Rhetorical-question

小田@小田@Rhetoricalquestionisarhetoricaldeviceusingaquestionfromadefiniteanswer,andthelistenerorthereadersurmisestheactualanswerfromthecontextand/orthetoneofthespeakerorwriter.Itcanalsorefertothecaseofraisingaquestioninone'sspeechorwritingandofferinganimmediateanswertoarouselisteners'orreaders'curiosityandinterest.小田@InEnglish,rhetoricalquestionsarecommonlyusedinspeechandininformalkindsofwriting(suchasadvertisements).Rhetoricalquestionsrarelyappearinacademicdiscourse.ARhetoricalquestiondiffersfromanordinaryquestioninthisway:whenawriterasksarhetoricalquestion,hedoesnotexpectthereadertoanswerit.Instead,arhetoricalquestionisusedforemphasis.Whenareadercomesuponarhetoricalquestion,hegenerallypausesandreflectsintenselyforamoment.小田@)Oneisaquestionthatisfollowedbyananswer.Itspurposeistocausereaders'attention.(InChinese,itcorrespondswith设问).2)Anotherisaquestionthatneverexpectsananswer.Itexpressesadefinitemeaninginastyleofquestion.(Thewriterhashadananswerinhismind.)(InChinese,itcorrespondswith反问).小田@大多语法书都认为,该疑问句无需回答,功能相当于陈述句,然而,尤其在新闻文体中却存在着自问自答类型,以引起读者注意,增加新闻价值和说服力。Eg:(1)Doesitreallymatterwhatafewpoliticiansoracademicssay?Probablynot.(2)Shallweallowtheseuntruthstogounanswered,thesemisdeeds(罪行)unreprimanded?No!小田@:(1)Canyouanswerit?=Surelyyoucannotanswerit.(2)Whatdifferencedoesitmake?=Itmakesnodifference.(3)Isthatthewaytotreatyourwife?=Thatisnotthewaytotre(4)Whocaresaboutyou?=Nobodycaresaboutyou.小田@(1)Isn’tthatverynice?=Itisverynice.(2)Whodoesn’tknowthat?=Everybodyknowsthat.(3)Whydon’tyouhelpmefixit?=Helpmefixit.(4)Didn’tIgiveyouthebook?=Ihavealreadygivenyouthebook.(5)Shouldn’tyougohomesoon?=Youshouldgohomesoon.A:IsLibyainLiberia?B:DoyouthinkRomeisinRomania?Areyoucrazy?ExamplesAmIafoolwastingmytimewithyou?IfWintercomes,canSpringbefarbehind?-----雪莱《西风颂》Ifpracticemakesperfect,andnoone'sperfect,thenwhypractice?——BillyCorganMarriageisawonderfulinstitution,butwhowouldwanttoliveinaninstitution?——H.L.Mencken问君能有几多愁？恰似一江水向东流。李煜《虞美人》不知细叶谁裁出？二月春风似剪刀。贺知章《咏柳》知否，知否？应是绿肥红瘦。李清照《如梦令》问君何能尔？心远地自偏。陶渊明的《饮酒》①表达类(expressives)②指令类(directives)③阐述类(representatives)④宣告类(declarations)Functions小田@(1)A:Pouracupofteaforme.B:Don’tyouhavetwohands?(2)Isn'titabitunnervingthatdoctorscallwhattheydo'practice'?———GeorgeCarlin12表达类(expressives)Tolayanemphasisandexpressstrongemotions.(Surprise,disappointment,exclamationorpraise)ToblameTosatire小田@常以“Whydon'tyou...?”、“Wouldyou...?”、“Whynot...?”等句型开头,Eg:(1)Whydon'tyousetthetable?(2)Whynotopenthewindow?指令类(directives)Toproposesuggestion,invitation,andopinionTomaketherequestmorepoliteandsincere.小田@Toassert阐述类(representatives)表明说话者对所要表达的命题的真实性作出承许,断言所说的话是真实、可信的,如“WhyshouldIapologize?”、“Wherecanyoueverseeaghost?”、“Isthatareasonfordespair?”可分别理解为“IassertthatIwon’tapologize.”、“Iassertthatyouwon’tseeanyghost.”、“Iassertthatthatisnoreasonfordespair.”小田@花儿为什么这样红？首先有它的物质基础。……花儿为什么这样红？还需要用物理学原理来解释。太阳光经过三棱镜或水滴的折射，会分成红、橙、黄、绿、青、蓝、紫七种颜色。这七种颜色的光波长短不同，红光波长，紫光波短。……花儿为什么这样红？还有它生理上的需要。……花儿为什么这样红？从达尔文的自然选择学说来看，昆虫起了到重要的作用。……花儿为什么这样红？最后要归功于人工选择。……（摘自贾祖璋《花儿为什么这样红》）Showaprocessofreasoning宣告类(declarations)Rhetoricalquestionisaverycommonspeakingstrategyinourdailylife.Structurally,itistheformofinterrogative,butitsfunctionisastrongassertion.1)Arhetoricalquestionfocusesandintensifiesthereader’sinterest.2)Arhetoricalquestionshouldbeusedonlytogiveforcetothewriter’smainideas;itshouldnotbewastedonminorpoints.3)Therhetoricalquestion—likeanystylisticdevice—shouldbeusedsparinglyforbesteffect.THANKYOU!10英本非师4班100205421林晓玲100205423王艺玲