摘要
语篇是一个充满争议并且广受关注的概念。在相关学界讨论语篇的众声喧哗中,"修辞结构理论"(RST)以其独特的切入点引起广泛而持续的兴趣。这是一个以"修辞"的名义研究语篇组织原理的理论模式。它通过识别使语篇的多模态成分得以组合为功能单位的"修辞关系",揭示由处在不同层面的这些关系自下而上递进交织而在语篇中形成的全覆盖、级差化的单一修辞结构(single overarching hierarchical rhetorical structure),为判断语篇的连贯性确定了一个独特的标准,同时也为理解语篇的总体目标及其实现方式提供了一个不无启发的视角。然而,假如将修辞结构理论置于当代修辞思想及语篇理论发展的大视野中加以考察,则不难看出将该模式用作阐释工具所造成的问题远超过它所能提供的帮助。考虑到语境已成为主流语篇研究的着眼点,修辞结构理论对文本本身的专注凸显了其阐释能力的局限。另一方面,该理论所预设的"修辞"及"修辞关系"与修辞学界对"修辞"的主流理解也相去甚远。将"连贯"确定为探索语篇组织原理的核心议题尤其使人对这一模式的"修辞"属性生疑。对修辞研究而言,该理论的真正价值或许在于它将注意力引向在语篇研究中构筑起一个有别于主流路径的修辞视角的可能性,促使修辞学家思考跟语篇及其概念化相关的一系列重要问题。
Among the heteroglossic thematizations of discourse, Rhetorical Structure Theory （RST） stands out with its unconventional approach to explaining textual organization in terms of a series of rhetorical relations that bond neighboring linguistic units into a single overarching hierarchical rhetorical structure. While RST has thus identified itself as a rhetorical model, exactly what it means by rhetoric has never been made clear. In concentrating attention on the text per se and setting coherence as the primary concern of discourse studies, in fact, it deviates markedly from contemporary conception of rhetoric. A revisit of this model offers a chance for contemplating how rhetoric could contribute uniquely to the studies of discourse.
出处
《当代修辞学》
CSSCI
北大核心
2017年第4期18-23,共6页
Contemporary Rhetoric
关键词
语篇
修辞结构理论
修辞关系
连贯
“辩动”
discourse, Rhetorical Structure Theory, rhetorical relation
coherence
cogency
