1、中国最大的论文知识平台 摘 要本文首先介绍了格莱斯会话含义理论，包括会话含义的五个特点、合作原则的发展历程、其中四准则的具体内容以及合作原则的应用。然后对大学英语四、六级测试中的对话型听力理解题做了介绍和分析，指出其命题方式和测试重点与难点。结合合作原则的四准则，阐述了四、六级对话型听力理解真题中违反四准则的情况并据此分成四类，由此不仅总结出四种类型题目的一些特点，还阐明了合作原则四准则在解答对话型听力理解题时所起的作用。最后结合大学英语四、六级对话型听力理解真题，例举了相关且有代表性的题目，提出了一些解题思路与技巧。关键词：会话含义；合作原则；四准则；对话型听力；解题思路 中国最大的论文知识
2、平台 ABSTRACTThe paper first introduces Gricean conversational implicature theory, including five properties of conversational implicature, development of the cooperative principle, contents of the four maxims and application of the CP. It then explores examination proposition, test orientation and di
3、fficult points of the conversational listening comprehension in CET-4 cooperative principle; four maxims; conversational listening comprehension; solutions 中国最大的论文知识平台 Contents1Introduction 12. Gricean conversational implicature theory .22.1 Five properties of conversational implicature32.2 Introduc
4、tion and development of cooperative principle 52.3 Contents of cooperative principle 72.4 Application of cooperative principle93. A brief introduction of listening comprehension in CET-4 2) theoretical research in which different views are aired about the CP; 3) practical application in which applic
5、ation of the CP is attempted in various fields94. In the process of the research, there are some critiques on the CP and its associated maxims. In an article entitled On the Limitations of the CP, Zhang Chunlong(1995) argues that Grices description of the relation maxim is too vague, and that Grices
6、 emphasis on the speakers instead of on the hearers or both is itself incomprehensive1086-89. Gao Weidong analyzes two basic concepts“cooperation” and “principle” in his article “Cooperation”and “Principle” in the CP. He finds that whether the CP is understood as an absolute principle or a relevant
7、one, there might be problems. Thus, Gao concludes that the CP is both vague and inconsistent116-9. These critiques are of great help to a better and deeper understanding of the CP. Although there are some critiques, the CP with its maxims is not only a kind of attempt but also a contribution to the
8、field of pragmatics.2.3 Contents of cooperative principleIt is H.P. Grice that first phrased the theory of the Cooperative Principle in his William James Lectures at Harvard in 1967. Grices theory is about how people use language. He believes that there is a set of assumptions that may be formulated
9、 as guidelines for the efficient and effective use of language in the conduct of conversation. These assumptions jointly express a general principle governing conversations. That is the Cooperative Principle: Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs,
10、 by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged12. Besides Grice derives a set of maxims concerning what should be 中国最大的论文知识平台 said in a conversation and how it should be said. He identifies four basic maxims of Quality, Quantity, Relevance and Manner as guideline
11、s for the efficient and effective use of language in conversation. This means people need to convey their ideas efficiently, truly, relevantly and clearly in conversations. The cooperative principle has the following maxims.Table 1The Four Maxims of the CPWHAT SHOULD BE SAIDN1. Make your contributio
12、n as informative as is required (for the current purposes of the exchange).N2. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.Q1. Do not say what you believe to be false.Q2. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.R1. Be relevantHOW IT SHOULD BE SAID M1. Avoid obscurity
13、 of expression.M2. Avoid ambiguity.M3. Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).M4. Be orderly.(Note: N-quantity, Q-quality, R-relation, M-manner.)Here are some examples violating these maxims respectively.1) The maxim of quantity:A: When is Susans birthday party?B: Sometime next month.This is a conve
14、rsation between two people when both A and B know exactly when Susan is going to give her birthday party. B violates the maxim of quantity on purpose by not offering the sufficient information of the exact date of Susans birthday party. The implicative meaning is that “Im unwilling to tell you when
15、the party is going to be held.”2) The maxim of quality:A: Would you like to join us for the concert on Sunday?B: Im afraid I have got a class on Sunday.It is known to A and B that there is no class that will prevent B from going for the concert. B is flouting the maxim of quality. The implicature is
16、 “I do not 中国最大的论文知识平台 want to join you for the concert on Sunday.”3) The maxim of relevance:A: How did the exam go, John? B: We had a football match with other class and we beat them.Obviously B does not answer As question according to the maxim of relevance. From the answer we can conclude that B
17、do not wish to talk about the exam.4) The maxim of manner:A: Lets get the kids something.B: Okay, but I veto I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M.The two are discussing to buy something for the kids. Both A and B has no difficulty in pronouncing the word “ice-cream”. Thus B violates the maxim of manner. He doesnt speak
18、out ice-cream directly but spell it word by word. His purpose is very clear, that is, not to make the kids understand what they say.Its interesting and important to note that four maxims are not always strictly observed. Rather, for various reasons they are often flouted. Grice distinguishes those p
19、henomena into five kinds: 1.violating a maxim 2.infringing a maxim 3.opting out of a maxim 4.suspending a maxim 5.flouting a maxim. Among these, the last kind usually gives rise to “conversational implicatures” just as the above examples. And the CP and its related maxims provide a reasonable explan
20、ation of how it is possible to convey more than what is literally expressed.2.4 Application of cooperative principleThe application of the CP can be roughly classified into five types in terms of its emphasis and functions. Type 1 emphasizes the cooperative nature of the CP and advocates a kind of c
21、ooperative relationship in accordance with the CP. The application of the CP to translation belongs to this type. Type 2 aims to explain the generative mechanism of some special styles, such as comic dialogue, humor and advertisements, with the framework of Grices theory. Type 3 explores the linguis
22、tic effects of the literary work by probing into its flouts of the maxims, whereas type 4 aims to examine the universality of the CP. The last type, type 5 relates the CP to the foreign language teaching914. As to 中国最大的论文知识平台 this paper, it belongs to the last type which might give both teachers and
23、 students some suggestions of how to make correct answers in conversational listening comprehension of CET-4&6. 3. A brief introduction of listening comprehension in CET-4&6Now more and more college students spend a lot of time as well as money on CET-4&6, but their effort has not yielded remarkable
24、 results. And when being asked which one is the most difficult to acquire among the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), they often complain that it is listening. 中国最大的论文知识平台 According to the data investigated by Rivers and Temperly(1978), among the time an individual is engaged
25、in communication, approximately 9% is devoted to writing, 16% to reading, 30% to speaking and 45% to listening13228.The data indicates that effective listening comprehension is one of the guarantees to understand conversations and it should be considered as the most important part in English learnin
26、g.CET-4&6 is a large-scale standardized exam for college students in China. The listening comprehension in CET4&6 consist of 3 parts. Table 2Listening Comprehension structure of CET-4&6Structure Question Type Number Proportion TimeShort Conversation 8 8%Section ALong Conversation 2 7%Section B Passa
27、ge 3 10%Section C Compound Dictation 1 10%35Minutes3.1 Examination proposition and test orientation Listening comprehension plays an important role in College English Test Band-4&6. Since June 2005, CET-4&6 has changed content and format. Listening comprehension occupies 35% of the whole grade compo
28、sed of three sections: conversation (short conversation and long conversation), passage and dictation (spot dictation or compound dictation).Table 3 Question TypeBefore Reformation After ReformationQuestion Type Number Time Question Type Number TimeShort Conversation8Section A Short Conversation1020
29、minutes Long Conversation235minutes中国最大的论文知识平台 Section BPassage or Compound Dictation3 or 1 Passage 3Section CCompound Dictation1The table shows that the question types of listening comprehension in CET-4&6 become varied after reformation, which greatly increases the difficulty for test takers to ge
30、t high score. As required in Syllabus for College English Test Band 4, English learners should not only understand daily conversations and general lectures, but also get the main idea or message of special English programs, the speed of which is 130 words per minute or so. Compared with the demand o
31、f CET4, CET6 requires test takers to comprehend conversations, reports or lectures, catch the main points, grasp specific details and figure out speakers view and attitude. The speed is about 150-170 words per minute14. The demand of the syllabus is not very high, however, to reach it completely is
32、not easy.3.2 Conversational listening comprehensionShort conversation is the beginning part of listening comprehension in CET-4&6. There are several short conversations between two speakers. At the end of each conversation, a 3rd voice asks a question. The question is spoken only once. After hearing
33、 the question, test takers probably have about 15 seconds to decide which one would be the best answer to the question.3.2.1 Two general typesAs all we know, conversations may cover a wide range of subject matter. Anyway they can be divided into two general types: direct and implied. Direct items te
34、st students ability to understand and recall the information given by the speakers directly . Implied items test students ability to draw inferences and conclusions from the conversation. The following are two examples that illustrate the differences between the two types.Direct Type:A：Are you glad
35、that you came to San Francisco?中国最大的论文知识平台 B：Yes，indeedI had considered going to New York or Boston，but I have never regretted my decisionQ：Where does the man live?A) In New York B) In BostonC) In San Francisco D) In MichiganThe answer is C.The question is about which place B lives at present. There
36、 are three places appearing in the conversation: San Francisco, New York and Boston. And from As words to B, it is evident that B lives in San Francisco now. New York and Boston are the cities B had ever considered before. Implied Type:A：Isnt Jane Ellen a beautiful bride?B：She is indeedJohn looks ve
37、ry happy too，doesnt he? He told me that they will go to Florida on their honeymoon Q：Where did the conversation most probably take place?A) At a weddingB) On a honeymoonC) In Florida D) At an airportThe answer is A.It asks about an occasion where this dialogue happens. From the conversation, we know
38、 that Jane Ellen and John are newly-weds. They plan to go to Florida on their honeymoon. But actually they havent started off. So it is impossible for them on a honeymoon or in Florida. Whats more, A praises brides beauty. B feels bridegrooms happiness. From all these, it can be inferred that they a
39、re at a wedding. Implied Type can be regarded as the most difficult one in conversational listening comprehension in CET4&6 which is also a trend of listening test in the future. Through observing large numbers of the previous items in CET4&6, the common question forms of implied type are summarized
40、 as follows:What does the man woman meanimplysuggest?What does the man woman think of ?中国最大的论文知识平台 How does the man woman feel?What are they going to do?What happened to ?What does the first speaker want to know?What can be concluded from this conversation?What can you learnknow infer from the conve
41、rsation?3.2.2 Difficult pointsListening to a foreign language is a complex process. It is apparent that the listener has little or no control over what he or she is trying to hear. Unlike reading, when doing listening comprehension test takers often dont have the chance to adjust the pace of speech,
42、 listen again, or check an unknown word. The need to understand what they hear on the spot makes it crucial that they should develop the ability to listen well15. Whats more, test takers have to be able to learn the main idea of what is said as well as specific details. They may have to identify the
43、 context in which the speakers are operating or infer relationships between speakers. They may also need to understand the speakers opinions, intentions and emotions and check any predictions they have made. However, lots of English learners just know the literal meaning of the conversation rather t
44、han the implied one. That is the main cause for making mistake. Take the following dialogue for example. M: Jenny, remember this: a job worth doing at all is worth doing well.W: Oh, yes, I certainly wont forget it. But dont expect me to stick to the job just because it pays a few more bucks. A life
45、of continuous exploration is a life worth living.Q: what can be inferred about the woman from the conversation? A) She will do her best if the job is worth doing.B) She prefers a life of continued exploration.C) She will stick to the job if the pay is good.D) She doesnt think much of job-hopping.The
46、 answer is B.(CET 6, June 2005, Part One Listening Comprehension, Section A, No.2) 中国最大的论文知识平台 Suppose that test takers know every word in the conversation. They also learn the phrases “be worth doing” and “stick to”. Generally speaking, they probably should understand the meaning and choose the rig
47、ht answer. However, test takers may choose “A”. Because A indicates that the woman agrees with the mans view according to the literal meaning. Actually if the womans response is just “yes”, it will be quite clear that the woman will try her best if the job is worth doing. But she violates the maxim
48、of quantity by adding the latter sentences. It can be informed that she wont keep on doing a job even if the pay is good. So option C which has the complete meaning must be wrong. As to the option D, there is no information about job-hopping in the conversation. And from the womans last sentence, te
49、st takers have the evidence to deduct that she would like to have a life of continuous exploration (option B). From the above instance, it is obvious to see that merely getting answers from the aspect of vocabulary and grammar have certain limits. It is necessary to work out solutions to change this situation. So long as students find out what maxims
