《英语修辞学》第一章

time for the fourth R—Rhetoric—to reenter the classroom.
修辞学
花言巧语
• 3. Campaign promises have proved to be empty rhetoric.
• 4. Despite their tough anti-American rhetoric, the 言论 government is privately trying to maintain good relations with the U.S.
• 5. the rhetoric of film 电影的修辞艺术
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2.4 Definitions of rhetoric
The word “rhetoric” has been defined differently. a. The study and practice of effective communication. b. The study of the effects of texts on audiences. c. The art of persuasion. d. An insincere eloquence intended to win points and
• the foundation of rhetoric
• more than ordinary speech but a special kind of public speaking (a special purpose, a special way, a special time)
• to impress, convince, or move the audience to action
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Ⅰ About the Course
➢ 1. Optional course of English Major ➢ 2. Learners: Seniors of English Major ➢ 3. Main content:
General idea about English rhetoric a brief and interesting survey of the history of rhetoric with emphasis on several major classical rhetoricians and their theories and application
English Rhetoric
Chapter One Introduction to English Rhetoric
Contents of This Chapter Ⅰ. About the Course Ⅱ.Definition of Rhetoric Ⅲ.Classification of Rhetoric Ⅳ. Purpose of learning rhetoric Ⅴ. Arrangement and Requirements
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➢ Positive connotations:
• Historically, “rhetoric” had positive connotations, suggesting a commendable skill with words. Today rhetoric, as it was in history, is something that people have to resort to.
manipulate [ mə'nipjuleit ] others.
现代英语修辞学研究的是人类使用符号互相交流的能 力，这种能力是人类所持有的，人类使用符号来构建自 己的世界，来认识自我，来和其他人一起互动，使生活 更有意义。
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• 通过对语言材料的选择、调整、修饰，使语言美化， 更好地交流思想，表情达意。所谓“调整”，主要 指依据题旨(subject) 情境 (occasion / context)的需要，对词语、句式、段落篇章作恰当 地选择和安排；所谓“修饰”，主要指恰当地选择 一些修辞手段、修辞方法，增强语言表达的艺术效 能。调整的目的，就是要求语言准确、鲜明，没有 丝毫的模糊，也没有丝毫的歧义，使人家清楚、明 白。 -- 杨鸿儒《当代中国修辞学》
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➢ 4. Assessment: Exam
Total grades = 20% of Regular Grades + 80%of the Final Exam
* Regular Grades consists of 10% of class attendance and 10% of
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Definitions in the past
➢ "Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men.“ (Plato) ➢ "Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given
They then developed a set of principles for successful communication. These principles make up the art of rhetoric.
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2.3 Connotation of rhetoric
Over the years the word “rhetoric” has taken on a wide range of meaning.
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The study of rhetoric goes back to ancient Greece, when speakers began to practice the art of persuasion in courts of law. The ancients realized that presentation is as important, or perhaps more important, as facts.
assignments
➢5. Text Book
胡曙中：《现代英语修辞学》，上海外语教育出版社，2011年9月第1版
➢6. Reference Books
黄 任：《英语修辞与写作》，上海外语教育出版社，1999. 张秀国：《英语修辞学》，清华大学出版社、北京交通大
学出版社，2005 李鑫华：《英语修辞格详论》，上海外语教育出版社，2000
case the available means of persuasion.“ (Aristotle, Rhetoric)
一种能在任何一个问题上找出可能说服方式的功能。
➢ "Rhetoric is the art of speaking well.“ (Quintilian) ➢ …eloquence to persuade their fellows of the truth of what they had
• As a tool, rhetoric is inherently neither good or bad. A deceitful person will use it to deceive and an ethical person will use it to make truth and justice prevail.
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Plato and Aristotle
2.1 Origin of Western Rhetoricห้องสมุดไป่ตู้
It is said that the “art of rhetoric” originated in Syracuse锡拉库扎 (意大利西西里岛东部一港市), a Greek colony on the island of Sicily, in about 465 B.C.. When the dictators on the island were overthrown and democracy was established, people went to court to claim the ownership of the land which had been taken from them during the dictator’s reign. However, the Greek system required that citizens represent themselves in court instead of hiring attorneys to speak on their behalf as we can today. Therefore, the rhetoric came into being to “make the best possible case and to represent it persuasively to the jury” (Hu Shuzhong, 2011:433). Probate court 遗嘱检验法庭
discovered by reason (Cicero) ➢ "Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle;
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Discuss:Identify the different meanings of “rhetoric” in the following phrases/sentences:
• 1. Cold war diplomacy and rhetoric 辞令
• 2. As the clamor for basic skills continue to grow, it may be
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2.2 rhetoric and oratory
Oratory: Oratory had been practiced long before the ancient rhetoricians developed a theory and a vocabulary for rhetoric.
Communicative rhetoric the choice of words, the choice of sentences, paragraph and essay construction
Aesthetic rhetoric: figures of speech (phonetic, syntactic, semantic, logic)
➢ Negative connotations: • skillful, but often deceptive, eloquence • a fraudulent practice • to deal exclusively with language, rather than with ideas
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Ⅱ Definition of Rhetoric ➢ Whoever does not study rhetoric will become a victim
of it. ---Ancient Greek wall inscription
➢ Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep, moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. ---Francis Bacon
• Rhetoric is generally understood as a tool or a method. Its content is more concerned with the Hows of what people are talking about than the Whats of what people are talking about.