現代漢語委婉言語之語用策略及語言形式──以臺灣地區為例

Abstract

委婉言語為社會中人們普遍使用的一種語言方式。本研究之主要目的為找出現代漢語委婉言語的語用策略及語言形式,以期日後可運用於對外漢語之教學上,減少以漢語為外語的學習者在產出及理解委婉言語時遇到的困難。 本文以Brown和Levinson(1987)的FTA理論(face-threatening act)為主要架構,分析現代漢語委婉言語的語用策略。主要的研究方法為問卷調查法,採用言談篇章完成任務(discourse completion task)蒐集相關委婉言語語料。筆者從研究語料得出,可以表達委婉言語的三大語用策略包括:「積極禮貌」策略、「消極禮貌」策略及「不公開面子威脅行為」策略,其中以「消極禮貌」策略被受試者採用的比例為最高。接著,筆者分析探討三大策略底下的九個細部具體策略,統計結果顯示,「提問與規避」、「給予理由」,以及「表示敬意及道歉」三個策略的使用比例最高。 不同社會變項(social variables)反映在細部語用策略使用上的差異不盡相同。學生與非學生在「公開面子威脅行為」、「開玩笑」,以及「提問與規避」等三個策略上具有顯著差異;男性與女性則在「給予理由」與「開玩笑」策略上呈現不同;至於年齡方面,差別則在於「公開面子威脅行為」及「開玩笑」策略的運用。語用策略使用差異最多的變項為對象的地位,除了「確認共同立場」及「提問與規避」策略以外,其餘的具體策略均有顯著差異。 語言形式方面,筆者從詞語的選用與句式的使用兩方面找出具體的委婉語言成分,詞語的選用主要表現在預備詞、禮貌標記、對比標記、緩調詞、規避詞、主觀詞、低調陳述詞及填空詞等功能詞語上;句式的使用則為疑問句式、否定句式,以及條件句式的運用。 教學應用上,筆者以研究得出的委婉言語語用策略與語言形式為依據,設計一課文與教學簡案,透過教學流程的說明,提出教學建議。
This study investigates the pragmatic strategies and linguistic structure of euphemistic speech of Mandarin in Taiwan. This study is based on the framework of the face-threatening act (FTA) proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). Questionnaire is used as the instrument for the investigation, and the questionnaire is designed primarily in the format of the discourse completion task. The findings of the present research show that three possible strategies, namely “positive politeness”, “negative politeness”, and “off record” strategies, are used in euphemistic speech, and the “negative politeness” strategy is used most frequently among the three. Furthermore, nine sub-strategies under the three main strategies are analyzed. According to the quantitative results, “question and hedge”, “give reasons”, and “deference and apology” are the most frequently used sub-strategies. Differences in the use of the strategies vary according to different social variables. Students and non-students differ in “bald on record”, “joke” and “hedge and question” strategies, while males and females differ in “give reasons” and “joke”. As regard the age, differences are found in the use of “bald on record” and “joke” strategies. The addressee’s social status makes the most difference; it emerges in nine strategies except for “assert common ground” and “question and hedge”. The linguistic structure of euphemistic speech is discussed in two aspects: the choice of lexical items or phrases, and the use of sentence patterns. The former includes preparators, politeness markers, contrastive markers, downtoners, hedges, subjectivizers, understaters, and fillers. The latter includes question sentence, negative sentence, and adverbial clause of condition. At the end of this study, the researcher has designed a practical lesson plan as a pedagogical illustration based on the empirical findings in the present research.

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Keywords

委婉語, 語用策略, 語言形式, 言語行為, 面子威脅行為理論, euphemism, pragmatic strategy, linguistic structure, speech act, face-threatening act

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