英汉模糊列举标记的语用功能对比研究——以“or Something”“and Stuff”与“什么的”“之类的”为例

A Contrastive Study of the Pragmatic Functions of English and Chinese General Extenders—The Case of “or Something”, “and Stuff”, “Shenme de” and “Zhilei de”

摘要: 本文以话语标记理论和系统功能语言学为理论视角，对英语中的模糊列举标记“or something”“and stuff”与汉语中的“什么的”“之类的”进行了语用功能对比研究。研究基于COCA和BCC口语语料库，通过对1600个语例的定量与定性分析，从句法依附、语义领域和语用功能三个维度考察了这四类标记的使用差异。研究发现：1) 在句法层面，英汉标记均主要依附于名词性成分，但英语标记(尤其是“or something”)的依附对象更多样化，可接在小句或状语之后；2) 在语义层面，英语标记指向更分散，涉及抽象事物和判断，而汉语标记更集中于具体物品和日常活动；3) 在语用功能层面，四者均具备类别扩展、近似化、随意化等功能，但“or something”的近似化功能最突出，“之类的”的类别扩展功能最强，“什么的”的随意化/口语化色彩最浓，且汉语标记在缓和语气方面比英语标记更为显著。研究最终认为，英汉模糊列举标记虽功能相似，但在具体使用中存在明显的跨语言差异。

Abstract: Drawing on discourse marker theory and systemic functional linguistics, this study conducts a contrastive analysis of the pragmatic functions of the English general extenders “or something” and “and stuff” and their Chinese counterparts “Shenme de” and “Zhilei de”. Based on spoken data from the COCA and BCC corpora, the study combines quantitative and qualitative analyses of 1600 tokens to examine the use of these four markers from three dimensions: syntactic host, semantic domain, and pragmatic function. The findings are as follows. First, at the syntactic level, both English and Chinese markers mainly attach to nominal elements, but the English markers, especially “or something”, occur with a wider range of hosts and can attach to clauses or adverbial elements. Second, at the semantic level, the English markers display a more dispersed semantic orientation, involving abstract entities and judgments, whereas the Chinese markers are more concentrated in concrete objects and everyday activities. Third, at the pragmatic level, all four markers perform functions such as category extension, approximation, and casualization. However, “or something” is most prominent in approximation, “Zhilei de” is strongest in category extension, and “Shenme de” shows the most salient casual or colloquial flavor. Moreover, the Chinese markers are more prominent than the English markers in mitigating tone. The study concludes that although English and Chinese general extenders share similar basic functions, they display clear cross-linguistic differences in actual use.