Добавил:
ivanov666
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз:
Предмет:
Файл:Discourse Strategies in Use. Учебное пособие
.pdf
61
put him away from her – he must be removed from her presence, from this world.
She must destroy the evidence of her offense.
What was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She
must put Tom Robinson away from her.
Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did. What did she do?
She tempted a Negro.
She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our
society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong
young Negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came
crashing down on her afterwards.
Her father saw it, and the defendant has testified as to his remarks. What did
her father do? We don't know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that
Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with
his left. We do know in part what Mr. Ewell did: he did what any God-fearing,
persevering, respectable white man would do under the circumstances – he swore
out a warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand, and Tom Robinson now sits
before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses – his
right hand.
And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated
temerity to “feel sorry” for a white woman has had to put his word against two
white people's. I need not remind you of their appearance and conduct on the
stand – you saw them for yourselves. The witnesses for the state, with the
exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you
gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not
be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the
assumption – the evil assumption – that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are
basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our
women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.
Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's
skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is
62
this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to
be trusted around women – black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the
human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this
courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and
there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.”
Atticus paused and took out his handkerchief. “One more thing, gentlemen,
before I quit.
Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase that
the Yankees and the distaff side of the Executive branch in Washington are fond
of hurling at us. There is a tendency in this year of grace, 1935, for certain people
to use this phrase out of context, to satisfy all conditions. The most ridiculous
example I can think of is that the people who run public education promote the
stupid and idle along with the industrious – because all men are created equal,
educators will gravely tell you, the children left behind suffer terrible feelings of
inferiority. We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people
would have us believe – some people are smarter than others, some people have
more opportunity because they're born with it, some men make more money than
others, some ladies make better cakes than others – some people are born gifted
beyond the normal scope of most men.
But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal –
there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the
stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any
college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court. It can be the Supreme
Court of the United States or the humblest J.P. court in the land, or this honorable
court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution,
but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are
created equal.
I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury
system – that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is
no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as
63
sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am
confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have
heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of
God, do your duty.” Atticus's voice had dropped, and as he turned away from the
jury he said something I did not catch. He said it more to himself than to the court.
I punched Jem. “What'd he say?”
“In the name of God, believe him,' I think that's what he said.”
from “To Kill a Mocking-bird” by Harper Lee
10) Read the tale given below and say who was the MOST to blame for the
Baroness's death. Be ready to discuss all the points of view with your fellow-students
using argumentative techniques.
The Baroness
As he left for a visit to his outlying districts, the jealous Baron warned his
pretty young wife: “Do not leave the castle while I am gone or I will punish you
severely when I return!”
But as the hours passed, the young Baroness grew lonely and despite her
husband's warning, decided to visit her friend who lived in the countryside nearby.
The castle was located on an island in a wide, fast-flowing river with a
drawbridge linking the island and the land at the narrowest point in the river.
"Surely my husband will not return before dawn,” she thought and ordered
her servant to lower the drawbridge and leave it down until she returned.
After spending several pleasant hours with her friend, playing music, talking
and dancing, the Baroness returned to the drawbridge, only to find it blocked by a
madman wildly waving a long cruel knife.
“Do not attempt to cross this bridge, Baroness or I will kill you,” he raved.
Fearing for her life, the Baroness sought out a boatman on the river,
explained her plight to him and asked him to take her across the river on his boat.
64
“I will do it, but only if you can pay me my fee of 5 marks.”
“But I have no money with me!” the Baroness protested.
“That is too bad. No money, no ride,” the boatman said flatly.
Her fear growing, the Baroness ran back crying to the home of her friend
and after explaining her situation, begged for enough money to pay the boatman
his fee.
“I never loan money to anyone!” said her friend, “not even to my best friends.
Besides, if you had not disobeyed your husband, this would not have happened.”
With dawn approaching and her last resource exhausted, the Baroness
returned to the drawbridge, attempted in desperation to cross to the castle and
was slain by the madman.
65
6 Stimulating Strategy
6.1 Theory
Stimulating strategy is also one of the most important strategies in human
communication. Very often in our life we get into situations in which our comfortable
existence depends on the actions of other people. Some of these actions are desirable for
us, but others - are not. How to stimulate a person to make the actions which meet our
wishes and not to do anything we don’t want him or her to do? It can be done by means of
commands, orders, demands, requests and pieces of advice, recommendations and
entreaties. Stimulating strategy is a “status-marked” one. It means that our choice of any
particular speech act for building this strategy depends on our status and the status of our
listener. You can give orders to your employees, but it will be socially incorrect to give
orders to your chief. You can appeal with an urgent request to your own children, but the
children of your neighbors are not obliged to pay attention to it.
There are some general rules of building this strategy.
1) No matter what status you have – be polite. The very situation of your
immediate communication will prompt your listener that your command is not a simple
piece of advice but a stimulus to his or her action. To avoid direct imperativeness you can:
- add politeness markers to your utterance. The main of them is, of course,
“PLEASE”. Even in case your command is expressed in the imperative, it will make it
milder.
Ex: Send these letters to the manager, please! (Compare with just “Send these
letters to the manager!)
- shift your imperativeness from the action required to the quality of a person
required
Ex: Be so kind to send these letters to the manager, (please)! Be so smart to send
these letters to the manager, (please)!
Sometimes it sounds a bit ironical, but exactly this irony helps you to be milder in
your command.
66
- use the form of a question to express your order
Ex: Will you be so kind to send these letters to the manager?
Would you send these letters to the manager?
- don’t use a direct command or order, but state the desirable result with a modal
verb of a necessary modal degree (must, have to, to be to, should, ought to)
Ex: These letters must be sent to the manager.
Such utterances are considered to be milder than direct orders as they don’t stress
the lower status of your employee directly. In this case your employee is not regarded as a
person to whom you can address with direct imperatives. You just name the result you
want to get!
2) Try to use some persuasive techniques. Here we can apply the following:
- “Bargain” technique (“if”-technique). This is combined with promise if you
want the action to be done, and has some menacive tint if you don’t want the action to be
fulfilled. In bargain utterances you promise something to the listener if he or she does
something which is desirable to you. Or you promise something undesirable to the listener
if he or she is going to do something which doesn’t meet your wish.
Ex: If you don’t stop teasing my dog, I will talk to your parents!
(Don’t tease my dog!)
If you clean the house, I’ll buy a tasty cake for you!
(Clean the house, please!)
“If-techniques” are often used in formal communication.
Ex: We will be very much grateful to you, if you inform us about the date of your
arrival.
- “Only you” technique. When you address to somebody as to the only person
being able to help you, it appeals immediately to his or her emotional sphere (pride, selfesteem, etc.). Usually it gives a good result for a requester. This technique is often
combined with “praise-flattery” technique.
Ex: You are the best composition writer in our school! You are the only person who
can help me with my essay!
67
You are so good at mathematics! Only you can do this sum!
I can ask Sally to do this for me. But nobody can do it better than you, Jack!
- “Poor thing” technique. This is appellation to sympathy and compassion.
Ex: Oh, my dear! I have such a terrible splitting headache! Every sound makes me
die. Will you wash up today?
- “Harping” technique. Repeat your request until your “victim” yields and does
everything you want.
Ex: Oh, Mummy, let’s go to the Zoo! Please! Let’s go to the Zoo! Shall we go to the
Zoo? Please!
It would be very nice, if you went to see my mother on Sunday (at breakfast)!
So, will you go to see my Mum on Sunday (at lunch)? But why don’t you want
to go to my mother on Sunday (at dinner)?
Such a technique can cause some irritation on the part of the listener. But still – it
works!
3) Don’t forget about intentional intensifiers, which will make your intention
more emphatic.
Ex: I strongly recommend you to do it by the evening.
I do tell you not to go there!
4) While giving somebody a piece of advice,
- try to refer to the positive experience of those whom you know or to your own life
experience. It will make your advice well-grounded.
Ex: I advice you to use jam instead of honey. I did so two days ago; the cake was a
perfect treat!
- state what will happen in case the listener follows your recommendation (this is
often used in commercials).
Ex: Buy our shampoo, and your hair will be smooth and shiny!
Buy our cream, and everybody will admire your beautiful skin!
68
5) Sometimes a speaker’s complaint can have a stimulating effect and induce the
listener to do something or, at least, to give a piece of advice. You can express your
complaint with the help of the following phrases:
I’m extremely sorry to trouble you, but … (indirect variant).
I’m sorry to have to say this, but …
I have a complaint to make (direct variant).
People are usually seldom to express their complaints with the help of performative
formulas. It is considered a little bit incorrect and rude. So, direct speech acts of
complaining are seldom to be observed. Though, it depends on the situation and the
emotional state of the speaker, of course!
There may be, so to say, “legal” complaints, which are usually connected with
services sectors. In case you have bought a colour TV-set which is not correctly adjusted,
you can make a “legal” complaint to the shop.
6.2 Practical assignments
1) TASK 1: What will you say if:
- your child doesn’t want to go to school
- your husband / wife doesn’t want to visit your friends on Saturday
- one button is missing on the shirt you have bought in the local shop
- a waitress in the restaurant was rude to you
- you want your sister to go shopping with you
TASK 2: Think over similar situations for your fellow students to use stimulating
techniques.
69
2) TASK 1: Read the following advertising text. What elements of stimulating
strategy are used here?
Buy 10 Sunflowers Get 5 FREE! While supplies last!
Brighten any occasion with the spectacular beauty of fresh sunflowers! With
an uncanny ability to follow the path of the sun, these striking blooms are one of
nature’s most unique flowers.
Order 10 stems today and get 5 FREE – but hurry, this limited time offer is
only good while supplies last. Beautifully gathered with gorgeous green
trachelium, our sensational sunflowers have been picked at the peak of perfection
from select floral farms in South America, to arrive at their door fresh. It’s a gift
that sends abundant sunshine – and your best wishes – their way! Shipped
overnight to ensure freshness.
Also available with a classic glass vase for an additional $10.
TASK 2: Think over the texts of commercials based on stimulating strategy for:
- a new café
- a new line of clothes for women
- a new travel agency
- a new model of mobile phones
- a new unloading diet
- a new book by some famous writer
- a new line of lipsticks
- a new kind of macaroni
- a new linguistic school for children
TASK 3: Think over 5-7 products or services for your fellow-students to prepare
stimulating texts for their commercials.
3) Give 3 examples of stimulating strategy based upon:
- “bargain” technique (“if”–technique)
70
- “only you” technique
- “praise-flattery” technique
- “harping” technique
4) Make up a dialogue in which one person is stimulating to do something and the
other doesn’t want to do what the former asks him or her to. Try to be persuasive.
5) Think over 5 situations in which “legal” complaints can be made. Let your
fellow-student demonstrate their verbal reaction to these situations.
6) Read the text given below. Imagine that you are a professional psychologist.
What pieces of advice would you give to the parents of the girl?
Mary was an excellent student from the first day she entered school. She
was known to all the teachers as “the exceptionally bright girl”. She was the envy
of many children who openly admitted that they would like to be like her. At home
she was placed on a pedestal; nothing was denied to her. The children expected
and accepted that Mary’s work was always perfect. One can imagine the shock
everyone experienced when one day Mary flew into rage when she missed three
words in a spelling test, and her results were worse than some others’. First Mary
tore up her paper, and then she proceeded to tear up her spelling book. She
screamed that the others cheated, that she was always the best and always will
be.
7) In our professional communication we often use professional stimulating
formulas, which may be characterized as instructions or recommendations. When a dentist
says to a patient “Open your mouth, please!” and a teacher says to a student “Go to the
blackboard, please!”, – these are considered to be the usual stimulating formulas of their
professional discourse. If you look at the text of the following recipe, you’ll see that it is
Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]