六级讲座听力之讲座的语言特点

英语讲座/讲话是以口头的方式传授知识、表达观点，兼具口语和书面语的语言特征，并有一定学术性。

讲座/讲话带有书面语特征。

讲座/讲话都是演讲者/讲话人围绕某一话题做主题陈述。讲座的形式通常为长篇独白，相比讲话更接近书面语；讲话虽然从形式上看仍是对话，但对话者间交互很少，绝大多数时间都是讲话人自己在叙述，也比日常会话更有书面体特色。

因为讲座/讲话接近书面语，它们的词汇更正式，句式更复杂，语篇更通顺。以下面这段官方样题中的讲话为例。

Dr. Miller: Thank you for that introduction. Today, I’d like to preface my remarks with a story from my own life which I feel highlights the common concerns that bring us here together. Several years ago when my grandparents were well into their eighties, they were faced with the reality of no longer being able to adequately care for themselves.

My grandfather spoke of his greatest fear, that of leaving the only home they had known for the past 60 years. Fighting back the tears, he spoke proudly of the fact that he had built their home from the ground up, and that he had pounded every nail and laid every brick in the process. The prospect of having to sell their home and give up their independence, and move into a retirement home was an extremely painful experience for them. It was, in my grandfather’s own words, like having a limb cut off. He exclaimed in a forceful manner that he felt he wasn’t important anymore.

For them and some older Americans, their so-called “golden years” are at times not so pleasant, for this period can mean the decline of not only one’s health but the loss of identity and self-worth. In many societies, this self-identity is closely related with our social status, occupation, material possessions, or independence. Furthermore, we often live in societies that value what is “new” or in fashion, and our own usage of words in the English language is often a sign of bad news for older Americans. I mean how would your family react if you came home tonight exclaiming, “Hey, come to the living room and see the OLD black and white TV I brought!” Unfortunately, the word “old” calls to mind images of the need to replace or discard.

Now, many of the lectures given at this conference have focused on the issues of pension reform, medical care, and the development of public facilities for senior citizens. And while these are vital issues that must be addressed, I’d like to focus my comments on an important issue that will affect the overall success of the other programs mentioned. This has to do with changing our perspectives on what it means to be a part of this group, and finding meaningful roles the elderly can play and should play in our societies. (CET 6官方样题一)

从上面这段讲话可以看出讲座/讲话所具有的一些书面语特征。

首先，讲座/讲话有时会使用日常口语中较少出现的正式词汇。

例如，讲话者用“remarks”而没使用“words”，用“highlight”、“occupation”、“discard”和“perspective”不用“stress”、“job”、“throw away”和“opinion”，另外“social status”、“material possessions”、“public facilities”和“senior citizens”等都是相对较为书面的表达方式。

其次，结构复杂的主从句在讲座/讲话中出现的频率比日常口语更高。

例如，上面这段讲话一开篇就是定语丛句“I’d like to preface my remarks with a story from my own life which I feel highlights the common concerns that bring us here together”，这句话先用“which”引导的从句修饰“a story from my own life”，再用“that”引导的从句修饰“which”从句中的宾语“the common concerns”。之后还有状语丛句“Several years ago when my grandparents were well into their eighties, they were faced with the reality of no longer being able to adequately care for themselves”。

当然还有名词性的宾语丛句“I mean how would your family react if you came home tonight exclaiming…”等。

综观上面这段Dr. Miller的讲话，主从句多达11句，而这段讲话的节选总共才15句，主从复杂句占比逾七成。

再次，演讲者/讲话人会使用诸如非谓语动词等在内的多种语法结构，让自己的句式更灵活多变。

例如，上面这个段讲话中，讲话人就多次使用非谓语动词，“that of leaving the only home they had known for the past 60 years”，“Fighting back the tears, he spoke proudly of the fact…”，以及“…you came home tonight exclaiming…”等。

此外，名词性短语的使用也体现了书面语的特色。

在文件、法规等文本中，本来可以使用句子的地方，却换成名词性的表达，藉此让语言显得更正式，更精确。我们在上面这段样题中都能找到这样的表达，如“The prospect of having to sell their home”、“the decline of not only one’s health but the loss of identity and self-worth”、“changing our perspectives on what it means to be a part of this group, and finding meaningful roles”等。

最后，连接词和过渡句的频繁使用，展示了句子间，段落间的逻辑关联，使语篇显得更通顺、更严密，结构也更清晰，这也体现了书面语的特色。

如果一台讲座或讲话是一段旅程，连接词和过渡句就像路标，提示听众现在的位置和前进的方向。这些看似不传达主题信息的成分其实让讲座/讲话更容易被理解，被记住。上例讲话主要使用了过渡句等手段把不同的部分衔接起来，理清了整体脉络，让讲话变得通顺。讲话人在开篇用“I’d like to preface my remarks with a story…”指明了紧接着要叙述的内容。

后面又用两个过渡性的结构“Now, many of the lectures given at this conference have focused on the issues of…”和“And while these are vital issues that must be addressed,  I’d like to focus my comments on an important issue…”将讲话重心从之前的事例过渡到论述的主题。而最后这句“First of all, I’d like to talk about . . .”是非常典型的列举分话题的句型。

虽然出于传授知识的特殊需求，以及缺少交互的特别情况，决定了讲座/讲话带有一些书面特色，但讲座/讲话的语言毕竟是演讲者在与听众面对面的语境中，用嘴说出，不是用笔写下的。讲座/讲话归根到底还是一种口语形式，被打上了“口语烙印”。

其一、虽然讲座/讲话的词汇比日常会话更正式，更接近书面语，但构成讲座/讲话主体的仍是人们在口头交流中最常使用的基础词汇。只是相比寻常对话，俚语等口语色彩非常浓重的非正式表达法较少出现。

其二、讲座/讲话中出现主从句、长句等复杂句式的频率相比日常对话更高，但整体还是体现口语的句法特征。

首先，讲座/讲话中最常见的还是“主谓宾”依次排列的自然句型，类似倒装句、强调句等在书面体中常被使用的特殊句式很少出现。

其次、讲座/讲话中的主从句一般只包含一个主句和一个从句，从句里还有从句的多层次复杂结构极为少见，而且从句往往也是最常见的时间、原因、结果、条件状语从句、定语从句和“that”引导的表示说话、思索等具体内容的宾语从句。讲座/讲话中的长句往往也是由“and”连接简单句，表示单纯的并列关系。由并列或转折连接词“and”、“but”连接数个主从句，构成厄长的复合复杂句，这种情况在讲座/讲话中并不常见。

再次、第一人称“I”、“we”等和第二人称“you”、“your”在讲座/讲话中出现的次数比在书面正式文体出现的次数多，如单复数第一人称在上例讲话中出现高达15次——这在论文写作中可以说是不能接受的。

另外、讲座/讲话会使用正式书面语中比较忌讳的缩略表达，例如“I’d”、“don’t”、“It’s”等。

最后，讲座/讲话还倾向于使用简单常用的指示代词“it”、“this/that”，而不是其他用法更复杂的指结构。

通常情况下，讲座/讲话都是由权威专家向听众传播专业性信息，因此，讲座/讲话具有一定的学术性。“学术性”要求语言准确、客观。讲座/讲话在某种程度上就像口头做的论文，也要符合一定的“学术规范”。

首先，要做到“准确”，这主要体现在两个层面：专业词汇让用词更准确，主从句让语义间的逻辑关系更清晰。讲座/讲话都是针对某个专业领域的。既然针对专业领域，就不可避免要使用专业术语。虽然出于讲座目的、讲座对象层次等方面的考虑，专业术语的使用有多有少，有难有易，但基本的专业词汇总是必不可少的。如果勉强绕过专业术语，想把道理说清，结果往往只能是讲授一方费时费力，接受一方云里雾里。

当然，CET-6是语言测试而不是专业考试，参考的考生也来自不同的专业背景，其中讲座/讲话听力涉及的专业词汇至多是“科普”级别，即使出现了较为生疏的术语，其后往往会紧接着给予解释定义。

例如，上例中可以找到一些跟社会、心理相关的词汇表达，“graying society”、“self-worth”、“self-identity”、“social status”、“material possessions”、“public facilities”、“pension reform”、“medical care”。这些词汇也许并不是寻常百姓街谈巷议中的常用词，但在见多识广的大学生眼中，可能已从“专业”变得“基础”。

从句子层面而言，学术讲座/讲话如果仅用简单句表达复杂的思想，需要使用的简单句数量会比较多，从而造成的必然结果是指示代词的频繁使用，而过多的代词可能会引起指代混乱，反而增加了听众处理信息的负担，甚至会产生歧义，导致误解。

其次，要做到“客观”，即演讲者/讲话者应避免做出太过主观的评价，得到过于武断的结论，要让论证使人信服。

为达到“客观”的目的，主要从句型，时态，用词几方面着手。

句型方面：避免使用感情色彩强烈的祈使句、疑问句或感叹句，使用语气平直、恳切的陈述句；时态方面：使用一般现在时陈述事实；

用词方面：利用一些表达方式让语气显得委婉，给观点留有余地。那种完全肯定或完全否定，非黑即白的语言在讲座/讲话中是比较少见的。

如上例讲话中“we often live in societies that value what is “new” or in fashion, and our own usage of words in the English language is often a sign of bad news for older Americans”，两个“often”的使用让讲话人的观点显得不太绝对。同样是这段讲话，“while these are vital issues that must be addressed, I’d like to focus my comments on an important issue that will affect the overall success of the other programs mentioned”，讲话人在突显自己研究重要性的同时，也肯定了其他学者讲座的意义。

总之，这些看似模棱两可的表达，反而帮助演讲者避开错误，让讲座/讲话显得更客观，更有说服力。

综上所述，在词汇层面，讲座/讲话基于口语常用词，偏向书面体的正式词汇，但避免过于口语化的表达，在必要的时候会使用相关专业词汇；在句子层面，讲座/讲话更频繁地使用主从句和长度较长的复合句，但主从句的结构不会过于复杂，复合句也往往表示并列关系；讲座/讲话的句子绝大多数是陈述句，通常使用一般现在时；在篇章层面，讲座/讲话会用连接词和过渡句串联起不同的成分。

虽然演讲者/讲话人的个人风格，学科专业特点，听众的层次等诸多因素会影响讲座/讲话的遣词造句。但讲座/讲话所具备的整体语言共性是不变的——兼具口语和书面语特点，并有学术性。

嘉兴雅思、嘉兴托福，欢迎致电源果英语！