(jìn)一步豐富作文詞匯。
關(guān)鍵詞:語料庫 ? ?作文 ? ?對比分析
1.引言
英語寫作的研究一直是外語教學(xué)的重點(diǎn)。寫作考察的核心技能之一就是能否正確使用詞匯?!皼]有語法,人們可以表達(dá)的事物寥寥無幾;而沒有詞匯,人們則無法表達(dá)任何事物”(胡壯麟,李戰(zhàn)子,2004:47),由此可見英語寫作中詞匯學(xué)習(xí)的重要性。英語詞匯的豐富性(lexical richness)是評估學(xué)習(xí)者產(chǎn)出性詞匯運(yùn)用能力的一個重要指標(biāo),它一般涉及詞匯變化性、詞匯密度、詞匯復(fù)雜度和詞匯獨(dú)特性等(Laufer & Nation,1995)。
憑借多年的經(jīng)驗(yàn),筆者認(rèn)為學(xué)生作文中的詞匯存在如下特點(diǎn):(1)過度使用英語簡單高頻詞,如important, helpful, necessary, recently, I think, in my opinion等;(2)過度使用上義詞(superordinate),如thing, people等;(3)詞類使用不均,形容詞使用較多,副詞使用較少,僅僅very, extremely少數(shù)幾個。國內(nèi)外學(xué)者對英語作文詞匯早已進(jìn)行相關(guān)研究,但是大部分都是憑借經(jīng)驗(yàn)之談,只呈現(xiàn)問題現(xiàn)狀,未見實(shí)質(zhì)性的對策。
2.研究方法
詞匯一直都是英語寫作的重要內(nèi)容。傳統(tǒng)的作文詞匯評估受到技術(shù)手段限制,一直都停留在宏觀分析和經(jīng)驗(yàn)探討的階段。近些年來,語料庫語言學(xué)的發(fā)展為作文評估提供了獨(dú)特的視角,特別是在詞匯評估上具有先天優(yōu)勢。Kennedy 從理論上肯定了語料庫與詞匯分析之間的緊密聯(lián)系。
本研究以英語專業(yè)大二學(xué)生150篇電子稿命題專四作文(作文主題為環(huán)境方面:霧霾、污染;字?jǐn)?shù)總量:31107字)作為研究對象,借助計(jì)算機(jī)檢索軟件AntConc對其進(jìn)行定量檢索和統(tǒng)計(jì),以客觀和直觀的形式呈現(xiàn)英語作文詞匯豐富程度;并通過與自建《紐約時報(bào)》語料庫(所對應(yīng)的主題亦為環(huán)境方面,字?jǐn)?shù)總量:30037字)進(jìn)行對比,最后呈現(xiàn)相關(guān)詞匯及其搭配特點(diǎn)。
3.研究結(jié)果和分析
作文詞匯由實(shí)詞和虛詞兩部分組成,實(shí)詞起到重要的語義作用,本文將重心落實(shí)到實(shí)詞上面。實(shí)詞可以進(jìn)一步分為名詞、形容詞、動詞和副詞等,下文就從這四個方面展開分析。
3.1形容詞方面
經(jīng)過對比分析,發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)生作文中出現(xiàn)的形容詞有wonderful, fantastic, interesting, important, essential, serious, terrible等52種,而對紐約時報(bào)參照語料庫進(jìn)行統(tǒng)計(jì)分析,發(fā)現(xiàn)103個不同類型的形容詞,如severe, dire, notorious, catastrophic, essential, substantial等,部分例子如下:(a)Environmental degradation is now so severe, with such stark domestic and international repercussions, that pollution ...(b)...said Zhang Zhongmin, who has tried for 20 years to raise public awareness about the citys dire water situation.(c) Environmental woes that might be considered catastrophic in some countries can seem commonplace in China.
形容詞是表達(dá)情感的,筆者將形容詞簡單分成積極形容詞和消極形容詞。限于文章篇幅,僅對消極方面的形容詞進(jìn)行對比分析,將在學(xué)習(xí)者作文語料庫中極少出現(xiàn),但是在紐約時報(bào)語料庫中出現(xiàn)并且頻次較高的形容詞進(jìn)行搭配分析,總結(jié)如下:Severe (problem, difficulty, damage, disease, pressure, condition); catastrophic (consequence, effects, decline); dire (situation, consequence, warning); rampant (pollution, inflation, corruption, population); looming (environmental disaster); notorious(example, case); inadequate (resource, facility, service); irreversible(damage, change); gloomy; throat-cut (competition, opposition, resistance)。
3.2副詞方面
副詞可以修飾動詞或形容詞,以進(jìn)一步表達(dá)作者的態(tài)度和情感。因此,對動詞的調(diào)查具有較為重要的現(xiàn)實(shí)意義。通過對比分析,學(xué)習(xí)者作文語料庫常見的副詞有very, extremely, terribly, interestingly, probably等有限的15個。除了very這個副詞使用頻率較高以外,其他副詞使用頻率極低。反觀紐約時報(bào)參照語料庫,副詞的種類較為豐富,而且使用頻率較高,具體副詞如下:readily, undoubtedly, sharply, steadily, rapidly, considerably, extensively, widely, significantly, continually, markedly, greatly, keenly, substantially, thoroughly, fully, fundamentally, constantly, surely, efficiently, firmly, drastically, closely, immensely, certainly等。列舉數(shù)例:(a)...urbanization that requires colossal inputs of energy, almost all from coal, the most readily available, and dirtiest, source.(b)...campaigns have been started to close illegal coal mines and shutter some heavily polluting factories.(c) It will accept no mandatory limits on its carbon dioxide emissions, which would almost certainly reduce its industrial growth.(d) even from people in the ruling party, to submit to oversight from the public, for which pollution has become a daily —— and increasingly deadly —— reality.
3.3 動詞方面
謂語動詞連接主語、賓語或表語,具有很強(qiáng)的及物性。通過對比分析,我們發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)習(xí)者慣用cause, lead to, contribute to, suffer from, result in, be good for, be beneficial to, support, agree, approve, destroy等,且這些動詞的使用頻率很高,像result in, lead to, support等詞重復(fù)多次出現(xiàn)。反觀紐約時報(bào)語料庫,除了contribute to, result in, be beneficial to等詞經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)外,也經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)其他動詞。為了便于分析,筆者將這些動詞主要分成消極和積極兩大類,部分動詞還附上了搭配詞。消極方面的動詞主要如下:exert a negative influence /pressure on, spoil, criticize, result in, pose (a burden on), pose (a challenge to sb), collapse, impinge on, deteriorate, exacerbate, incite(social unrest), alienate (business interests), curtail(economic development), abuse (environment, power), tear (sb) down, deplete等。積極方面的動詞主要如下:Attach great importance to, guarantee, benefit, achieve, fulfill, give priority to, be beneficial for sb, broaden(ones horizon), be vital to sth, alleviate, embrace, spur (growth), combat(global warming), soar, generate (high rates of economic growth), ensure(social order), fuel (economic growth), eliminate, strengthen, moderate, be critical to sth, release(pressure), advocate等。部分例子如下:(a) In that period, China relied mainly on light industry and small-scale private enterprise to spur growth.(b) ...raising concerns that siphoning away clean water northward will exacerbate pollution problems in the south.(c) ...a political and environmental boon as pressure to combat climate change has increased.(d) The costs of pollution have mounted well before it is ready to curtail economic development.
3.4名詞方面
通過對比分析,發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)習(xí)者慣用problem, environment, pollution, issue, phenomenon等詞,名詞種類繁多。參照語料庫的名詞使用也比較類似,常常使用problem, environment等詞,但是和學(xué)習(xí)者語料庫不同的是,參照語料庫常用一些動名詞或形容詞的名詞形式,如advocate, growth, deterioration, emissions等詞,列舉兩例:(a) ... still treats environmental advocates as bigger threats than the degradation of air, water and soil that prompts them to speak out.(b) The main reason behind the continued deterioration of the environment is a mistaken view of what counts as political achievement.
4.結(jié)語
本研究通過對學(xué)習(xí)者語料庫和參照語料庫的對比分析,很好地呈現(xiàn)了學(xué)習(xí)者詞匯“豐富性”現(xiàn)狀,尤其是在形容詞、副詞、動詞和名詞方面使用的詞類較少,導(dǎo)致部分常見詞使用頻率較高,存在“過多使用”和“過少使用”的情況。研究呈現(xiàn)了參照語料庫中常使用的對應(yīng)詞類,并附上了搭配詞,從而更好地幫助學(xué)習(xí)者了解和掌握這些詞及其使用特點(diǎn),進(jìn)一步豐富作文內(nèi)涵。
參考文獻(xiàn):
[1]Laufer,B.and P.Nation.1995.Vocabulary size and use:lexical richness in L2 written production [J].Applied Linguistics,16:307-322.
[2]Kennedy,G.1998.An Introduction to Corpus Linguistics [M].London:Addison Wesley Longman.
[3]胡壯麟,李戰(zhàn)子.語言學(xué)簡明教程(中文版)[M].北京:北京大學(xué)出版社,2004.
基金項(xiàng)目:本論文為杭州師范大學(xué)錢江學(xué)院2016年度科學(xué)研究項(xiàng)目,項(xiàng)目編號:2016QJJW05。