中國高校英語使用者典型石化現(xiàn)象評(píng)析

陳 勝

(廣東外語外貿(mào)大學(xué)南國商學(xué)院 英文學(xué)院， 廣東 廣州 510545)

中國高校英語使用者典型石化現(xiàn)象評(píng)析

陳 勝

(廣東外語外貿(mào)大學(xué)南國商學(xué)院 英文學(xué)院， 廣東 廣州 510545)

我國對(duì)英語的錯(cuò)誤分析多以英語學(xué)習(xí)者為研究對(duì)象，極少涉及高校英語使用者。前者的失誤和錯(cuò)誤五花八門，影響力小，如出現(xiàn)在練習(xí)中；后者的失誤和錯(cuò)誤較少，但有些錯(cuò)誤石化嚴(yán)重，規(guī)律性強(qiáng)，影響力大。高校英語使用者的典型石化現(xiàn)象可分為詞匯錯(cuò)誤、語法錯(cuò)誤、語音錯(cuò)誤以及語用和文化錯(cuò)誤。他們的錯(cuò)誤往往是在真實(shí)的交際環(huán)境中產(chǎn)生的，因此，有必要正本清源，以免謬種流傳。

錯(cuò)誤分析；石化現(xiàn)象；英語使用者；中國高校

語言研究可以是理性的，也可以是感性的。理性的語言研究注重哲理辨析和邏輯推理；感性的語言研究則偏重經(jīng)驗(yàn)判斷和數(shù)據(jù)分析。Olson就認(rèn)為：“語言即當(dāng)下經(jīng)驗(yàn)”。[1]本文的研究屬于后者，準(zhǔn)確地說就是基于經(jīng)驗(yàn)判斷的。筆者從事英語教學(xué)逾四十年，作為碩士生導(dǎo)師和教育部碩士論文評(píng)審專家，主要從事英語類碩士研究生和本科生教學(xué)，同時(shí)也參與了各種聽課活動(dòng)，期間發(fā)現(xiàn)中國高校的部分英語使用者(主要指即將畢業(yè)的英語類碩士研究生和英語教師)在真實(shí)的交際環(huán)境中(包括課堂教學(xué)、講課比賽、論文寫作和答辯、應(yīng)聘面試、漢英翻譯)所發(fā)生的一些語言錯(cuò)誤。與英語學(xué)習(xí)者不同，英語使用者(特別是英語教師)的錯(cuò)誤往往少有人發(fā)現(xiàn)或發(fā)現(xiàn)后無人指出，因此有必要將這些常見錯(cuò)誤歸納評(píng)析。

一、錯(cuò)誤與石化現(xiàn)象

一般將語言的誤用分為兩種：一種是失誤(mistake)或(failure)，口語中出現(xiàn)的則稱為口誤(a slip of the tongue)，因疏忽大意而偶爾發(fā)生，往往可由失誤者自我察覺并矯正；另一種是錯(cuò)誤(error)，被語言使用者誤認(rèn)為是正確的用法而反復(fù)使用，形成習(xí)慣性、頑固性的錯(cuò)誤，甚至經(jīng)提示后仍難以察覺，甚至察覺后還一犯再犯。Selinker稱之為“石化現(xiàn)象”。[2]這種產(chǎn)生于中國校園英語使用者的“錯(cuò)誤”或“石化現(xiàn)象”正是本文所關(guān)注的。

二、石化現(xiàn)象評(píng)析

(一)詞匯錯(cuò)誤

1.“使”和“讓”的譯法。

例1：節(jié)日可以使 / 讓我們了解我們的歷史和文化。

？Festivals can make / let us understand our history and culture.

√ Festivals can help us understand our history and culture.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：make強(qiáng)調(diào)比較強(qiáng)烈的因果關(guān)系，有時(shí)甚至有“迫使”之意；let則多用于祈使句。而漢語中的“使”有時(shí)卻并非都是那么強(qiáng)烈，有時(shí)有“促使”、“有助于”的含義，因此用help是首選，亦可采用enable sb. to do sth.等句型?；贑OCA美國當(dāng)代英語語料庫的統(tǒng)計(jì)表明，help us understand頻次為563；而make us understand的頻次僅為5，且都帶有較為強(qiáng)烈的因果關(guān)系或迫使的意味。該統(tǒng)計(jì)還表明，let us understand的頻次為僅為19，其中15例為祈使句。

2.“首先”和“最后”的譯法

例2：首先，向各位在座的尊敬的教授表示衷心的感謝。

×At first, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to the distinguished professors present.

√ First, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to the distinguished professors present.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：表示“首先”或“開頭”，可以用first, first of all, firstly, in the first place, in the beginning, to begin with等。注意：用了first后面可以用second, third等或者secondly, thirdly等，但也可以沒有second或secondly等；用了firstly后面必須用secondly等。而At first是指“起初(但后來……)”，例：At first he was a little shy in class, but now he acts more natural.

例3：最后，作者分析了五類中國文化負(fù)載詞的特點(diǎn)。

×At last, the author analyzes the characteristics of the five types of Chinese culture-loaded words.

√ Last / Finally, the author analyzes the characteristics of the five types of Chinese culture-loaded words.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：表示“最后”可用last, finally, in the end, lastly等。而at last是指“(經(jīng)過一番周折或一段等待、耽擱、期盼之后)終于”，有較強(qiáng)烈的主觀情緒，例：After a long winter, spring is here at last.3．介詞

例4：總共有240例肺結(jié)核的報(bào)道，其中60例(25%)是在囚犯身上發(fā)生的。

×A total of 240 TB cases were reported, among which 60 (25%) were in prisoners.

√ A total of 240 TB cases were reported, of which 60 (25%) were in prisoners.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：表示“多少人或物其中有多少(比例)或其中一個(gè)怎么樣”不能用among，而要用of，其道理與one of us和three of them是相通的。以下例句可參考： He is the tallest in the class. / He is the tallest of the students. / Divide the money among the six of us. / There is a lot of discontent among the workers.

例5：2012年至2014年間，逮捕的人里黑人占了83%。

×Between 2012 to 2014, blacks accounted for 83% of the arrests.

√ Between 2012 and 2014, blacks accounted for 83% of the arrests.

√ From 2012 to 2014, blacks accounted for 83% of the arrests.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：注意between…and 和from...to…的搭配。

例6：第一章是對(duì)中國英語教學(xué)的一個(gè)簡介。

×Chapter One is an introduction of English teaching in China.

√ Chapter One is an introduction to English teaching in China.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：introduction to 一般是指對(duì)某人、某物、某事的介紹，而introduction of sth. into a certain place or area 一般是指將某物引進(jìn)到某地或某領(lǐng)域，例：Raleigh was responsible for the introduction of tobacco smoking into England. / As a case study, the introduction of programmable logic devices (PLD’s) into the digital design curriculum at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is presented. 此外，英美大學(xué)等機(jī)構(gòu)的簡介，一般沒有A Brief Introduction to XXX University這個(gè)說法，而是采用About XXX University或University Profile(不用大學(xué)名，因?yàn)楹喗榫驮谠撔５木W(wǎng)頁上)。

(二)語法錯(cuò)誤

1.“無論是”與“無論是……還是……”

例7：無論你是中國人還是外國人，都應(yīng)該遵守規(guī)則。

×Now matter you are a foreigner or a Chinese, you should follow the rule.

√ Whether you are a foreigner or a Chinese, you should follow the rule.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：涉及到“無論”這個(gè)詞，漢語中有兩個(gè)表達(dá)：“無論是”和“無論是……還是……”，英語中相應(yīng)的表達(dá)也迥然不同。“無論是”的表達(dá)是now matter + who / what / where / when / how / which + 主語 + 謂語；“無論是……還是……”的表達(dá)是whether…or…， 其強(qiáng)調(diào)式是no matter whether…or…。

2.“不……也不……”

例8：他解釋得既不清楚，也不準(zhǔn)確。

×He did not explain it clearly and correctly.

√ He did not explain it clearly or correctly.

√ He explained it neither clearly nor correctly.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：這個(gè)問題涉及到全部否定和部分否定。Not 與and連用表示部分否定，He didn’t explain it clearly and correctly. 一般不會(huì)這么說，如果硬要解釋的話，其意為“他解釋得要么不清楚，要么不正確。”全部否定應(yīng)該用not…or…，no…or…或者neither…nor。

3.這些動(dòng)詞后要不要介詞？

例9：我缺乏經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

×I lack of experience.

√ I lack experience.

√ I’m lacking in experience.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：lack 是及物動(dòng)詞，后面跟賓語時(shí)不需要介詞。由于lack 做名詞時(shí)多與of連用，所以會(huì)使人誤以為lack 作動(dòng)詞也要用of。做名詞的正確用法：My lack of experience led to the failure. 以下及物動(dòng)詞的用法與此類似。

×I wish to emphasize on the seriousness of these proposals.

√ I wish to emphasize the seriousness of these proposals.

√ The administration may put more emphasis on spurring economic growth.

×You can contact with us by e-mail.

√ You can contact us by e-mail.

√ Please keep in contact with us by e-mail.

×The angry crowds may influence on the government.

√ The angry crowds may influence the government.

√ Van Gogh had a major influence on the development of modern painting.

√ Painters in the United States have begun to exert great worldwide influence over art.

4. 詞性問題：

——副詞還是連詞？

例10： 他似乎并不想去，另外他的衣服也不夠好。

× He seemed to have no desire to go there, besides, his clothes were not good enough.

√ He seemed to have no desire to go there; besides, his clothes were not good enough.

√ He seemed to have no desire to go there. Besides, his clothes were not good enough.

√ He seemed to have no desire to go there, and besides, his clothes were not good enough.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：Besides不是連詞，是副詞，不能連接兩個(gè)對(duì)等的結(jié)構(gòu)，否則就成了“粘連句”(run-on sentence)。更正的方法有一個(gè)口訣“分號(hào)+小寫，句號(hào)+大寫，逗號(hào)+and / but”。除了簡單句，英語句子結(jié)構(gòu)一般有兩種：并列、主從。并列結(jié)構(gòu)必須用三個(gè)并列連詞中的一個(gè)(and, but, or)連接兩個(gè)并列的成分。主從結(jié)構(gòu)可分為兩種，一種是“主句+從句”或“從句+主句”，另一種是“謂語+非謂語”或“非謂語+謂語”。例：“她排著隊(duì)焦急地等公汽?！笨勺g為She stood in the queue and waited for the bus anxiously. (并列)，或She waited for the bus anxiously after she stood in the queue. (主句+從句)，或She stood in the queue, waiting for the bus anxiously. (謂語+非謂語)以下例句與此類似。

×The price is too high, moreover, the house isn’t in a suitable position. (moreover是副詞)

√ The price is too high; moreover, the house isn’t in a suitable position. (分號(hào)+小寫)

√ The price is too high. Moreover, the house isn’t in a suitable position. (句號(hào)+大寫)

√ The price is too high, and moreover, the house isn’t in a suitable position. (逗號(hào)+and)

×She said it was so, however, she was mistaken. (however是副詞)

√ She said it was so; however, she was mistaken. (分號(hào)+小寫)

√ She said it was so. However, she was mistaken. (句號(hào)+大寫)

√ She said it was so, but she was mistaken. (逗號(hào)+but)

(nevertheless 的詞性和用法與however同)

×On the one hand you have accepted her presents, on the other (hand) you are rude to the whole family. (on the other hand不是并列連詞)

√ On the one hand you have accepted her presents; on the other (hand) you are rude to the whole family. (分號(hào)+小寫)

√ On the one hand you have accepted her presents. On the other (hand) you are rude to the whole family. (句號(hào)+大寫)

√ On the one hand you have accepted her presents, but on the other (hand) you are rude to the whole family. (逗號(hào)+but)

×He didn’t study hard, thus failed the test. (thus是副詞)

√ He didn’t study hard, and thus failed the test. (逗號(hào)+and)

×They chatted for a while, then they went to work. (then是副詞)

√ They chatted for a while and then went to work. (逗號(hào)+and)

——介詞還是連詞？

例11：隨著中國經(jīng)濟(jì)的快速發(fā)展，……

×As the rapid development of China’s economy, ……(此處as 不是介詞)

√ With the rapid development of China’s economy, ……(with+名詞)

√ As China’s economy is developing rapidly, ……(as 是從屬連詞，可引導(dǎo)從句)

——副詞還是動(dòng)詞？

×You maybe right. (maybe是副詞，不是動(dòng)詞)

√ You may be right. (may是情態(tài)動(dòng)詞)

√ Maybe you are right. (maybe是副詞)

5. 句型問題

例12：這是一幅倫敦塔橋的照片，用英語怎么說？

×This is a photo of London Tower Bridge. How to say in English?

√ This is a photo of London Tower Bridge. How do you say it in English?

點(diǎn)評(píng)： how to do 不是一個(gè)獨(dú)立存在的問句，只能用作一個(gè)句子中的一個(gè)成分，如主語、賓語等。此外，say是及物動(dòng)詞，后面必須接賓語?！坝糜⒄Z怎么說？”類似的英語表達(dá)方式還有：Can you say it in English? / Please say it in English. / Put it into English, please. / What is the English equivalent of 倫敦塔橋?

例13：他建議她早點(diǎn)去機(jī)場。

×He suggested her to leave early for the airport.

√ He suggested (that) she (should) leave early for the airport.

√ He suggested (her) leaving early for the airport.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：suggest 后面可接兩種句型：suggest doing sth. 和suggest+賓語從句。注意：賓語從句中的動(dòng)詞需用虛擬語氣形式“(should) do”，現(xiàn)代英語中虛擬語氣的should一般都會(huì)省去。表示“建議”的另外兩個(gè)詞advise和recommend除了可以用以上連個(gè)句型外，還可以用不定式做賓語補(bǔ)足語：advise / recommend sb. to do sth.

(三)語音錯(cuò)誤

1.重讀音節(jié)錯(cuò)誤。以下單詞正確的重讀音節(jié)用下劃線標(biāo)出，括號(hào)中是可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致前面的詞誤讀的詞，也用下劃線標(biāo)出重讀音節(jié)。ignorant, ignorance (ignore); rhetoric (rhetorical); diligent, diligence (delicious); origin (original), industry (industrial, industrious); influence (influential); narrative (narrate, narrator, narration) ; contribute (contribution); attribute (attributive, attribution); enthusiasm (enthusiastic); supervisor (supervision); graduate (graduation); literature。

復(fù)合詞的讀音一般只有一個(gè)重音，位于第一個(gè)音節(jié)：compound, background, bookshop, bathroom, blackboard, homework, workshop, textbook, newspaper。

written['writn]而不是['wraitn]; southern['sn]而不是['san]

(四)語用和文化錯(cuò)誤

1.稱謂問題。錯(cuò)誤：Good morning, teacher.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：漢語中，幾乎任何頭銜、職務(wù)或職業(yè)都可用作稱呼語，可帶姓(名)，也可不帶姓(名)，如(張)股長、(李)木匠、(王)護(hù)士。在英語國家，一般性職務(wù)和職業(yè)都不能作為稱呼語；頭銜則分為社會(huì)稱謂(social titles)和職務(wù)(學(xué)術(shù))頭銜(professional titles)，前者主要有Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss，后者主要有President, Chairman, Governor, Senator, Dean, Dr., Professor。如果老師不是博士或教授，學(xué)生可說Good morning, Mr. / Mrs. / Ms. / Miss Smith.，如果關(guān)系比較密切，也可直呼其名，如Good morning, John / Mary. 中學(xué)生也可說Good morning, sir / madam.

2.用yes還是no？回答反義疑問句時(shí)要根據(jù)實(shí)際情況，而不是根據(jù)提問的方式回答。

現(xiàn)在設(shè)定：你讀過這本書。那么回答應(yīng)該是：

You have read the book, haven’t you? ——Yes, I have.

You haven’t read the book, have you? ——Yes, I have.

現(xiàn)在設(shè)定：你沒有讀過這本書。那么回答應(yīng)該是：

You have read the book, haven’t you? ——No, I haven’t.

You haven’t read the book, have you? ——No, I haven’t.

3. 關(guān)于“中學(xué)”和“公路”。不少英語使用者對(duì)“中學(xué)”和“公路”的英語表達(dá)方式及其含義不甚了了。

根據(jù)維基百科全書(http://www.wikipedia.org)等資料，英國的中學(xué)極少分為初中和高中，一般稱為XXX Secondary School。美國的中學(xué)有六年一貫制的(grade 7-12)，一般稱為XXX Junior-Senior High School，也有個(gè)別六年一貫制的稱為XXX High School(如Gretchen Whitney High School)；有的只有初中的稱為XXX Junior High School,多為兩年制(grade 7-8)，也有少數(shù)三年制的(grade 7-9)；有的只有高中的稱XXX High (School)或XXX Senior High School，多為四年制(grade 9-12)。中國六年一貫制的稱為XXX Middle School，初中稱為XXX Junior Middle School，高中稱為XXX Senior Middle School。

Highway 是公路，包括高速公路但不是專指高速公路。美國和加拿大的高速公路說法很多，freeway是免費(fèi)的，expressway有免費(fèi)也有收費(fèi)的，parkway多指風(fēng)景優(yōu)美的或通往風(fēng)景區(qū)的高速公路；英國和愛爾蘭的高速公路一般稱為motorway；中國的高速公路多稱為expressway。

三、錯(cuò)誤之原因

(一)語言負(fù)遷徙(negative language transfer) 語言負(fù)遷徙是指外語學(xué)習(xí)者或使用者把母語的語言規(guī)律帶入外語使用中而引起的，屬于語際錯(cuò)誤(interlingual error)。[3]201-203如例1、例8、例10以及語用和文化錯(cuò)誤。(例10同時(shí)具備語內(nèi)錯(cuò)誤的特點(diǎn)。)

(二)過度泛化(overgeneralization) 過度泛化指的是將學(xué)過的目的語的某些規(guī)律誤用到其它方面的現(xiàn)象，是一種語內(nèi)錯(cuò)誤 (intralingual error)。Brown指出，語內(nèi)遷移是第二語言學(xué)習(xí)中的一個(gè)主要的負(fù)面因素。[3]201-203如例2～7、例9～13。

(三)誤傳誤導(dǎo) 有些錯(cuò)誤在中國英語教師中存在已久，導(dǎo)致貽誤學(xué)生，代代相傳。

關(guān)于如何處理“流利”(fluency)與“準(zhǔn)確”(accuracy)的關(guān)系，眾多學(xué)者已開展了廣泛、深入的討論。筆者認(rèn)為，這一討論不可脫離具體情況。對(duì)于即將畢業(yè)的英語類碩士研究生和英語教師這一類中高級(jí)英語使用者，對(duì)“準(zhǔn)確” 應(yīng)更加苛求。他們的錯(cuò)誤不同于初學(xué)者的錯(cuò)誤，因?yàn)檫@種錯(cuò)誤往往會(huì)堂而皇之地當(dāng)做一種正確的用法灌輸給初學(xué)者，以訛傳訛。此外，對(duì)于口語，應(yīng)更注重“流利”，允許出現(xiàn)一定的“失誤”，但“錯(cuò)誤”仍是不可容忍的。以上錯(cuò)誤雖發(fā)生在高校某些英語使用者身上，初級(jí)英語使用者和學(xué)習(xí)者也應(yīng)引以為鑒。

[1]Olson, C. “Proprioception” in Donald Allen & Warren Tallman, eds., The Poetics of the New American Poetry[M]. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1973:182．

[2]Selinker, L. Interlanguage, International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching[M]. London: Longman, 1972:209-231.

[3]Brown, H.D. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching[M]. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.1994.

責(zé)任編輯 張吉兵

2017-03-28

10.3969/j.issn.1003-8078.2017.04.21

陳勝(1954-)，男，湖北荊州人，廣東外語外貿(mào)大學(xué)南國商學(xué)院英文學(xué)院教授，碩士生導(dǎo)師。

H319.3

A

1003-8078(2017)04-0082-05