principles-for-the-translation-of-public-signs本科学位论文

Principles

for

the

Translation

of

public

signs【Abstract】As

a

crucial

communication

material,

the

public

sign

exhibits

its

growing

importance

in

the

worldwide

communication.

It

is

a

special

text

whose

function

is

strong

and

communicative

purpose

quite

clear.

Thus,

its

translation

approaches

should

be

based

on

the

text’s

functions

and

the

translator’s

purpose.

This

paper

classifies

public

signs,

compares

Chinese

and

English

signs

and

comes

up

with

the

principle

for

its

C-E

translation,

namely,

an

A-B-C

approach

(Adapt-Borrow-Create

approach).

It

is

based

on

the

Skopostheorie.【Key

Words】public

signs;translation;principle;SkopostheorieIntroductionSign

refers

to

a

lettered

board

or

other

public

display

placed

on

or

before

a

building,

room,

shop

or

office

to

advertise

business

there

transacted

or

the

name

of

person

or

firm

conducting

it

(Webster’s

Third

New

International

Dictionary).

Signs,

which

belong

to

social

phraseology,

cover

a

wide

range

including

environmental

communication

signs

(wayfinding/directing

signs,

information

signs,

notices,

and

warnings),

street

signs,

traffic

signs

road

signs,

road

markers,

parking

signs,

school

signs,

no-smoking

signs,

construction

signs,

travel

signs,

instructional

notices

and

so

on.

They

are,

with

their

social

communicative

functions,

widely

used

by

the

public

on

all

kinds

of

occasions.1.Definition

and

Classification

of

the

Public

SignIn

Oxford

English

Dictionary,

a

sign

refers

to

a

characteristic

device

attached

to

or

placed

in

front

of

an

inn

or

shop,

as

a

means

of

distinguishing

it

from

others

or

directing

attention

to

it;

in

later

use

commonly

a

board

bearing

a

name

or

other

inscriptions,

with

or

without

some

ornament

or

picture.

According

to

the

Webster’s

Third

New

International

Dictionary,

it

is

defined

as

a

lettered

board

or

other

public

display

placed

on

or

before

a

building,

room,

shop

or

office

to

advertise

business

there

transacted

or

the

name

of

person

or

firm

conducting

it.

Sign

is

a

broad

term,

widely

used

in

public

facilities,

ranging

from

travelling,

catering,

accommodation,

recreation,

shopping

to

medical

service,

educational

institution

and

financial

service.

It

includes

words

of

caution,

public

notices,

bills,

posters,

slogans,

outdoor

advertisements,

traffic

notices

and

so

on.

Specifically

speaking,

it

covers

street

signs,

road

signs,

road

markers,

parking

signs,

school

signs,

construction

signs,

non-smoking

signs,

signs

at

scenic

spots,

slogans

etc..

2.Practical

Functions

of

the

Public

SignSigns

perform

the

following

four

basic

functions:

indicating,

promoting,

restricting

and

compelling.Indicating

As

its

meaning

suggests,

indicating

is

to

indicate

or

guide

readers.

Signs

as

such

are

also

called

instructive/directive/guiding

notices

which

give

readers

detailed

information

with

no

prohibition

and

restriction.

Indicating

is

the

most

basic

function

performed

in

sign

language.

Indicating

signs

generally

give

readers

relevant

information

about

what

it

is

and

what

service

it

provides.Prompting

Prompting

has

no

striking

difference

from

indicating

except

that

the

former

carries

the

tone

of

warning.

It

aims

at

reminding

readers

of

paying

considerable

attention

to

signs.Restricting

Unlike

the

two

functions

mentioned

above,

signs

that

perform

restricting

function

put

restrictions

and

constraints

to

readers,

who

are

expected

to

abide

by

certain

rules

in

the

interest

of

public.

Restricting

signs

are

to

keep

or

confine

within

limits.Compelling

To

put

it

simple,

compelling

signs

have

great

power

and

potency

to

induce

action

or

brief.

With

its

tough

tone,

negative

words

and

comparatively

uniform

sentence

structures,

there

is

slight

possibility

of

any

alternatives.3.Comparison

Between

the

Chinese

and

English

Public

SignBoth

share

similarities,

of

which,

the

language

styles

are

concise,

convenient

and

conspicuous;

moreover,

the

figures

of

speech

are

often

adopted.

Yet,

a

series

of

differences

still

exist.

Such

stylistic

analysis

focuses

more

on

its

functional

significance

in

the

sign

translation

than

on

the

formal

features

of

texts

for

its

own

sake.

•Word

Order

As

thinking

modes

vary

in

two

cultures,

the

centre

of

power

reflected

in

Chinese

and

English

is

strikingly

different.

The

Chinese

sign

is

highly

implicit

by

placing

the

focus

at

the

end

of

a

phrase;

on

the

contrary,

the

English

sign

emphasizing

the

point

at

the

beginning.

For

instance,﹡油漆未干

Wet

Paint﹡无汞（电池）

Mercury-Free·Diction

Practice

Differences

are

also

seen

in

diction

practice.

Verbs

are

usually

employed

in

Chinese

to

perform

such

functions

as

warning,

restricting

and

compelling,

whereas

the

nouns

and

gerunds

quite

common

in

English.

For

instance,﹡严禁穿行

No

Trespassing﹡不收手续费

No

Commission

Charge·Mood

Unlike

English

signs

which

sound

euphemistic

and

implicative,

Chinese

signs

are

more

direct

and

straightforward,

even

with

a

touch

of

authority.

English

signs

often

display

the

allowable

aspect

instead

of

aiming

at

the

prohibited

audience.

For

instance,

﹡闲人免进

Staff

Only﹡送客止步

Passengers

Only·Voice

English

signs

generally

use

passive

voice;

Chinese

signs,

however,

are

more

of

active

voice.

Hence,

sign

translators

should

take

into

account

the

target

reader’s

acceptability

and

identification.

For

example,﹡禁止携带犬只入内

Dogs

Not

Allowed﹡戴好防护镜和安全帽

Safety

Glasses

&

Hard

Hats

Required4.Skopostheorie

Skopostheorie,

advocated

by

Hans

J.

Vermeer,

is

the

core

theory

of

functionalism,

which

is

a

broad

term

for

various

theories

focusing

on

the

function

or

functions

of

texts.

According

to

Skopostheorie,

the

prime

principle

determining

any

translation

process

is

the

purpose

(Skopos)

of

the

overall

translational

action.

Thus,

the

top-ranking

rule

for

any

translation

is

“Skopos

rule”,

meaning

that

a

translational

action

is

determined

by

its

Skopos;

that

is,

“the

end

justifies

the

means”

(Nord,

2001:29).

The

framework

of

Vermeer’s

Skopostheorie

is

as

follows:

Any

form

of

translation

action,

including

therefore

translation

itself,

may

be

conceived

as

an

action,

as

the

name

implies.

Any

action

has

an

aim,

a

purpose…The

word

Skopos,

then

is

a

technical

term

for

the

aim

or

purpose

of

a

translation…an

action

(which)

leads

to

a

result,

a

new

situation

or

event,

and

possibly

to

a

“new”

object.

(Nord,

2001:12)A

translational

action

may

involve

a

variety

of

Skopos,

or

purposes,

which

may

be

related

to

each

other

in

a

hierarchical

order.

We

can

distinguish

between

three

possible

kinds

of

purposes

in

the

field

of

translation:

·the

general

purpose

aimed

at

by

the

translator

in

the

translation

process;·the

communicative

purpose

aimed

at

by

the

target

text

in

the

target

situation;·the

purpose

aimed

at

by

a

particular

translation

strategy

or

procedure.5.Principles

for

the

Translation

of

Public

SignsThe

language

structures

and

expressions

present

diversity,

triggered

by

the

differences

between

the

two

cultures

in

social

systems,

values,

and

thinking

modes.

Based

on

the

Skopostheorie,

the

A-B-C

approach

(模仿-借用-创新模式)

,

which

has

a

clear

functional

orientation,

is

a

well-tested

principle

for

the

translation

of

the

public

sign.

The

A-B-C

approach

refers

to

the

adapt

approach,

borrow

approach

and

create

approach.

If

the

similar

signs

exist

in

English-speaking

countries,

then

adapt

the

original

ones.

If

the

corresponding

English

equivalents

can

be

consulted,

then

directly

borrow

them.

As

to

some

public

signs

unique

with

Chinese

characteristics,

translators

need,

according

to

the

purpose

of

the

target

text,

create

the

proper

expressions.

The

result

of

an

A-B-C

approach

is

a

text

that

may

achieve

the

same

functions

as

an

original

text.

And

when

a

target-text

function

is

the

same

as

that

of

the

source

text,

it

may

be

called

an

equifunctional

translation.

The

A-B-C

approach

makes

the

functional

equivalence

come

true

and

thus,

corresponding

to

what

Reiss

calls

‘communicative

translation’,

where

receivers

ideally

do

not

notice,

or

are

not

even

interested

in,

the

fact

that

they

are

reading

a

translation.

·Adapt

ApproachAccording

to

Skopostheorie,

the

translation

approaches

and

translation

strategies

should

be

determined

by

the

intended

purpose

or

function

of

a

translation.

If

the

purpose

of

the

translation

is

to

keep

the

function

of

the

text

invariant,

function

markers

often

have

to

be

adapted

to

target

culture

standards.

It

means

the

slight

change

translator

makes

based

on

the

similar

expressions

in

English.

It

can

guide

the

translator

to

make

flexible

target

language

choices

when

rendering

culture-specific

expression.

His

choices

must

be

predicated

on

the

acceptability

level

of

his

target

readers.

The

translator

makes

linguistic

choices

and

employs

translation

strategies,

especially

when

he

is

transplanting

cultural

images.

In

sign

translation,

some

established

signs

in

English

can

be

adapted.

There

are

three

ways

to

achieve

such

an

adaptation:a.

adapt

the

existing

English

signs﹡

超值享受

Best

Value﹡

数量有限

售完为止

Subject

to

Availability﹡

山路多弯道

行车须安全

Twists

Ahead.

Drive

with

Care.﹡

碧水清清，却亦无情，河湍势险，请勿戏水

Danger:

Deep

Water!

/

Deep

Water!

Beware!b.

mime

the

English

proverbs,

poems

and

mottoes﹡桂林山水甲天下

East

or

West,

Guilin

Landscape

is

best!﹡与其道听途说，不如亲身体验

Using

is

believing.

The

quality

of

the

translation

is

evaluated

by

the

response

of

the

target

readers,

to

which,

an

important

criterion

is

whether

readers

can

have

a

good

understanding

of

what

they

are

reading.

The

translation

from

the

above

mimes

the

well-known

English

proverbs

“East

or

west,

home

is

best”

and

“Seeing

is

believing”.

In

this

way,

it

arouses

the

amiableness

on

the

part

of

readers,

achieves

the

persuasiveness

of

the

public

sign

and

justifies

the

translator’s

choice

of

a

particular

purpose

in

a

given

translational

situation.·Borrow

ApproachThe

borrow

approach

is

highly

practical

and

realistic

in

sign

translation.

Based

on

the

approach,

the

conventional

expressions

of

English

signs

could

be

borrowed

so

that

they

sound

familiar

and

acceptable

to

the

foreigners.

According

to

Skopostheorie,

different

individuals

from

different

cultures

would

differ

to

a

greater

or

lesser

extent,

but

they

would

be

culturally

equivalent

when

they

perform

the

same

‘function’

in

their

respective

culture

specific

setting.

a.

Parking

signs

borrowed﹡

限时停车

Time

Limit

Parking﹡

多层停车场

Parkade

(blend

of

park

and

arcade)﹡

收费停车场

Pay

Parkingb.

The

established

expressions

borrowed

(mainly

commerce

facilities

including

shops,

malls,

marketplaces

and

etc.)﹡综合商店

Variety

Store﹡邮购服务

Mail

Order

Retailing﹡蔬菜水果店

Grocery

StoryAs

every

translation

is

directed

at

an

intended

audience,

a

familiar

tone

is

what

the

translator

tries

to

achieve

to

enhance

the

charm

of

language

and

touch

the

reader

as

well.

The

borrow

approach

facilitates

building

up

such

cultural

comfort

zone,

namely,

to

achieve

similar

contextual

efforts

and

to

cater

to

the

aesthetic

expectations

and

acceptability

level

of

the

target

audience.

Just

as

Nida

puts

it

,

for

truly

successful

translating,

biculturalism

is

even

more

important

than

bilingualism,

since

words

only

have

meanings

in

terms

of

the

cultures

in

which

they

function.•Create

ApproachWhen

performing

the

translation

of

signs

with

Chinese

characteristics,

we

tend

to

adopt

create

approach.

That

is,

translators

should

do

the

creative

work

when

there

are

no

conventional

expressions

to

borrow

or

similar

expressions

to

adapt

from

English

sign

language.

Skopostheorie

offers

a

theoretical

basis

for

the

creative

translation.

We

know

from

the

theory

that

in

the

course

of

translating,

the

translator

develops

his

subjectivity

when

he

interprets

the

original

utterances

as

a

reader

and

researcher,

and

produces

them

as

a

substitute

for

the

author

and

recreator.

The

translator’s

linguistic

choices

and

pragmatic

translation

strategies

must

focus

on

conveying

the

author’s

intentions

without

putting

the

audience

to

unnecessary

processing

effort

in

achieving

the

contextual

efforts

in

the

interpretation

intended

by

the

author.

Otherwise,

the

appellative

function

of

sign

language

will

be

absent.

One

thing

needs

to

be

noted

here:

in

the

following

examples,

F

stands

for

False

and

T

for

True.

﹡

宁停三分，不抢一秒

•It

pays

to

stop

to

wait

for

three

minutes

rather

than

rush

to

gain

one

second.(F)•It’s

far

better

to

arrive

late

in

this

world

than

early

in

the

next.(T)﹡司机一滴酒，亲人两行泪•When

a

man

mixes

drink

with

drive,

he

is

likely

to

bring

tears

to

his

wife.(F)

•Drink

and

drive

costs

your

life.(T)The

two

examples

account

for

the

necessity

of

considering

the

values

and

customs

of

target

language,

which

is

not

an

isolated

phenomenon

but

an

integral

part

of

culture.

One

of

the

most

important

factors

that

determine

a

translation

purpose

is

the

addressee—the

intended

receiver

or

audience

in

the

target

language

and

culture

with

expectations

and

communicative

needs.

Hence,

translators

should

adopt

the

“reader-centre”

principle

so

as

to

enable

the

foreigners

to

fully

understand

the

sign

language

in

English.

CONCLUSIONThe

public

sign

is

an

applied

text.

As

a

particular

type

of

pragmatic

material,

it

manifests

clear

communicative

purpose.

This

paper

presents

the

sign

definition,

classification,

characteristics

and

functions

and

then

analyzes

various

problems

in

sign

translation.

To

deal

with

the

problems

discussed,

the

paper

tries

to

offer

some

solutions

based

on

Skopostheorie

for

sign

translation.

As

for

the

pragmatic

and

cultural

problems,

most

of

them

can

be

built

on

an

A-B-C

Approach.

The

A-B-C

Approach

conforms

to

Skopostheorie,

the

functional

translation

theory,

which

focuses

on

the

two

aspects:

(a)

on

the

relationship

between

the

target

text

and

its

audience;

(b)

on

the

relationship

between

the

target

text

and

the

corresponding

source

text.

On

the

one

hand,

a

translation

is

a

text

intended

to

function

for

the

target

receivers

and,

as

such,

may

be

intended

for

any

communicative

function.

On

the

other

hand,

a

translation

is

a

kind

of

target-culture

representation

or

substitute

for

a

source-culture

text.

As

such,

it

may

carry

out

quite

different

functions

with

regard

to

the

source

text.

So

the

translator’s

responsibility

for

target

language

readers

is

the

criterion

in

sign

translation

within

the

framework

of

Skopostheorie.

Signs

may

just

contain

a

few

words;

however,

their

translation

is

by

no

means

easy.

To

present

a

favourable

image

of

China

and

better

communication

with

the

outside

world,

we

should

lay

much

emphasis

on

the

translation

of

the

public

signs.

Finally,

what

deserves

mentioning

is

that

more

and

more

people

have

come

to

realize

the

importance

of

the

sign

translation.

The

Second

Symposium

on

C-E

Signs

in

a

Global

Context

was

held

in

Tongji

【REFERENCES】[1]

Dollerup,

Cay

2006,

Perspectives:

Studies

in

Translatology

[J].

Beijing:

Tsinghua

Press.[2]

Newmark,

Peter

2001,

Approaches

to

Translation

[M].

Shanghai:

Shanghai

Foreign

Language

Education

Press.[3]

Nida,

Eugene

A.

&

Charles

R.

Taber.

2004,

The

Theory

and

Practice

of

Translation

[M].

Shanghai:

Shanghai

Foreign

Language

Education

Press.[4]

Nord,

Christiane

2006,

Text

Analysis

in

Translation

[M].

Beijing:

Foreign

Language

Teaching

and

Research

Press.[5]

Searle

J.R.

2001,

Expression

and

Meaning:

Studies

in

the

Theory

of

Speech

Acts

[M].

Beijing

Foreign

Language

Teaching

and

Research

Press.[6]丁衡祈.对外宣传中的英语质量函待提高[J].中国翻译.2002(4).[7]金惠康.跨文化交际翻译续编[M].北京：中国对外出版公司,2004.[8]吕和发.公示语的汉英翻译[J].中国科技翻译.2004(4).[9]吕和发,单丽平.汉英公示语词典[M].北京：商务印书馆出版,2004年9月.[10]牛新生.从感召功能看汉语公示语的翻译[J].中国翻译,2007(2).Teacher

Talk

discourse

analysisAbstract：Teacher

Talk

(TT

for

short)

refers

to

the

speeches

that

the

teacher

uses

to

speak

to

students

when

the

teacher

undertakes

the

task

in

the

foreign

language

teaching.

TT

can

be

primarily

divided

into

two

types:

content

language

(CL

for

short)

and

medium

language

(ML

for

short).

CL

refers

to

the

language

of

teaching

tasks

as

prescribed

in

textbooks.

ML

consists

of

explanatory

medium

language

(EML)

and

coordinative

medium

language

(CML)

EML

refers

to

the

language

the

teacher

uses

to

perform

such

teaching

tasks

as

paragraphing

words

or

sentences

or

illustrating

grammar

rules.

CML

refers

to

speeches

used

by

the

teacher

for

greeting,

comments,

task

switching,

discipline

regulation,

etc.

What

merits

my

attention

in

this

paper

is

ML.TT

as

the

essential

medium

in

language

teaching

is

firstly

studied

in

the

field

of

Teaching

Methodology.

Different

teaching

approaches

can

bring

about

different

styles

of

TT;

and

different

TT

applies

different

teaching

approaches

to

teaching

activities.

However,

limiting

the

analysis

of

TT

in

the

field

of

Teaching

Methodology

may

narrow

the

research

space

of

TT

and

can

be

fairly

disadvantageous

in

language

teaching.

This

paper

adopts

an

opening

view

–

the

perspective

of

discourse

analysis

to

analyze

linguistic

forms

and

their

functions

as

well

as

effects

on

learners’

learning,

and

it

firstly

sums

up

several

communicative

features

of

TT.

Then

introduces

the

researches

closely

related

to

the

study

of

TT,

and

enquires

the

TT

strategies

basing

on

the

analysis

of

the

middle

schools’

English

teaching.

Finally,

tries

to

offer

further

refection

on

TT.中文题目：中学英语教学教师口语策略探讨The

key

words:

Teacher

Talk;

discourse

analysis;

context;

classroom

interaction;

communicative

features.

1.

IntroductionThe

first

chapter

serves

as

an

introduction

with

a

brief

overview

of

the

previous

study

of

Teacher

Talk.

It

has

put

forward

the

new

scope

of

this

paper

that

it

will

be

quite

contributive

to

investigate

Teacher

Talk

from

the

perspective

of

the

discourse

analysis

rather

than

limiting

the

research

of

Teacher

Talk

in

the

only

field

of

Foreign

Language

Teaching

Methodologies.

1.1.

Present

Research

on

Teacher

TalkWith

the

development

of

the

second

language

acquisition,

scholars

begin

to

study

language

teaching

classroom

in

psychological

and

sociological

perspectives

in

order

to

improve

students’

acquisition

of

a

second

language.

Mantero

(2002)

studies

discourse

in

second

language

classroom

in

a

psychological

perspective.

His

study

brings

us

“closer

to

understanding

the

role

of

cognition,

discourse,

and

literature

in

a

foreign

language

classroom”.

Those

who

studies

in

the

sociological

perspective

are

interested

in

the

classroom

interaction.

Christie

(2002)

has

said

“there

has

been

a

growing

interest

in

the

study

of

interaction

patterns

found

in

foreign

language

classrooms

during

the

last

20

years.

This

is

a

result

of

the

realization

that

successful

language

teaching

probably

depends

more

on

the

type

of

interaction

that

takes

place

in

the

classroom

than

on

the

actual

teaching

method

used.”

Therefore,

the

discourse

between

the

teacher

and

students

becomes

the

subject.

The

structure

and

the

nature

of

classroom

discourse

are

studied

to

show

how

the

teacher

and

the

students

together

create

chances

to

learn

instead

of

only

how

the

teacher

teaches.

Meanwhile,

there

are

also

micro

studies

of

the

discourse

in

classrooms.

Barnes

(1969,

quoted

in

Ellis,

1994)

has

studied

one

aspect

of

the

discourse

–

initiating.

Mchoul

(1978,

quoted

in

Ellis,

1994)

has

shown

that

classroom

discourse

is

often

organized

so

that

there

is

a

strict

allocation

of

turns

and

who

speaks

to

whom

at

what

time

is

firmly

controlled.

As

a

result,

there

is

less

turn-by-turn

negotiation

and

competition,

and

individual

student

initiatives

are

discouraged.In

China,

although

our

society

has

a

considerable

demand

of

foreign

language

teaching,

and

it

never

functions

well

in

terms

of

explorations

of

Teacher

Talk.

Therefore,

research

of

Teacher

Talk

in

China

seem

quite

inadequate

and

may

not

meet

the

actual

demands

of

foreign

language

teaching.

A

case

in

point

is

the

investigation

made

by

Yang

Xueyan

in

2003.

She

examined

the

Index

to

Papers

on

Foreign

Language

Research

edited

by

Highber

Education

Institute

and

collected

the

statistics

about

the

research

papers

published

by

foreign

language

teachers

in

China

in

1999.

Table:

Statistics

of

Papers

on

Foreign

Language

Teaching

in

1999

Number

Ratio

Foreign

language

teaching

(extensively)

63

24.7%

Reform

in

education

41

16%

Language

learning

and

acquisition

41

16%

Teaching

methodology

28

11%

Language

skills

and

teaching

25

9.8%

Cultural

factors

19

7.5%

Multimedia

and

electric-form

teaching

19

7.5%

Teaching

research

9

3.5%

Foreign

language

classrooms

performance

5

2%

Foreign

language

teachers

5

2%

From

the

above

table

we

may

realize

that

Chinese

foreign

language

teachers

do

concern

most

about

the

research

of

the

second

language

acquisition,

teaching

methodologies

and

cross-cultural

communication,

but

care

the

least

about

language

classroom

and

language

teachers.

Furthermore,

the

research

about

teachers

in

foreign

language

teaching

is

centralized

on

teacher’s

qualities,

teacher’s

roles

and

relationship

between

teachers

and

students

(Yang

Xueyan,

2003).Either

in

domestic

or

foreign

countries,

linguistics

and

language

teachers

have

attached

more

importance

to

teaching

methodologies

and

usually

resort

to

methodological

approach

to

Teacher

Talk

(Liu

Runqing,

1999);

and

the

discoursed

perspective

of

interactive

Teacher

Talk

in

this

paper

is

obviously

unusual

and

needs

to

be

encouraged.

So

from

overview

of

the

present

study

on

Teacher

Talk,

it

necessitates

the

trends

that

Teacher

Talk

should

be

investigated

in

various

respects

(Liu

Runqing,

1999).

1.2．Definition

and

Classification

of

Teacher

TalkAccording

to

the

linguists

Sinclair

＆

Brazil

who

published

Teacher

Talk

in

1982,

teacher

talk

(TT

for

short)

refers

to

the

speeches

that

the

teacher

uses

to

speak

to

students

when

the

teacher

undertakes

teaching

tasks

in

the

foreign

language

teaching

(Sinclair

＆

Brazil,1982).

TT

can

be

primarily

divided

into

two

types:

content

language

(CL

for

short)

and

medium

language

(ML

for

short)

(Sinclair

＆

Brazil,1982).

CL

refers

to

the

language

of

teaching

tasks

as

prescribed

in

textbooks.

Teachers

read

them

aloud

in

the

order

of

sentence

or

paragraph.

ML

consists

of

explanatory

medium

language

(EML)

and

coordinative

medium

language

(CML).

EML

means

the

language

that

teachers

use

to

paraphrase

words

or

sentences

of

texts,

to

illustrate

grammar,

and

to

provide

further

information

relating

to

texts;

CML

refers

to

speeches

used

by

the

teacher

for

greeting,

revision,

question

delivery,

comments,

task

switching,

discipline

regulation,

homework,

etc.

What

merits

my

attention

in

this

paper

is

ML1.3.

Linguistic

Properties

of

Teacher

Talk

Calaudron

(1988)

investigates

and

studies

TT

from

all

linguistic

aspects

and

he

draws

the

following

conclusions:(1)

Pronunciations:

Sonorous,

articulate,

a

bit

exaggerated;

underlying

the

vowels

and

consonant

clusters,

without

an

emphasis

so

much

on

the

RP

(Received

Pronunciation)

as

the

so

called

standard

pronunciation

typical

of

the

written

English;(2)

Vocabulary:

As

few

as

possible

modifiers

to

the

vocabulary,

abbreviations

or

colloquial

expression,

but

many

basic

words

of

neutral

color

are

used;(3)

Syntax:

Short

sentences

are

used

to

the

less

advanced

students

as

many

as

possible

instead

of

the

complex

ones

and

a

great

amount

of

structures

rather

than

the

irregular,

not

so

much

in

the

past

tense

as

in

the

present

tense;(4)

Discourse:

The

first

person

is

mostly

used,

and

repetition

resorted

for

explaining

things

to

the

less

advanced

students;(5)

Other

respects

take

60%

of

a

period

of

class,

and

they

are

standardized,

and

demonstrative.TT

seems

to

be

like

"mother

tongue",

which,

in

the

second

language

classrooms,

is

usually

adjusted

(in

pronunciation,

vocabulary,

syntax

and

discourse)

to

different

needs

of

students;

and

still

needs

to

be

illustrated

with

accuracy,

norms

and

demonstration.

1.4.

Function

and

Values

of

Teacher

TalkFor

about

twenty

years,

linguists

have

paid

more

and

more

attention

to

the

fact

that

in

classrooms

students’

successful

outcome

is

largely

related

to

the

speeches

the

teacher

uses

and

interaction

between

the

teachers

and

students.

Just

as

Duly

states:

“Teaching

a

second

language

means

creating

for

students

a

part

or

all

their

new

language

environment.

The

entire

responsibility

for

creating

the

language

environment

falls

on

the

teacher

who

is

teaching

a

language

that

is

not

used

in

the

community”

(1989).

It

is

obvious

that

teacher

talk

plays

a

very

important

part

as

far

as

students’

acquisition

of

the

second

language

is

concerned.

Seven

Walsh

has

also

pointed

out

that

EFT

classroom

teaching

is

very

different

from

other

classroom

teaching,

and

in

EFT

classrooms,

language

is

not

only

the

aim

of

learning

but

also

the

teaching

medium.

In

other

words,

both

teachers

and

students

are

using

the

language

while

they

are

teaching

and

learning

the

language.

TT

can

be

the

largest

and

most

liable

source

of

students’

second

language

acquisition.

Consequently,

the

presentation

of

TT

has

both

positive

and

passive

effects

on

students’

outcome

(Wang

Yinquan,

1999).

TT

is

functional

and

of

great

value

as

far

as

all

the

respects

of

classroom

teaching

is

concerned.

Below

are

demonstrations

to

show

two

of

TT’s

functions:

to

create

harmonious

atmosphere

and

to

encourage

students.Firstly,

a

teacher

can

improve

his

TT

to

create

harmonious

atmosphere

in

foreign

language

teaching.Secondly,

a

good

teacher

needs

to

make

sure

that

all

students

get

the

feeling

of

being

encouraged

from

his

TT

“Encouraging”

being

a

language

function;

it

is

the

best

way

for

teacher

to

use

the

linguistic

tools

to

verbally

encourage

students,

not

by

pointing

out

that

students’

weaknesses

do

not

matter,

but

by

highlighting

their

strengths.Besides

its

worth

and

function

in

teaching

and

learning,

TT

serves

as

the

major

source

of

students’

foreign

language

input,

and

it

is

of

great

significance

for

TT

to

be

paid

a

close

and

further

attention

to.

Another

reason

may

be

that

ever

since

Hymes

(1972)

raised

the

issue

of

communicative

competence

(CC)

in

the

1970s,

it

has

been

widely

advocated

as

the

target

of

TESOL

and

Second

Language

Acquisition

(SLA).

Much

research

on

making

students

speak

appropriately

has

been

done,

with

theories

such

as

learner-centered

learning,

learners#39;

awareness

of

CC,

learners#39;

autonomy

in

class

being

established

2.

Rationales

Relevant

to

Teacher

TalkThe

first

chapter

introduces

the

rationales

which

are

closely

related

to

the

study

of

Teacher

Talk,

and

they

are:

(1)

Foreign

Language

Teaching

Methodology;

(2)

Sociolinguistics;

(3)

Applied

Linguistics;

(4)

Second

Language

Acquisition;

(5)

Discourse

Analysis.

Instead

of

pursuing

the

traditional

approach

in

which

Teacher

Talk

is

usually

involved

in

the

field

of

Foreign

Language

Teaching

Methodology,

this

paper

takes

quite

a

new

perspective:

discoursed

analysis

to

study

the

language

in

use

on

the

part

of

the

teacher

in

foreign

language

teaching.

2.1.

Methodological

Account

and

its

Related

SubjectsIt

is

quite

certain

that

methodological

theories

have

ever

been

the

biggest

source

of

linguistic

structures

and

speech

strategies

in

TT.

Research

on

teaching

methodologies

can

serve

as

the

starting

point

to

analyze

TT.

Scholars

like

Benseler(1980),

Schulz(1980),

Johnson(1979),

Brumfit(1979),

Brown(1980),

Littlewood(1981),etc.,

who

have

been

involved

in

the

research

of

teaching

methodologies,

have

also

been

co