chapter 1 introduction

EnglishRhetoricChapter11.OptionalcourseofEnglishMajor2.TeachingObjects:seniorsofEnglishMajor3.Purpose:GeneralideaaboutEnglishrhetoricabriefandinterestingsurveyofthehistoryofrhetoricwithemphasisonseveralmajorclassicalrhetoriciansandtheirtheoriesandapplicationCommunicativerhetoricthechoiceofwords,thechoiceofsentences,paragraphandessayconstructionAestheticrhetoric:figuresofspeech(phonetic,syntactic,semantic,logic)ReferenceBooks:1.黄任，《英语修辞与写作》，上海外语教育出版社，1999.2.胡曙中，《现代英语修辞学》，上海外语教育出版社，2004年7月第1版3.张秀国，《英语修辞学》(EnglishRhetoric)，清华大学出版社、北京交通大学出版社，20054.赵政清，《英语修辞学原理》，西南交通大学出版社，1996年5月。5.Richards,Jennifer.Rhetoric:Thenewcriticalidiom.Routledge.2008.6.（美）宁（Ling,D.）等著；常昌富等译.《当代西方修辞学：批评模式与方法》，中国社会科学出版社，1998.Warming-upExamples(1)AinvitesBouttodinner,butBcan’tmakeitbecausehehasanotherengagement.WhatwouldBsay?Herearetwoversions:(a)“I’msorryIcan’t.Ihavenotime.I’mengaged.”(b)“That’sverykindofyou,butI’mafraidIcan’tmakeitbecauseIhaveanotherengagement.Thankyouallthesame.”(2)Supposeyouneedtowritetwolettersofthanks,oneofwhichistoanoldfriend,theothertoanewbusinesspartner.Youmaycomposethebodiesofyourlettersasfollows:(a)“I’mwritingtothankyouforyourhospitalityduringmyrecenttriptoMilan.IhadamostenjoyabletimeandIthinkourmeetingswereverysuccessful.IlookforwardtoseeingyouwhenyouvisitShanghaiinMay.”(b)“ThisisjustashortnotetothankyouforaverypleasanteveningwhileIwasinFlorence.Itisalwaysgoodtoseeoldfriendsagainanditwasinterestingtohearyourarrival.Hopewecanmeetforlunch.”1.ConceptsrelatedtolanguageDefinitionoflanguage:Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.Thedouble-headedarrowsaretheplaceswhererhetorictakesplace.Thenhowdowedefinerhetoric?2.Whatisrhetoric?Theword“rhetoric”hasbeendefineddifferently.a.Thestudyandpracticeofeffectivecommunication.b.Thestudyoftheeffectsoftextsonaudiences.c.Theartofpersuasion.d.Aninsincereeloquenceintendedtowinpointsandmanipulateothers.DefinitioninthepastRhetoricistheartofrulingthemindsofmen.“(Plato)Rhetoricmaybedefinedasthefacultyofobservinginanygivencasetheavailablemeansofpersuasion.“(Aristotle,Rhetoric)Rhetoricistheartofspeakingwell.”(Quintilian)…eloquencetopersuadetheirfellowsofthetruthofwhattheyhaddiscoveredbyreason(Cicero)Historiesmakemenwise;poets,witty;themathematics,subtle;naturalphilosophy,deep;moral,grave;logicandrhetoric,abletocontend.“(FrancisBacon)读史使人明智，读诗使人聪慧，数学使人周密，自然哲学使人深刻，伦理学使人有修养，逻辑修辞使人善辩.Definitionsindictionariespublishedinthetwentiethcentury“theartofusinglanguagesoastopersuadeorinfluenceothers;thebodyofrulestobeobservedbyaspeakerorwriterinorderthathemayexpresshimselfwitheloquence”TheOxfordEnglishDictionary,1933“theartorscienceofusingwordseffectivelyinspeakingorwriting,especiallyofliterarycomposition”Webster’sNewWorldDictionaryoftheAmericanLanguage,1972“theartofpersuasiveorimpressivespeakingorwriting;languagedesignedtopersuadeorimpress(butperhapsinsincereorexaggerated)”TheConciseOxfordDictionary,1982“languageusedtopersuadeorinfluencepeople,especiallybypoliticians;theartofspeakingorwritingtopersuadeorinfluencepeople”LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,1995AGeneraldefinitionRhetoricistheartofeffectivecommunicationinwords.Generally,thestudyofhowtoexpressoneselfeffectivelyistheconcernofrhetoric.2.OriginofrhetoricItissaidthatthe“artofrhetoric”originatedinSyracuse锡拉库兹(意大利西西里岛东部一港市),aGreekcolonyontheislandofSicily,inabout465B.C..Whenthedictatorsontheislandwereoverthrownanddemocracywasestablished,peoplewenttocourttoclaimtheownershipofthelandwhichhadbeentakenfromthemduringthedictator’sreign.However,theGreeksystemrequiredthatcitizensrepresentthemselvesincourtinsteadofhiringattorneystospeakontheirbehalfaswecantoday.Therefore,therhetoriccameintobeingto“makethebestpossiblecaseandtorepresentitpersuasivelytothejury”(HuShuzhong,2002:3).rhetoricandoratoryOratoryhadbeenpracticedlongbeforetheancientrhetoriciansdevelopedatheoryandavocabularyforrhetoric.Oratory:*thefoundationofrhetoric*morethanordinaryspeechbutaspecialkindofpublicspeaking(aspecialpurpose,aspecialway,aspecialtime)*toimpress,convince,ormovetheaudiencetoactionTheythendevelopedasetofprinciplesforsuccessfulcommunication.Theseprinciplesmakeuptheartofrhetoric.4.Classificationofrhetoric（1）Theoreticalrhetoric（理论修辞）andpracticalrhetoric（实践修辞）:Theoreticalrhetoricdealswiththeoreticalproblemsofrhetoric;PracticalrhetorichelpsusimproveourabilitytousetheEnglishlanguageeffectively.（2）Communicativerhetoric（交际修辞）andaestheticrhetoric（美学修辞）.Communicativerhetoric:Emphasizesthechoiceofwordsandphrases,andselectionofsentencepatterns,organizingparagraphsandwholepiecesofwritinginsuchawaythatideasareexpressedmoreclearly,moreaccuratelyandmoreappropriatelyandthebestresultsareachievedincommunication.Rhetoricofwords(thechoiceofwords);Rhetoricofsentence(thechoiceofsentences);Rhetoricofparagraphs(thearrangementofparagraphs);Rhetoricofdiscouse(thediscursive(推论的，论证的)patterns)E.g.a:她的耳朵上戴着两只金色的大耳环。b:她的耳朵上吊着两只金色的大耳环。c:她的耳朵上挂着两只金色的大耳环。d:她的耳朵上缀着两只金色的大耳环。e:她的耳朵上镶着两只金色的大耳环。f:她的耳朵上摇着两只金色