析戈夫曼的框架理论在英语习语意义诠释中的应用

析戈夫曼的框架理论在英语习语意义诠释中的应用［Abstract］In Frame Analysis：An Essay on the Organization of Experience，Evring Goffman proposed the systematic concept of frame，focusing on individual’s cognition in society construction and emphasizing the variation of frames and the vulnerabilities of experience. This research investigates the explainability of Goffman’s frame theory ip［Key words］Goffman，frame，idioms，variation
I. Introduction
Evring Goffman proposed the systematic concept of frame in his work Frame Analysis：An Essay on the Organization of Experience published in 1974. Frame theory focuses on individual’s cognition in the process of society construction and emphasizes the variation of frames and the vulnerabilities of the organization of experience. As “another ana lysis of social reality”[1\]2，his theory has been developed by many other researchers and is widely used in different realms such as communication studies，journalism，politics and social movements. Taking his frame theory as a multi-disciplinary social science researching method which is used to analyze how people understand situations and activities，this short paper aims at investigating its applicability in language，especially in the interpretation of the linguistic phenomenon idioms which are deeply rooted in the culture and history of the speech
community. It is hoped that this sociological theory could collaborate with linguistic theories to successfully explain the meaning of English idioms.
Ⅱ. Goffman’s Frame Analysis：A Brief Review
The starting point of Goffman’s theory is the relationship between reality status and people’s perception of it. Being deeply influenced by concepts such as selective attention and multiple realities，he claims that when participant roles in an activity are differentiated，the view that one person has of what is going on is likely to be quite different from that of another，and the difference has to do with how we define the situation，which depends essentially on the principles of our organizing our experience. This claim leads to his concept of frame，which could be roughly defined as principles of organization that govern the definitions of a situation. It is worthwhile to highlight the similarities between his idea and some basic concepts in cognitive linguistics，especially that of figure and ground，which determine the prominent or salient point of a given situation，and that of construal，which concerns about the different perspectives we might take when perceiving the same thing.
Furthermore，Goffman’s frame system is based upon a series of what he has defined as primary frameworks，i.e. the most basic and original perspective or schemata people use to interpret things. It is a
framework or perspective “seen by those who apply it as not depending on or harking back to some prior or ‘original’interpretation，…，one that is seen as rendering what would otherwise be a meaningless aspect of the scene into something that is meaningful.”[1\]21 He also divides primary frameworks into two subcategories，natural frameworks and social frameworks. The former type concerns about undirected occurrences and physical events that are unguided by human hands，in which no willful agency seems to causally and intentionally interfere，and no actor continuously guides the outcome. Examples of this type could be found in geographical phenomena like earthquake or the change of weather. The latter type of frames provide background understanding for events that corporate the will，aim and controlling effort of human beings，such as weather forecast as opposed to the simple natural phenomenon of the weather change. Although natural events occur without human intervention，human activities cannot be accomplished effectively without entrance into the natural order. And Goffman claims that we tend to perceive events in terms of primary frameworks，and the type of framework we employ provides a way of describing the event to which it is applied.
In his frame analysis，Goffman also mentions about the variation of frames and the vulnerabilities of experience. That is to say，in addition to the primary framework which makes sure that participants follow the
main story of the event，a large amount of activities outside the frame also exist. Therefore any strip of activity at odds with the frame is necessarily weakened and no more attention should be paid to them. In many cases，a frame does not stand still or maintain the fixedness of its status. Participants’fabrication，be it deliberate or not，could lead to mistrust or dispute and the change or breaking of the frame.
Last but least，the primary frameworks of a particular social group constitute one central element of its culture，which could be related to the concept of cultural scripts，a way of spelling out different “local” conventions of discourse using the metalanguage of universal semantic primes. Since idioms is one of the typical aspects of language that can particularly reveal cultural norms and values，in the following part I would try to apply Goffman’s frame theory，especially the concept of primary framework and the possible variation of frames to the interpretation of English idioms’cultural aspect of meaning.
Ⅲ. Applying Frame Theory to the Interpretation of
English Idioms
As a rich reflection of the culture of a certain speech community，idioms usually cover a vast range of fields in human life，be it natural or social. Nevertheless，the actual meaning of an idiom is not merely
restrained within what its literal form depicts. For example，the description of natural phenomena such as the wax and wane of moon or the ebb and flow of tides could be deeply related to human beings，indicating the instability of life and even serving as a persuasion of letting things go. Since idioms are more or less epistemic in nature，the social frameworks in Goffman’s theory might be more relevant in interpreting the meaning of idioms. Two sets of examples will be discussed.
Case 1a：a skeleton in one’s closet
To have a skeleton in the closet is an idiom used to describe an undisclosed fact about someone which，if revealed，would have a negative impact on perceptions of the person. Skeleton is basically related to the frame of human body，but in this phrase，merely referring to the level of frame about common knowledge is insufficient to interpret the meaning of this idiom because we would have to look back in history of the scene from which the idiom originated. To be specific，it is said that this idiom is about a certain murder in duel and the murderer，for fear of the advent punishment，hid the body in the closet at home for such a long time that there is only a skeleton left in the end. Though the story sounds to be a little exaggerated，the correct understanding of this idiom hinges more upon the recognition of this frame，which is a historical story on the concrete level and is related to a series of cultural elements
such as the convention of duel in British society since medieval times.
Case 2a：one stitch in time saves nine
One stitch in time saves nine is a phrase that is more aphoristic in nature. Some suggest that this phrase originated from mothers who were weary of mending their children’s clothing. In its literal sense，it means that when children rip their clothing，they should bring them for repair immediately. If not so they will cause the rip to become larger，which results in extra work for their mother. Though reflecting the Anglo-Saxon work ethic，the frame of this phrase is more straightforward and universal compared to the previous case. Drawing from human experience in daily life，it warns people not to procrastinate，or，to complete the work you have in a timely manner，otherwise it will become a bigger job than it needed to be.
In actual contexts，language is more often used creatively. Generally speaking，linguistic creativity and variation reflect the communicative necessity of adapting the linguistic means to the various conceptualisations of heterogeneous social and physical experience. The relevant coding of experiences leads to creative modifications of linguistic routine. The same goes with idioms，which explains why we frequently encounter various modified uses of idioms. Therefore，it is also necessary to check the applicability of the abovementioned variation
of frames in interpreting the variant usages of English idioms. The same two examples will be discussed.
Case 1b：“Blue Dress” in Bush’s closet
This is a case of the varied use of the original idiom a skeleton in the closet occurred in news report. In addition to the frame responsible for the meaning of the idiom，this variant not only modifies the original frame，but also adds two more elements to create a mixture of multi-layered frames. To be specific，“blue dress” refers to the one which belongs to Monica Lewinsky in the politic frame concerning Clinton’s sex scandal. And the other element George W. Bush entails another issue in American politics，i.e. his secretly waging war against Iraq on the pretext of punishing their having nuclear weapons. Reconsidering the original scene of this idiom which contains a skeleton as the result of a murder not desired to be found，it has to be emphasized that the variation of the frame，including the deletion of some less relevant cultural notions and the addition of new elements in the context，is consistent with the main “storyline” of the frame，here a shameful secret of a person，and caters more accurately to the actual need of journalistic reportage. Therefore，the variation of framework is also influenced by the context in which it occurs.
Case 2b：A handkerchief in time saves nine and helps to keep the
nation fighting fit.
A handkerchief in time saves nine and helps to keep the nation fighting fit is the title of a hygienic pamphlet. Originating from the phrase a stitch in time saves nine (if one takes action or does a piece of work immediately，it may save a lot of extra work later)，this variant interacts with the frame of our common sense，particularly our knowledge of disease，including cough and sneeze spread virus into the air，people in the nearby could be infected，prevention of disease starts from the source，etc. The two frames spaces share a similar spirit，i.e. a timely action spares people from further damage，which guarantees the consistency in the process of variation. Therefore the correct interpretation of this expression is：for those people who have caught a flu，please use handkerchief when you feel like coughing or sneezing，as you can in time stop the spreading of disease and prevent other people (not exactly nine) from being harmed，and hence make contribution to the welfare of the whole nation. It is not difficult to find that the relationship between the two frames is not just a simple process of piling，as nine in the original phrase refers to nine stitches in future while in the variant，it becomes nine people rather than nine handkerchiefs.
This selective combination of cultural notes across frames leads to minute alteration of meaning，which adds flavor to the idiomatic
expression in real use.
Ⅳ. Conclusion
In conclusion，as a sociological theory which attaches great importance to concepts like transformation，understanding and analysis，and communication of human beings in social life，Goffman’s frame analysis enjoys a high applicability in various aspects of human experience. The mini research conducted in this paper testifies its usefulness in the interpretation of some English idioms，and proves that the concept of primary framework and the possible variation of frames could help in making sense of English idioms and their variants in contexts.
【References 】
［1］Goffman， E. 1986. Frame Analysis：An Essay on the Organization of Experience［M］.Boston：Northeastern University Press.
[2] 肖伟.论欧文·戈夫曼的框架思想［J］.国际新闻界，2010(12).
析戈夫曼的框架理论在英语习语意义诠释中的应用
［摘要］在《框架分析：经验组织论》一书中，欧文·戈夫曼提出了系统的框架理论，其框架概念强调参与社会建构的主体认知，同时指出了框架的变异以及经验组织的脆弱性。

本研究着重于戈夫曼框
架理论中的初始框架，探讨其在英语习语释义过程中的可用性和解释能力，并认为框架理论可以用于诠释部分英语习语，特别是其文化维度的意义。

［关键词］戈夫曼；框架；习语；变异。