基于語(yǔ)料庫(kù)的英語(yǔ)近義詞辨析

陸麗華

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

關(guān)鍵詞:近義詞;辨析;語(yǔ)料庫(kù)

[中圖分類號(hào)]H030

[文獻(xiàn)標(biāo)識(shí)碼]A

[文章編號(hào)]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(yǔ)料庫(kù)語(yǔ)言學(xué)(modern corpus linguistics)是20世紀(jì)中后期興起的一門語(yǔ)言研究科學(xué)。語(yǔ)料庫(kù)是指在隨機(jī)采樣的基礎(chǔ)上收集的、有代表性的真實(shí)語(yǔ)言材料的集合,是語(yǔ)言運(yùn)用的樣本(楊惠中,2002:9)。它以其容量大、語(yǔ)料真實(shí)、檢索快捷準(zhǔn)確等獨(dú)特的優(yōu)勢(shì)在現(xiàn)代語(yǔ)言學(xué)研究和語(yǔ)言教育等領(lǐng)域發(fā)揮著越來(lái)越重要的作用。詞匯學(xué)習(xí)是外語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)中的一個(gè)重要組成部分,直接影響到一個(gè)人的語(yǔ)言交際能力。Wilkins(1972: 111)的名言——“沒(méi)有語(yǔ)法只能傳達(dá)很少的信息,沒(méi)有詞匯則什么也無(wú)法傳達(dá)”足以證明詞匯學(xué)習(xí)的重要性。在多年的英語(yǔ)詞匯教學(xué)中,筆者發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)生對(duì)于近義詞的辨析頗感困惑,教師憑借詞典簡(jiǎn)單地呈現(xiàn)例句或者憑經(jīng)驗(yàn)來(lái)分析詞匯的異同點(diǎn)往往是片面的、不可靠的。而語(yǔ)料庫(kù)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(guò)大量真實(shí)語(yǔ)境的出現(xiàn),讓學(xué)習(xí)者體會(huì)、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(yǔ)料庫(kù)的英語(yǔ)近義詞辨析方法

2.1 運(yùn)用近義詞的搭配進(jìn)行詞義辨析

英語(yǔ)中有著豐富的近義詞,它們雖然意思相近,但是在語(yǔ)意、語(yǔ)用等方面仍然存在差異。弄清差異有助于理解詞語(yǔ)的內(nèi)涵,利用這些差異有助于增強(qiáng)語(yǔ)言的表達(dá)效果。近義詞大致可以分兩種:絕對(duì)近義詞(Complete Synonyms)和相對(duì)近義詞(Relative Synonyms),英語(yǔ)中更多的是相對(duì)近義詞。搭配(collocation)是指詞語(yǔ)經(jīng)常一起使用的表達(dá)形式,體現(xiàn)的是詞語(yǔ)之間的具有典型性的共現(xiàn)現(xiàn)象,是基于語(yǔ)料庫(kù)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(duì)“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(gè)詞都有“階段”、“時(shí)期”的含義。通過(guò)運(yùn)用語(yǔ)料庫(kù)的檢索,可引導(dǎo)學(xué)習(xí)者觀察近義詞的搭配,在真實(shí)的語(yǔ)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(yǔ)料庫(kù)中出現(xiàn)了190次,說(shuō)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(tái)”詞義外,大部分的意義為“階段、時(shí)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(yǔ)境資料,以下語(yǔ)篇為第(6)條索引行中“stage”所在語(yǔ)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(yǔ)境中,“stage”是指“發(fā)展的進(jìn)程,階段或時(shí)期”,著重于事物的演變發(fā)展。

再來(lái)觀察下面索引行中“period”的用法?！皃eriod”一詞在Brown語(yǔ)料庫(kù)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(yǔ)境后發(fā)現(xiàn),“period”為“一段時(shí)間、時(shí)期”,著重于從開(kāi)始到結(jié)束。查閱有關(guān)資料,“period”來(lái)源于希臘語(yǔ)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(yǔ)料庫(kù)基礎(chǔ)上編纂的COBUILD英漢雙解詞典(柯林斯伯明翰大學(xué)國(guó)際語(yǔ)料庫(kù))(辛克萊,2002:1432,1900),“period”的解釋為“一段時(shí)間,期間,(歷史上)時(shí)代,時(shí)期”;“stage”的解釋為“(連續(xù)過(guò)程中的某個(gè))時(shí)期,階段,(有若干階段的發(fā)展過(guò)程中的某個(gè))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(yùn)用近義詞的搭配進(jìn)行語(yǔ)義韻分析

語(yǔ)義韻(semantic prosody)是指關(guān)鍵詞項(xiàng)的典型搭配在其語(yǔ)境中營(yíng)造的語(yǔ)義氛圍,大體上可分為消極語(yǔ)義韻(negative prosody)、中性語(yǔ)義韻(neutral prosody)和積極語(yǔ)義韻(positive prosody)。對(duì)以英語(yǔ)為母語(yǔ)的人來(lái)說(shuō),語(yǔ)義韻本身就是其語(yǔ)言能力的一部分,往往能夠下意識(shí)地運(yùn)用。但對(duì)將英語(yǔ)作為第二語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)的人來(lái)說(shuō),就很難理解和運(yùn)用自如了。在詞匯教學(xué)中,筆者利用語(yǔ)料庫(kù)索引引導(dǎo)學(xué)習(xí)者了解詞的語(yǔ)義特征。在英語(yǔ)里,“cause”一詞具有強(qiáng)烈的消極語(yǔ)韻義,英語(yǔ)本族語(yǔ)者常用“the cause of failure”、“the cause of trouble”等說(shuō)法。多與表示疾病、傷害、不佳情緒、問(wèn)題、困難等含義的詞語(yǔ)一起出現(xiàn),幾乎全含有否定和消極的意味,這說(shuō)明“cause”導(dǎo)致的基本都是壞的結(jié)果,而漢語(yǔ)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(yǔ)義韻特征上傾向于肯定和積極。再觀察“l(fā)ead to”的語(yǔ)義韻分析,通過(guò)查閱BNC(英國(guó)國(guó)家語(yǔ)料庫(kù)),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(méi)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(jiàn)“l(fā)ead to”不存在語(yǔ)義韻的顯著差別。

2.3 運(yùn)用詞頻進(jìn)行近義詞的語(yǔ)體分析

語(yǔ)體是人們?cè)诟鞣N社會(huì)活動(dòng)領(lǐng)域,針對(duì)不同對(duì)象、不同環(huán)境使用語(yǔ)言進(jìn)行交際時(shí)所形成的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)、常用句式、結(jié)構(gòu)體式等一系列運(yùn)用語(yǔ)言的特點(diǎn)。語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)者應(yīng)該對(duì)不同語(yǔ)境下的英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)體有所了解,才能在書(shū)面語(yǔ)體和口語(yǔ)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(yǔ)子庫(kù)進(jìn)行調(diào)查,結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn):“began”在書(shū)面語(yǔ)中出現(xiàn)的次數(shù)幾乎是“started”的兩倍,而在口語(yǔ)中出現(xiàn)的頻率要比“started”低得多。筆者通過(guò)對(duì)BNC筆語(yǔ)子庫(kù)和口語(yǔ)子庫(kù)的檢索,對(duì)一些近義詞在不用語(yǔ)體中的使用頻率進(jìn)行了分析統(tǒng)計(jì)。例如:

顯然,“get”在兩種語(yǔ)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(shū)面語(yǔ)相比,“buy”在口語(yǔ)中使用更為頻繁;而“purchase”在兩種語(yǔ)體中使用的頻率都很低,它通常用于正式場(chǎng)合或商業(yè)環(huán)境中。

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

3. 基于語(yǔ)料庫(kù)的英語(yǔ)近義詞辨析的教學(xué)應(yīng)用

目前,英語(yǔ)教學(xué)越來(lái)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(shì)。在英語(yǔ)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(guò)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(guò)程,實(shí)際上往往壓抑了學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)主動(dòng)性的發(fā)揮。隨著語(yǔ)料庫(kù)的引入,英語(yǔ)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(yǔ)料庫(kù)讓學(xué)生接觸大量的語(yǔ)言素材,并對(duì)其進(jìn)行觀察、分析、研究,引導(dǎo)學(xué)生在語(yǔ)料庫(kù)真實(shí)豐富有意義的語(yǔ)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(kāi)展有效的學(xué)習(xí)活動(dòng),構(gòu)建關(guān)于近義詞區(qū)別的知識(shí)。在具體教學(xué)中,可以將近義詞學(xué)習(xí)過(guò)程分為起始、發(fā)現(xiàn)、歸納、鞏固、拓展五個(gè)階段。在起始階段,教師以講座形式向?qū)W生介紹有關(guān)語(yǔ)料庫(kù)的知識(shí)、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(shí)展示近義詞所在的具體語(yǔ)境;在歸納階段,學(xué)生通過(guò)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(yǔ)義韻和語(yǔ)體的分析歸納;在鞏固階段,教師利用語(yǔ)料庫(kù)檢索之后得到的語(yǔ)境共現(xiàn)資料編輯加工成多種類型的練習(xí)和測(cè)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(yǔ)料庫(kù)網(wǎng)站,如:http://www.edict.com.hk/concordance/、http://www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/concord_e.html等,開(kāi)展近義詞的辨析。學(xué)生還可以通過(guò)選擇不同類型的語(yǔ)料庫(kù)來(lái)了解該詞在不同語(yǔ)域的用法。

基于語(yǔ)料庫(kù)的英語(yǔ)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(yǔ),最終達(dá)到自然流暢地使用語(yǔ)言進(jìn)行有效的語(yǔ)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(shí)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(dòng)的組織者、設(shè)計(jì)者和指導(dǎo)者。學(xué)生是研究者和參與者,通過(guò)主動(dòng)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(yǔ)

語(yǔ)料庫(kù)為語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)者提供了生動(dòng)真實(shí)的語(yǔ)言環(huán)境,縮小了課堂語(yǔ)言和真實(shí)語(yǔ)言的差距?；谡Z(yǔ)料庫(kù)的英語(yǔ)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(guò)分析語(yǔ)料提高運(yùn)用詞匯的能力,發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)習(xí)語(yǔ)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(dòng)學(xué)習(xí)積極性,在觀察、分析、歸納、深化的過(guò)程中培養(yǎng)自主學(xué)習(xí)的能力。本文只談到利用語(yǔ)料庫(kù)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(yǔ)料庫(kù)技術(shù)會(huì)在英語(yǔ)詞匯教學(xué)中發(fā)揮越來(lái)越重要的作用。

參考文獻(xiàn)

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