英语reexploring-o.-henry’s-short-storiesa-corpusbased-pilot-study.doc

Re-exploringO.HenrysShortStoriesA Corpus-Based Pilot Study【摘要】本文试图采用语料库的方法从文体学视角分析欧亨利小说集四百万。研究揭示，通过语料库软件计算出的总体统计数据，为有关欧亨利小说广泛认同的文学阐释提供了更为具体的描述基础。在探讨小说场景和基本主题方面，重现序列的搭配及频数信息发现了前人并未关注过的语言学特征。 Abstract：Thisarticleattemptstoapplycorpus-basedmethodtoastylisticinterpretationofO.HenrysshortstorycollectionTheFourMillion.Itisshownthattheoverallstatisticscomputedbycorpussoftwarehasprovidedamoredetaileddescriptivebasisforwidelyacceptedliteraryinterpretationsofhisstories.Intermsofstorysettingsandgeneralthemes,thecollocationandfrequencyinformationofrecurrentsequencescanidentifyvaluablelinguisticfeatureswhichliterarycriticsseemnottohavenoticed. Keywords：corpus;O.Henry;setting;theme 1.Introduction HenrywascalledtheAmericanGuyDeMaupassant.Bothauthorswrotetwistendings,butO.Henrysstoriesweremuchmoreplayfulandoptimistic.AmongtheformerstudiesonO.Henrysshortstories,thereisconsensusthatO.Henrysworksaregenerallybrandedwithsuchfeaturesassurprisingendings,useofcoincidenceorchancetocreatehumor,ingeniousandexquisitelayouts,smile-in-tearsironyandsoforth.Despitethedetailedliterarydiscussion,littleworkhasbeendonetorevealitslinguisticstyles.Noristhereworkwithquantitativedataasconvincingevidence.Intermsoftheestablisheddescriptionofhisstyle,itseemsunlikelythatthecorpus-basedmethodcanfindanythingoriginal.However,thestylisticanalysisinthepresentpaperaimstoillustratethevalueofcorpusempiricalmethodinexploringtheliterarystyles.Ontheonehand,statisticdatahelptoconfirmthecanonicalviewonO.Henrysshortstories;ontheotherhand,stylisticsisrelatedtolinguisticfeaturesofhisworks. 2.DataandMethodology ThispaperisdevotedtoinvestigatingthelinguisticstylesofO.Henrysworksinanempiricalway,applyingbothquantitativeandqualitativemethods.Thestudyadoptstwocorpora.OneisO.HenrysbookTheFourMillion(acollectionofstories),publishedin1906,containsaseriesofshortstorieswhichtookplaceintheNewYorkCityintheearlyyearsofthe20thcentury.Thecomputerreadableversionsavailableontheinternetareusedtosetupaminorworkingcorpusforinvestigation(TheotheroneisBrowncorpususedasareferencecorpus. ThecorpusconcordancesoftwareusedinthisstudyisWordsmithtools.Wordsmithcanundertakemoredetailedanalysesoffrequenciesofconcordanceitemsandextractcollocationalinformation.Byuseofcorporasoftware,wordswithsignificantkeynessinthebookTheFourMillionwillbesortedoutfirst,andthenconcordancelineswithakeywordanditscollocateswillbeextracted.Thecorporadatawillbeprocessedbystatisticalinstruments. 3.OverallStatistics Theoverallstatisticsareoneessentialstartingpointforasystematiccorpus-basedtextualanalysis.WordsmithToolsareusedtoprovidetheoverallstatisticsofthetwocorporaandcomparisonismadeasshowninTable3.1. Table3.1ComparisonofOverallStatisticsbetweentheTwoCorpora textfile intext types(distinctwords) type/tokenratio(TTR) standardisedTTR standardisedTTRbasis meansentencelength(inwords)meanwordlength(incharacters) wordlengthstd.dev. OverallofMini 52,770 8,251 16 46.97 1,000.00 15 4 2.24 OverallofBrown 1,390,505 47,146 4 39.07 1,000.00 23 5 2.52 Intermsofthenumberoftokens,thecorpusforthepresentstudyseemsrathersmallcomparedwiththatofBrown.However,theobservedstandardizedtype-tokenratio(TTR)intheminorworkingcorpusishigherthanthatofBrown.Thehighertheratiois,themorelexicalvariationitreflects.Theresultisnotquitesurprising,forthefactthatO.Henrywasnotableforwritingstorieswithadiversityofexpressions.ThemeansentencelengthshowsthatO.Henrywroteshortersentencesthanthoseingeneralwrittentexts.Ineachofhisshortstories,severalincidentsandcluesarecondensedintomerely750wordsorso.Naturally,sentencesinshorterlengthcandelivernewinformationinaflashoftime.Ittakeslesstimeforreaderstofollowupthedevelopmentofthedramaticplot.Fundamentallyaproductofhistime,O.Henry#39;sworkprovidesoneofthebestEnglishexamplesofcatchingtheentireflavorofanage.Whetherroamingthecattle-landsofTexas,exploringtheartofthegentlegrafter,orinvestigatingthetensionsofclassandwealthinturn-of-the-centuryNewYork,O.Henryhadaninimitablehandforisolatingsomeelementofsocietyanddescribingitwithanincredibleeconomyandgraceoflanguage. 4.KeywordAnalysisforSettings Settingisanindispensableconstituentforstorytelling.Settingbasicallyincludesseveralcloselyrelatedaspectsthetimeinwhichtheeventoractiontakesplace,theplacewheretheeventoractiontakesplaceandsocialenvironmentofthecharacters:themanners,customs,moralvaluesthatgovernthecharacterssociety.Inthepresentstudy,theinformationofthefirsttwoaspectscanbeprovidedbysortingoutthekeywordsofthetextsasTable4.1shows. Indoorplaces room,restaurant,Bogles,Cyphers,store,flat,door,window,dresser,table,skylight,floor,desk, bench,street,corner,sidewalk,Broadway,avenue,park, Denotingtime evening,night,oclock, Itisstrikinglyinterestingthattwooutofthreekeywordsexplicitlyrefertothetimeatoraftersunset,includingevening,andnight.Moreinterestingly,almostallthecollocationsofoclockindicatetherighttimefromthelateafternoontillthelatenight.Thefollowingconcordancelinesprovideevidence. 1.swerefew.Thetimewasbarely10o#39;clockatnight,butchillygustsofwind 2.eyDonovan#39;spaper-boxgirl.At10o#39;clockthejollyroundfaceofBigMike 3.heatresarestupid,anyway.At11o#39;clockthatnightsomebodytappedlightly 4.anttoovershadowherfriend.At4o#39;clockontheafternoonofthethirddayM 5.upperwindowslighted?Well,at6o#39;clockIstoodinthathousewiththeyoun 6.astrike-breaker#39;smotorcar.At6o#39;clockthewaiterbroughtherdinnerandc 7.etothinking.Oneeveningabout6o#39;clockmymistressorderedhimtogetbusy 8.larandeighty-sevencents?At7o#39;clockthecoffeewasmadeandthefrying- 9.gingmistress.Itwasmosttimes7o#39;clockwhenhereturnedintheevening.At 10.coddled,praisedandkissedat7o#39;clock.Artisanengagingmistress.Itwa 11.Weweremarriedlasteveningat8o#39;clockintheLittleChurchAroundtheCor 12.ewsamplesthismorning.It#39;s9.45o#39;clock,andnotasinglepicturehatorpi 13.ghappinesstoyourson.Ateighto#39;clockthenexteveningAuntEllentooka 14.bywemovedout,for#39;twaseleveno#39;clock,andstandsabituponthesidewalk15.dyouburnyourhand,Dele?Fiveo#39;clock,Ithink,saidDele,plaintively. 16.behappening?askedIkey.Nineo#39;clock,saidMr.McGowan.Supper#39;satse 17.ooktomakehimthinkit!Atnineo#39;clockDulcietookatinboxofcrackersa 18.heannounced.Itwasexactlyteno#39;clockwhenwepartedhereattherestaura Furtherobservationofthefilenamesinthecorpusleadstoaconclusionthatallstoriesexceptonehappenedtotakeplacefromdusktothelatenight.Isthereanycoincidence?PerhapsinthedaytimethecommonmassesinNewYorkwereexcessivelybusywithworryingabouttheirmeansoflivelihood.Onlyafterworkoraftersupperdidtheyhavetimetotakepartinsomesocialactivities,suchasdinner,ball,caf,park,andplaywhichappearinthecontextofthethreetemporalkeywords.Thisisareflectionofsocialandculturalcontextsattheearly1920sinAmerica.People,whetherpoororrich,wouldliketotakeacupofcoffeeinacaforhaveaglassofdrinkatapub.Younggirlsdreamedofdancingwiththeirbelovedpartnersattheballofthelowerclass. Thenounkeywordsaboutthephysicalplaceswheretheeventstookplacecanberoughlygroupedintotwotypes:indoorplacesandoutdoorplaces.Someunexpectedincidentsmighthappeninaroom,restaurant,flat,store,oronthesecondfloor,orevennearadresser,tableanddeskinside.Theyaresuchcommonandeverydayplacesthatonecantexpectanyconspicuousincidenttohappenattheseplaces.However,theauthorwaswiseenoughtoarrangehisunusualstoriesinquiteordinarysettings.Otheradventuresmightbeexperiencedatthestreet,corner,sidewalk,orattheSecondAvenue,orevenonthebenchinalittlepark.InO.Henrysstoriestherewerenoplacesofimposingscaleoruniquestyle.Buttheywereplacesperfectlymatchedwiththestoriesofthecommonpeople. Whetherintheindoorplaceslikerestaurant,storeandflat,orattheoutdoorplaceslikestreet,cornerandsidewalk,thereembeddedsomeunknownpossibilitiesforthecomingevents.Itwasattheseinconspicuousandordinaryplacesthattheunexpectedandaccidentalcoincidencestookplaceallthetime.O.Henryisgoodatwritingaboutordinarypeopleineverydaycircumstances.Heisquotedasoncesaying,Therearestoriesineverything.Ivegotsomeofmybestyarnsfromparkbenches,lamppostsandnewspaperstands. ArangeoffrequentnounkeywordshelptofigureoutthemajorthemesinO.Henrysworks.Tobetterinvestigatewhatthesenounkeywordsreveal,itisnecessarytofurthercategorizethemaccordingtotheirdenotations.ThefollowingTable5.1showsthecategorization. Table5.1FrequentNounKeywordsintheminorcorpus Denotingpeople Genders Professions Characteristics Man,lady,girl,Miss,Mr.,Missis, policeman,palmist,waiter,broker,lumberman,typewriter, cosmopolite,friend,longnecker,prince,gentleman, cab,fare,hat,cents,twenty,odour,coat,cigar,dollars,dandelions,two,doggie,card,clock,cards,umbrella,money,art,adventure,hop,leaf,Rubberneck,dinner Nounkeywordscanexposeexplicittopicsratherthantheunderlyingthemesinthetexts.AsseeninTable5.1,amajorityofnounsareusedtodenotepeople,eitherdistinguishingthecharactersgendersorprofessionsordescribingtheirspecialtraits.Itisnotablethatsuchprofessionswereusuallytakenupbypeopleinthemiddleorlowersocialclasses.Onlyafewofthemwereluckyenoughtomaketheirfortuneandcontroltheirownlives;whereasmostofthemwhoearnedtheirmerelivingwerecontrolledbytheirmiserablefates.MostofO.Henry#39;sstoriestookplaceintheNewYorkCity,anddealtforthemostpartwithordinarypeople:clerks,policemen,andwaitresses.Itistheauthorsrichlifeexperiencesandburdensoflifepressurethatbecamethesourceofdepictingsuchavarietyofprofessions. Anotherlargergroupofnounkeywordsdenotingthingsarescatteredindifferentstories.Theyarecloselyrelatedwiththethemeofeachstory;therefore,itisunlikelytomakeanygeneralization.However,theconcordancelinesofthenumeralwordstwentyandtwosortedoutsomedistinctivecollocationalsequencesthatattractourattention.Bothfrequentlyco-occurwithtemporalnouns.Inthecaseoftwenty,morethan40percentofitsoccurrences(nineteenoutof42frequencies)areaccompaniedbytemporalwords,suchasyears,minutes,hours,days,seconds.Thewordtwoisalsolikelytoappearwithtemporalnouns,suchasweeks,hours,days,years,minutes.SuchsequencesofnumbersandtemporalnounsindicatethatmostofO.Henrysshortstoriesdevelopforashortperiod.Someeventstookweeksordaystodevelop,andotheranecdotesmightcometoanendinamoment.Asdiscussedabove,thelongestpassageoftimeturnsouttobetwentyyears,whichisentirelyrelatedwiththestoryAfterTwentyYears.Thisreflectsanotherrealisticfeaturethatinhisstorieseventsusuallyhappenedataspecifictime.Themeritsofconcretedescriptionoftimeshortenthedistancebetweenthecharactersinsidethestoryandthereadersoutside. Thereistrueloveinhisstories.Loveasonekeywordstandsouttopraisethetouchingtruelovebetweenadestitutecouple.EitherinTheGiftoftheMagiorinAServiceofLove,thecoupleinthehumblecircumstancehelpedandlovedeachotherunselfishlyandwholeheartedly.Theirperfectandinnocentloveboundupinthefettersofmoneyseemedevenmoreimpressiveandmoving. 6.Conclusion Throughcorpus-basedmethod,stylisticsofO.Henrysonecollectionofshortstorieshasbeenexplored.AsStubbs(2005:21-22)proposes,observationaldatacanprovidemoresystematicevidenceforunavoidablesubjectiveinterpretation.DifferentfromtheformerstudiesonO.Henrysworks,thepresentpaperhasattemptedtodelayinterpretationandprolonganalysis,givingweighttoquantitativeinvestigation.ThekeywordsandconcordfunctionsofWordsmithToolsattributetofindoutorreconfirmsomeuniquefeaturesofO.Henrysworks.Thepaperhascometothefollowingconclusions: （1）ThehigherTTRintheworkingcorpusprovesO.Henryslexicaldiversityandwittynarration.Theshortermeansentencelengthrevealsthathisstoriesprogressrapidly,andshowarigideconomyofwords,whicharecustomarilyshortmostofthestoriesrunabouteighthundredwords. （2）ThefrequentnounkeywordsgiveacluetothesettingofO.Henrysshortstories.Thetemporalkeywordstellthatallbutonestoryhappenedintheeveningandthedurationoftimewasnotlong.Someaccidentseventookplaceinafewhours.Thelocationkeywordsdenoteseveralordinaryplacesinacitywheresomethingaccidentalmightoccurwiththeauthorswittyarrangement. （3）AnothergroupofnounkeywordscastslightonthegeneralthemesofO.Henrysshortstories.Someidentifypeoplebyrevealingtheirgenders,professionsandcharacteristics.Othersidentifythingsthatgiveinformationofthethemesofstories. Thisisatentativestudyofcorpus-basedstylisticanalysisonO.Henrysonecollectionofshortstories.ThebasicstatisticinformationcomputedbyWordsmithToolscanhelpreassesssubjectiveassertionsinstylisticcriticism.Acorpus-basedfurtherstudyisexpectedtoexplorehisstylesintermsofperspective,characterizationandlanguagefeatures.Whatismore,thecorpus-basedmethodcanbeintroducedintoliteratureclasstohelpstudentsgeneralizetheuniquefeaturesofanauthorintermsofstylistics. 1杨大中.荒寂森林和熔岩沙漠的写照欧亨利都市系列小说简论J.外国文学研究,1991