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1课文阅读题库UNITONETheMagicofLanguageThemagicalinfluenceoflanguageisathemewhichreverberatesthroughouttheliteraturesandlegendsoftheworld.Language,especiallyinitswrittenform,isthoughttocontainspecialpowers,whichonlytheinitiatedareallowedtounderstandorcontrol.Thebeliefsareoftenlinkedtoamythaboutthedivineoriginsoflanguage,buttheyextendbeyondthis,toinfluencereligiousactivitiesofallkinds,andtoreflectawidespreadprimitivesuperstitionaboutobjectsandeventswhichhaveasymbolicmeaninganduse.Thebeliefthatwordscontrolobjects,people,andspiritscanbeseenintheuseofmagicalformulae,incantations,litaniesofnames,andmanyotherritesinblackandwhitemagicandinorganizedreligion.Thelanguageisthoughttobeabletocuresickness,keepevilaway,bringgoodtooneselfandharmtoanenemy.Suchlanguageusuallyhastobeusedwithgreatexactitude,ifaneffectistobeobtained:meticulousattentionispaidtopronunciation,phraseology,andverbaltradition.Thereoftenhastobeagreatdealofrepetition,inordertointensifythepowerofthewords.Thelanguage,however,doesnothavetobeintelligibletohaveitseffect:manymagicalformulaearemeaninglesstothosewhousethem,butthereisstillgreatbeliefintheirefficacy.Casesoflinguisticsuperstitionabound.Toprimitivepeoples,thewrittenlanguagemustappeartobeomniscient,whenencounteredforthefirsttime.Severalstoriestellofilliteratepeoplestealinganobjectfromaparcel,andbeingfoundoutwhentheydeliveredthemessagewhichaccompaniedit.Thewriting,itwouldseem,hadavoiceofitsown—orperhapsagodlivedintheletters.Suchideasarefoundthroughouthistory.Thesearchformysticalmeaninginalphabeticscriptcanbeseenintheuseofruniccharms,orinthesystems,stillinuse,whichrelateletterstonumbers.Atanotherlevel,themystiqueoflanguageissomethingwhichweencounterthroughoutmodernsociety,especiallyinthefieldofadvertising.Conquerors,too,wellknowthepowerthatexistsinwords.Napoleon,itissaid,preferrednewspaperstobattalions.Andwhatbetterwayistheretoremoveanation’sinfluencethantoburnitswritings?CortezdidthistotheAztecsin1520;andtheNazisandAlliesdidittoeachotherinWorldWarII.VerbalTaboosThewordtaboohasbeenborrowedfromTongan,whereitmeans‘holy’or‘untouchable’.Taboosexistinallknowncultures,referringtocertainacts,objects,orrelationshipswhichsocietywishestoavoid—andthustothelanguageusedtotalkaboutthem.Verbaltaboosaregenerallyrelatedtosex,thesupernatural,excretion,anddeath,butquiteoftentheyextendtootheraspectsofdomesticandsociallife.Forexample,certainanimalsmaybeconsideredtaboo:theZuñiofNewMexicoprohibittheuseofthewordtakka(‘frogs’)duringceremonies;untilrecently,manysouthernAmericansavoidedthewordbullinpolitespeech,replacingitbyaeuphemism,suchashe-cowormalebeasts;inLappishandYakuts,theoriginalnamefrobearisreplacedbysuchphrasesasourlordorgoodfather,andwolves,weasels,rats,lice,snake,andmanyotheranimalshavebeengivenname-taboosbyvariouscultures.Evenpeoplecanbeaffected:certainmembersofthefamilyareconsideredtabooamongAustralianaborigines;eitheraspeciallanguagehastobeusedtothem,ortheyarenotdirectlyaddressedatall.Theuseofataboowordcanleadtoavarietyofsayings,practices,andresponses.Thementionofadeviloruncleanspiritcanevokeaverbalorphysicalreaction,suchasadivineinvocation,orthesignofthecross.Anobscenitycanbethecauseofshockedrecrimination(‘goandwashyourmouthout’),physicalviolence(especiallyif‘ladies’arepresent),orlegalaction(asinthetrialoverthepublicationoftheunexpurgatedD.H.Lawrence’snovel,LadyChatterley’sLover).Theinfluenceoftaboowordscanevenextendacrosslanguageboundaries.IthasbeennotedthatCreek2Indiansavoidtheirnativewordsfor‘earth’and‘meat’becauseoftheirphoneticresemblancetoEnglishtaboowords,whichisthedominantlanguagearoundthem.AsimilarphenomenonhasbeenrecordedwithThailearnersofEnglish,whereEnglishyetcloselyresemblesThaijēd(animpolitewordfor‘tohaveintercourse’).AndChinesepeoplecalledLi(acommonfamilyname)canfindtheirnameasourceofembarrassmentinRangoon,inviewoftheBurmesewordli(‘phallus’).Theusualwayofcopingwithtaboowordsandnotionsistodevelopeuphemismsandcircumlocutions.Hundredsofwordsandphraseshaveemergedtoexpressbasicbiologicalfunctions,andtalkaboutdeathhasitsownlinguisticworld,withitsmorticians,caskets,andinnumerablewaysofdying.Englishexamplesincludetopasson,passover,makeone’sbow,kickthebucket,snuffthecandles,goaloft,andcutthepainter.Frenchhasfermersonparapluie(‘tocloseone’sumbrella’),theindescribablyfinaln’avoirplusmalauxdents(‘tohavenomoretoothache’),andmanymore.ProperNamesTheuseofwordsaspersonallabelsisamatterofparticularsignificance—afactwhichisearlylearnedbychildren,whoareoftenanxioustoconcealtheirownnames,andwhosoeasilyhurt,andarehurt,byname-calling.Manyprimitivepeopledonotliketoheartheirnameused,especiallyinunfavorablecircumstances,fortheybelievethatthewholeoftheirbeingresidesinit,andtheymaytherebyfallundertheinfluenceofothers.ThedangerisevengreaterinsomeAustraliantribes,wherepeoplearegiventwonames—a‘public’name,forgeneraluse,anda‘secret’name,whichisknownonlytoGod,ortotheclosestmembersoftheirgroup.Togettoknowasecretnameistohavetotalpoweroveritsowner.TheTodasofsouthernIndiadislikeutteringtheirownnames,totheextentthat,iftheyareaskedfortheir