境的概念(Notion of Context)
所谓语境,就是组织运用语篇的具体环境。环境(environment)是相对于生物活动而言的,可以指影响生物活动的各种外在条件和因素;语境(context)是相对于人的言语活动而言,可以指影响言语交际活动的各种外在条件和因素。
英语context -词来自拉丁词contextus,早期的意思是the construction of text。从内部构成看,它的前缀con表示together, with的意思,如conspire( = plan together);词根text相当于textus,表示weave( =编织)的意思,如texture(=织物)。作为一个派生词,context就是指weave together(交织在一起)。
从一般意义上看,英语context(语境)主要有两个含义:一是上下文,二是环境或背景。这可以从《新牛津英语词典》的释义中清楚地体现出来,.
Context-1. the circumstances or surrounding conditions that form the setting for an
event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and as-
sessed: the proposals need to he considered in the context of new European move-
ment. 2. the parts of something written or spoken that immediately precede or fol-
low a word or passage and that influence or help to clarify its meaning: the complex
meaning of irony is only graspable in context.
一The New Oxford Dictionary of English (2001)