英語修辭與寫作·14.3　Correction

14.3　Correction

14.3A　Correction的含義與形式

1） Correction亦稱Epanorthosis，漢譯“換語”，意思是改換前言，用一個更恰當、更明確、更深刻或更有力的說法取代或補充剛剛說過的話。例如：

... most brave, nay, most heroic act!

（Webster's Third New International Dictionary）

前面講了most brave，但又覺得不夠，于是用nay加以否定，換成most heroic。

2） 從結構上看，前面已說過的話和新的說法兩者構成并列關系。這種并列結構的含義有轉折、遞進、讓步等（參見筆者拙作《分析英語語法》16.2節(jié)），擔任連接成分的有否定詞no, nay，并列連詞or, and，等。例如：

... But if the defendant had asked his hosts, or rather had only hinted, this could easily have been accomplished.

（Patricia Bizzell）

句中or以引出的換語rather had only hinted有讓步含義。

... All the while I was working at, and learning to write, fiction.

（Writer's Digest, Aug. 1992）

句中and learning to write是對前面working at的修正，連詞and也可以換用or，但相比之下，and語氣較為懇切。

14.3B　Correction的使用

1） 日常說話中，有時說出一句話或說出半句時，覺得不夠妥帖，于是往往自覺不自覺地使用換語。1993年4月29日美CBC節(jié)目中就有這樣一個例子：

Do you think — do you believe that wild life can be preserved this way?

（Harry Smith）

2） 書面語中的換語通常是一種有意安排的加強語氣的修辭手法。因為前面已有說法，并且使用的詞語較為平常，改換說法之后，詞語更為準確、鮮明、生動，就會大大加深讀者的印象。例如：

After the men in question had conquered, or rather had been conquered — for how shall I call that which has brought more disaster than benefit to the conquerors?

（McCrimmon）

先用主動語態(tài)had conquered，再改換成被動語態(tài)had been conquered，形成一種強烈的對比，如果直接用被動語態(tài)，句子就顯得弱了。

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's writing without giving proper credit — or perhaps writing without giving any credit at all — to the writer of the original.

（McCrimmon）

從without giving proper credit改換成without giving any credit at all，語氣大為增強。

3） 通過使用換語，還可形成對照。例如：

O Virtue's companion, Envy, who art to pursue good men, yes, even to persecute them.

（Patricia Bizzell）

從pursue good men到persecute them，一針見血地道出了Virtue與Envy之間的區(qū)別，對后者具有尖銳的批判和諷刺意味。

詩人Robert Herrick的詩To Electra共兩節(jié)，兩句話，第二節(jié)可以看作是對第一節(jié)的換語：

I dare not ask a kiss,

I dare not beg a smile,

Lest having that, or this,

I might grow proud the while.

No, no, the utmost share

Of my desire shall be

Only to kiss that air

That lately kissed thee.

練習十四　（Exercise Fourteen）

I. Preview Questions:

1. Can you cite an example of Paregmenon which refers to words of the same root?

2. Why is it said that Paregmenon is a special kind of repetition?

3. Can you cite an example to indicate how Paregmenon is used together with Oxymoron?

4. Can you tell the origin of the figure of speech Malapropism?

5. What rhetoric effects can be achieved when Malapropism is used in children stories or describing people who are ignorant but pretend to know?

6. What effect can a deliberate use of Correction achieve?

7. Have you ever used the figure of Correction in your life?

8. How can you avoid using a wrong word as in Malapropism?

II. Read the following passages from Richard Sheridan and then do the exercises as required.

An error in denotation means that you have used a word wrong: the term simply does not mean what you think it does. Unlike a mistake in connotation, which results in a fuzzy word, a mistake in denotation results in an inaccurate word.

In a wonderful play, The Rivals, by Richard Sheridan, the character of Mrs. Malaprop was a silly woman who tried to appear more learned than she was and who constantly gave herself away by misusing words. In the following scene quoted, Mrs. Malaprop shows Anthony Absolute what she likes to do best — talk. Examine her choice of words.

MRS. MALAPROP: Fy, fy. Sir Anthony, you surely speak laconically.

ABSOLUTE: Why, Mrs. Malaprop, in moderation now, what would you have a woman know?

MRS. MALAPROP: Observe me, Sir Anthony. I would by no means wish a daughter of mine to be a progeny of learning; I don't think so much learning becomes a young woman; for instance, I would never let her meddle with Greek, or Hebrew, or algebra, or simony, or fluxions, or paradoxes, or such inflammatory branches of learning — neither would it be necessary for her to handle any of your mathematical, astronomical, diabolical instruments. — But, Sir Anthony, I would send her, at nine years old, to a boarding school, in order to learn a little ingenuity and artifice. Then, sir, she should have a supercilious knowledge in accounts; — and as she grew up, I would have her instructed in geometry, that she might know something of the contagious countries; — but above all, Sir Anthony, she should be mistress of orthodoxy, that she might not misspell, and mispronounce words so shamefully as girls usually do; and likewise that she might reprehend the true-meaning of what she is saying. This, Sir Anthony, is what I would have a woman know; — and I don't think there is a superstitious article in it.

Individual work: Tell whether each of the following statements is true （T） or false （F）:

1. The word “malapropism” is originated from Mrs. Malaprop, a character of The Rivals by Richard Sheridan. The woman is silly and pompous, who often makes mistakes in her choice of words or pronunciations and thus makes herself a laughing stock.

2. According to Mrs. Malaprop, she considers herself wise and learned and expects her daughter to be so too.

3. Mrs. Malaprop likes to show off by using formal and high-sounding words, but from time to time, she mispronounces a word, e.g. “simony” for “symphony”, or uses inappropriate words, e.g. The word “fluxion” is an outdated term related to “maths”. The word “reprehend” means “find fault with” and it is obviously out of place in the context, for the speaker must have intended to use “comprehend”, a formal word which means “understand”.

Group work: discuss the questions either in pairs or in group:

1. Even if you do not know everything that Mrs. Malaprop is saying, you can enjoy the fact that she misuses words shamelessly. With your partner, try to figure out what she “would have a woman know”. Use a dictionary to help you out.

2. Mistakes in denotation and connotation result in different ways. Sometimes a wrong denotation results less from not knowing a word's definition than from not thinking clearly. Analyse the errors in Mrs. Malaprop's talk and enjoy how malapropisms are used for a comedy.

III. Correct the malapropism if any, in the following sentences and tell what figure of speech can be found there:

1. Your appreciation of art depends upon your sense and sensibilizing.

2. If paid by the hour, some people will ponder away their time.

3. The space program is a waste of time and money. There are problems to solve on our land, such as starvation, overpopulation, etc. How do you think of this statement?

4. Her look was remote and reproachful, or sometimes tasteful and blameful.

5. In such stories it is exciting to break away from the predictable world we live in and to enter an unrealizable world where anything can happen.

6. Across this country one sees deep holes in the floor where man has mined, oil rigs working day and night, and open spaces which were once cradles of trees.

7. Both essential commodities and luxuries seem important, but their importance can be measured by deciding which we are prepared to live without them. Our decisions indicate our scale of preferring.

參考答案

Ⅱ. Individual work: 1.T　2. F　3. T

Ⅲ. 1. Change “sensibilizing” into “sensibility”; Paregmenon.

2. Use “squander” for “ponder”.

3. Use “planet” for “land” and “What” for “How”.

4. Use “blameless” for “blameful”; Alliteration, Assonance, Correction.

5. Turn “unrealizable” into “unpredictable”.

6. Use “ground” for “floor” and change “open space” into “wasteland”, “emptiness”, “barren ground”, or “deserts”.

7. Delete “them” and replace “preferring” with “preferences”; Paregmenon, Anadiplosis.