英语论文网

[摘要] 人们对in form一词并不陌生 ,但是要把该词用得恰到好处并非一件容易的事 ,尤其是对其潜在的语义背景 ,不少英语为非本族语言者更是知之甚少。本文旨在从语言学的角度对该词及与之相关的词项作深层次的语义及用法探究。
    一、用法特征
     The Dictionary o f Contemporary American English 给inform 的注释为 1. to tell s. o. ,[ syn ] , to notify 告诉;通知: I informed my friends of my new address.‘我告诉朋友我的新地址’ 。该注释清楚明了 ,可惜失之过简。尽管inform 与tell , notify 均有一定程度的同义成分 ,可其用法特征与潜在语义颇有差异。资深译者在这类词的选本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供用上很有讲究。我们还是先从语义入手作一下探究。    Larousse English Dictionary 给 inform 的定义考虑到了语用场合: inform: to tell < sb > officially orformally about s omething 通知 I f y ou see anythingsuspicious , inform a member of staff immediately.‘如果你看到可疑情况 ,立刻通知工作人员’ 。固然 ,inform 在使用风格上与 tell 不同 ,但该词本身还有潜在的深层次含义。著名语义学家
Wierzbicka (1987)指出: “…Informing implies that thespeaker not only wants the addressee to know but als othinks that the addressee should know …” 也就是说inform含有说话者不仅仅要听话者知道 ,而且还认为该听话者应该知道的意思。
    Merriam2Webster’ s Dictionary o f Synonyms (1984)指出: One informs a pers on of s omething when oneimparts knowledge , particularly of occurrence or of factsnecessary to the understanding of a situation. 例如: Theradio announcer informed his audience of the accident .inform 的上述含义使我们不难本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供理解 inform 往往用于比较正式的场合。这是一种使用频率上的现象。但是说话场合倒并非一定是非常正式的。正如Wierzbicka (1987) 指出: “But the context doesn’ t haveto be official , if the message is clearly important and if itis clear why the addressee should know it ,and why thespeaker should cause the addressee to know it” .即:如果该信息的重要性是清楚的 ,而且听话者为什么要知道它 ,说话者为什么要让他知道是清楚的 ,就可以用inform。例如:The detective informed him of his rights.‘那个密探告诉了他们的权利’ 。
    就message 而言 ,inform 还有一个特征。即该信息没有怀疑的余地。而英语为非本族语言者往往对此缺乏概念 , 容易引起用法上的错误。对此Wierzbicka (1987)有一段精辟的阐述: I t carries with itan implication of effectiveness : if s omeone tells y ous omething he , too , may‘want to cause y ou to know it’,but nonetheless it is open to y ou to doubt the validity ofthe message ; but if s omeone informs y ou of s omethingthere is no room for doubts. 即 inform 带有“effectiveness” ‘有效性’ 的含义。本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供如果某人告诉(tell)你某事 ,他也可能 ‘想要让你知道它’,但是你完全可以对该信息的确凿性产生怀疑。然而如果某人告知(inform)你 ,就没有疑虑的余地了。例如:He told her X but she didn’ t believe it .? He informed her of X but she didn’ t believe it .He told her , again and again , that X.? He informed her , again and again , that X.—Wierzbicka (1987)Wierzbicka ( 1987) 解释: Inform ( in contrast to tell )suggests that the message conveyed concerns anestablished fact . I t suggests als o that it is accurate ,exact , and reliable. Messages concerning loose , ill2defined thought are unlikely to be reported by means ofinform. 也就是说(与 tell 形成对照) inform 表示:被传达的信息是关于一个确立的事实 ,它还本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供提示该信息是准确的可靠的。那些松散的、定义不清的想法是不可能用inform 来报告的。例如下面第二句就有问题了:    He informed me that he was getting married.? He informed me that he didn’ t know what to do.He told me that he didn’ t know what to do.上面三例的用法对比把上述用法体现得清清楚楚。正如 Wierzbicka ( 1987 ) 所说 One can informs omeone of one’s firm intention , but not of one’smisgivings or one’ s vague suspicions. 为了解释 inform的这层语义 ,她在 inform的语义展开式中有这样一条: ‘I assume that y ou will understand that this is nots omething that could be untrue.’ 由此可见 ,inform 的内涵相当丰富 ,实际用法远比一般的词书所描述的复杂。研究这类言语动词的潜在语义对我们的相关的译事质量的提升不无帮助。
    基于inform 的潜在语义 ,正如上面本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供所说 ,它往往用于某些重要的正式的场合 ,尤其是某些商务环境。例如: I beg to inform y ou.P I have the fav our to informy ou. 尽管这些用法令语言学家争论不休已经为时已久 ,但他们的实际存在已是不