Chapter-2-----Lexical-Devices

Chapter2LexicalDevices2.1IntroductionInthischapterwearetodealwithtwomaintypesoflexicaldevices.Oneislexicaloptions,orthewaywriterschoosetheirwordstoexpresstheirideasclearlyandeffectively,intheappropriatecontextandsituation.Theotherislexicalrepetition,orthewaywritersrepeatwordsforartisticandstylisticeffect.2.2LexicalOption2.2.1GeneralRemarksTheEnglishvocabularyisrich,heterogeneousandcosmopolitan,aresultofitshistoricaldevelopmentfromCelticandAnglo-Saxonorigins,thepactofLatinandFrenchonitduringtheperiodoftheRomanandNormanConquests,themassiveborrowingsfromothercountriesduringtheheydayofBritishimperialism,andthemodernimpactofAmericanEnglish.TheEnglishlanguage,moreover,hasgreatlychangedfromwhatitwasinShakespeare’stime,oreveninDickens’stime.Accurate,effectiveexpressionobviouslyrequirestherightwords,thewordswhichwillrepresent—notnearly,notapproximately,butexactly—whatwewanttosay.JonathanSwiftoncedescribedgoodstyleasproperwordsinproperplaces.Therefore,gooddictionisthefoundationofgoodEnglish.Tochoosetherightwordsrequirealargeactivevocabulary.Wecannotchoosetherightwordsifwedonothavemanywords.Sowemustbewell-storedwithwords,forthebiggertherepertory(storage)ofwordswepossess,thelargerthescopewecanchoosefrom.However,alargevocabularyaloneisnotenough.Wemustlearnsometechniquesfordrawingfromthevocabularyandsomeguidelinesforchoosingonewordinsteadofanotherinaparticularcontext.ThestudyofwordchoiceordictionisthereforeessentialinourEnglishstudy,andperhapsitwouldnotbemuchexaggerationtosaythatthelifeofanypieceofwritingliesinitsdiction.2.2.2ShortWordsandLongWordsShortwordsorlongwordsreallyrefertomonosyllabicwordsofAnglo-Saxonorigin,orPolysyllabicwordsofLatin,FrenchorGreekorigin.ManytextbooksonEnglishcompositionadvisestudentstoprefertheshortonetothelongone,or“nottousealongwordwhereashortonewilldo”.Butthedecisiontouseashortwordoralongoneisnotalwaysasimplequestion.Therearemanyfactorsinvolved.Foronething,wordshaveotherqualitiesbesidesshortnessorlongness.Theyhavesoundandmeaningandassociations.Inthefollowinglinesonlythreeoutofseventeenwordsarenotmonosyllabic:(1)Wordsarelikeleaves:Andwheretheymostabound,Muchfruitofsensebeneathisrarelyfound.Hemingwayknewhowtouseshortwordstocreategreateffect,settingthemoffwithasprinkling(少量)oflongerones,asthefollowingextractsfromTheSnowsofKilimanjaroshow:(2)Thecot(narrowbed,esp.madeofcanvas)themanlayonwasinthewideshadeofamimosatreeandashelookedoutpasttheshadeontotheglareoftheplaintherewerethreeofthebigbirdssquattedobscenely,whileintheskyadozenmoresailed,makingquick-movingshadowsastheypassed.(3)Allright.Nowhewouldnotcarefordeath.Onethinghehadalwaysdreadedwasthepain.Hecouldstandpainaswellasanyman,untilitwentontoolong,andworehimout,butherehehadsomethingthathadhurtfrightfullyandjustwhenhefeltitbreakinghim,thepainhadstopped.(Inthisextract/excerpt,wecanseethedyingmanisinnoconditionforlaboriousthinking.Theshortsimplewordscomewithoutefforttohismind.)Shortmonosyllabicwordsarealsoveryforcefulinpersuasivewritingororatory.WinstonChurchill’s“Ihavenothingtoofferbutblood,toil,sweatandtears.”spokenashetookoverleadershipoftheBritishanti-FasciststruggleinWorldWarⅡ,arewellknown.However,itmustbeadmittedthattherearemanyeventsandsituationsinlifewhichrequirefullerdescriptionsthanmonosyllablescanprovide.Noticethedifferentrhythmoftheprose,thedifferentrhetoricaleffect,thecarefulchoiceandarrangementoftheshortandlongwordsinthepassagebelow:Whileenjoyingamonthoffineweatheratthesea-coast,Iwasthrownintothecompanyofamostfascinatingcreature,arealgoddess,inmyeyes,aslongasshetooknonoticeofme.I“nevertoldmylove”vocally;still,iflookshavelanguage,themerestidiotmighthaveguessedIwasoverheadandears(inlove),sheunderstoodme,atlast,andlookedareturn—thesweetestofallimaginablelooks—andwhatdidIdo?Iconfessitwithshame—shrunkicilyintomyself,likeasnail,ateveryglanceretiredcolderandfarther,till,finally,thepoorinnocentwasledtodoubtherownsense,and,overwhelmedwithconfusionathersupposedmistake,persuadedhermammatodecamp.(EmilyBronte:WutheringHeights)Itwouldbehard,indeed,foranadultwritertowriteallinmonosyllablesorallinpolysyllables;ajudiciousmixtureofthetwoistheusualpractice.Theadvicetoavoidlongwords,really,isaimednotatlongwordsthemselvesbutatthosewho“preferlongwordstotheshort”,notforstylisticreasons,butforpretentiousones.2.2.3CommonWordsorLearnedWordsInthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguage,thequestionofwhetherEnglish,thevernacular本国语oftheordinarypeople,wassuitableforlearnedandelegantdiscoursewassettledfinallyonlyaslateasthe15thcentury.Beforethat,Latinwasgenerallyacknowledgedandacceptedasthelanguageoflearningandscholarlydiscussion,andwasacompulsory/requiredsubjectinschoolsanduniversities.ThechoicebetweencommonwordsandlearnedwordswasthereforeoriginallyachoicebetweenvernacularEnglishandLatinwords,andincourseoftimeEnglishwonout,andLatinismsand“inkhorn”(墨水瓶;pedantic)termslostfavor.Today,learnedwordsstillrefermainlytoLatinatewords,butcommonwordsnolongerreferpurelytoEnglishwordsofAnglo-Saxonorigin.ThecosmopolitanvocabularyofEnglishcontainsthousandsofwordsborrowedfromother-than-Latin