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ClassifiedIndex:UDC:密级：XihuaUniversityMasterDegreeDissertationMemeticComparisonbetweenE&C(English&Chinese)NetworkSpeechCandidate:WangJieMajor:ForeignLinguisticsandAppliedLinguisticsStudentID:212010050211009Supervisor:Prof.YangChunhongApril，2012 西华大学学位论文独创性声明作者郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是本人在导师的指导下进行研究工作所取得的成果。尽我所知，除文中已经注明引用内容和致谢的地方外，本论文不包含其他个人或集体已经发表的研究成果，也不包含其他已申请学位或其他用途使用过的成果。与我一同工作的同志对本研究所做的贡献均已在论文中做了明确的说明并表示了谢意。若有不实之处，本人愿意承担相关法律责任。学位论文作者签名：指导教师签名：日期：日期：西华大学学位论文版权使用授权书本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，在校攻读学位期间论文工作的知识产权属于西华大学，同意学校保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查阅和借阅，西华大学可以将本论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复印手段保存和汇编本学位论文。(保密的论文在解密后遵守此规定)学位论文作者签名：指导教师签名：日期：日期： 西华大学硕士学位论文摘要21世纪，我们正身处一个被网络深刻影响的时代，并且这种影响将继续扩大，变革性地改变我们的生活方式，学习方式，工作方式，思维方式等。我们永远都不应该忽视语言的力量，网络语言作为语言的一种，并且作为新时代下的产物，更值得我们去深入研究。探索网络语言背后的成因，就是探索我们生活的点点滴滴。网络语言的出现是伴随着网络的兴起应运而生的产物。网络快速、便捷、高效等特点使我们不难理解网络语言的诞生。越来越多人开始使用网络语言，这种趋势是不可逆的，随着其影响力的不断扩大，网络语言开始引起一些语言学家的注意。模因论是语用学领域中一个新兴并充满生机的学科，正引起越来越多的专家和学者的兴趣。模因论是一种基于新达尔文进化论的观点解释文化进化规律的新理论。它提供给了人们一个了解世界和生活的更具根源性的解释。模因以模仿为基础，是文化信息传播的基本单位，它像基因那样得到继承，像病毒那样到处传播。模因的这种传播特性使它与网络语言的传播有一种天然的内在联系。生物进化论中“适者生存”的原则同样也适用于网络语言。对网络语言来说，它们有自己的模因筛选标准。本文旨在从模因论的视角对中英网络语言进行对比分析。通过从相关网站收集现今流行于中国和美国的一些网络用语，分类和分析了不同类型的网络语言，并从模因论的角度对其成因给予阐释。本文主要围绕不同语言环境下的语言模因是如何得到广泛传播这一问题展开。研究发现，中英网络语言的构词方式和用户成分十分相似，但在网络语言的内容上却有较大差别，这与两者文化的差异有很大关系。从模因的角度分析，两种语言模因都遵循了相似的传播特点。从模因论的角度对中美网络用语进行的对比研究是一次全新的尝试，以此可以关照到网络语言在不同的语言环境中是如何演变转化的，为模因的进化观点提供了补充和深化研究。关键词：模因；网络语言；比较；语言变异I 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比AbstractWearelivinginacenturythatisgreatlyinfluencedbyInternetandthere’snowaywecanstopthatever-increasingpowerwhichprofoundlychangedthewaywelive,study,workandthink.Anditwouldbeignorantforanyonetounderestimatethepoweroflanguage,thereforenetworkspeech,beingoneofitskindandwithitsparticularbackgroundinwhichitsets,deservesmuchmoreeffortinitsresearches.Theseekingofcauseofformationofnetworkspeechistheseekingoftruthofourlives.NetworkspeechcamewiththetideofInternet.Andit’snothardtounderstandthatwhenwe’vealreadyknownthatInternetownsadvantageslikefastness,conveniencesandefficiencyetc.Moreandmorepeoplestartchoosingtousethiskindoflanguagewhentheycommunicateoninternet,makingitanirreversibletrendinthefuture.Withitsincreasinginfluence,networkspeechdrawstheattentionfrommanylinguists.MemeticsisarathernewsubjectinPragmatics,butwithitsgrowingpotential,itistriggeringmoreandmoreinterestintheacademicfield.MemeticsisanewtheorythatexplainsrulesofculturalevolutionbasedonDarwin’stheoryofevolution.Memeticsprovidepeoplewithamoreintrinsicexplanationfortheworldandourlives.Thetransmissionofmemeisbasedonthemechanismoftrueimitations.Memesaretheutmostbasicunitofculturaltransmission.Theygetpassedfromgenerationtogenerationinasimilarwayasgenedoes,andthewaytheygetpropagatedisverymuchlikethatofviruses.Thistransmissiveattributeofmemesubsumesaninherentlinkwithnetworkspeechwhichbearsthesamequality.Thephenomenonofsurvivalofthefittestinorganicevolutionisalsothecaseintermsofnetworkspeechwhich,initstransmissiveprocess,ismanagedtoscreeningoutdisqualifiedmemesaccordingtonormsoftheirown.ThisthesisattemptstomakememeticcomparisonbetweenE&Cnetworkspeech.ThisthesisgatheredmanynetworkspeechesthatarepopularlyusedinChinaandtheUnitedStatesfromrelatedwebsites,classifieddifferenttypesofnetworkspeech,andexpatiatedontheformationofnetworkspeechfromtheperspectiveofmemetics.Thethesisisendeavoredonanexplorationofhowlanguagememessetintwodifferentlanguageenvironmentsgetextensivepropagation.II 西华大学硕士学位论文Thestudyfindsthatthesetwolanguagememesbearsimilarrulesofformation.Moreover,bothhavesimilarusergroupswithyoungstersaccountingformuchofthenumber.However,thecontentofthetwoarequitevaried,whichcouldbeinterpretedasdistinctnessintheirculturalbackground.Thiscomparativestudyisafirstattemptinlinguisticfield,whichcouldbeservedasacomplementarystudyformemeticsbyexpatiatingonhownetworkspeechevolvesindissimilarlanguageenvironments.KeyWords:Meme;NetworkSpeech;Comparison;LanguageDeviationIII 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比Contents摘要.............................................................................................................................IAbstract..............................................................................................................................IIChapterOneIntroduction................................................................................................11.1Generalstatement..............................................................................................11.2Therationaleandsignificanceofthepresentstudy..........................................11.3Theobjectivesofthestudy................................................................................21.4Datacollectionandresearchmethodology.......................................................21.5Organizationofthestudy..................................................................................3ChapterTwoLiteratureReview......................................................................................52.1Definitionofnetworkspeech............................................................................52.2Typesofnetworkspeech...................................................................................62.2.1Acronym.................................................................................................72.2.2Assonance...............................................................................................72.2.3Semioticexpressions..............................................................................72.2.4Summary................................................................................................82.3Previousstudiesonnetworkspeech..................................................................82.3.1Networkspeechathome........................................................................82.3.2Networkspeechabroad........................................................................102.4Previousstudiesofmemetics..........................................................................112.4.1Introductiontomeme...........................................................................112.4.2Definingthememe...............................................................................122.4.3Severaltermsrelatedtomeme.............................................................132.4.4Previousstudiesonmemeticsabroad...................................................172.4.5Previousstudiesonmemeticsathome.................................................192.4.6Suspicionsaboutmemeticsandresponsesfromsupporters.................212.5Memeticphenomenainlanguage....................................................................222.5.1Replicationofmemesinlanguage.......................................................222.5.2‘Contagion’inlanguagecommunication.............................................23ChapterThreeTheoreticalFramework.........................................................................253.1Introduction.....................................................................................................253.2Lifecycleofmemes........................................................................................273.3Featuresofsuccessfulmemes.........................................................................293.4Requisitionsforextensivetransmissionoflanguagememe...........................303.5Languagedeviation.........................................................................................32IV 西华大学硕士学位论文ChapterFourMemeticComparisonbetweenE&CNetworkSpeech...........................344.1Netspeakasavarietyoflanguagememe........................................................344.2SimilaritiesanddifferencesofE&Cnetworkspeech.....................................344.2.1Similaritiesbetweenthetwonetspeak.................................................344.2.3Differencesbetweenthetwonetspeak.................................................384.3AmemeticinsightintodistinguishingcharacteristicsofpopularE&Cnetspeak..........................................................................................................................................404.3.1Simplicity.............................................................................................414.3.2Novelty.................................................................................................424.3.3Universalapplicability.........................................................................434.4Summary.........................................................................................................44ChapterFiveConclusion...............................................................................................455.1Majorfindingsofthepresentstudy.................................................................455.1.1HowE&Cnetspeakmemessetintwolanguageenvironmentsevolve?..................................................................................................................................455.1.2Whatkindofmemesofnetworkspeechcangetmorepropagated?....465.2Limitationsofthepresentstudy......................................................................475.3Suggestionsforfurtherstudy..........................................................................485.4Summary.........................................................................................................48Bibliography.....................................................................................................................50Publication........................................................................................................................54Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................55V 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比ChapterOneIntroductionThischapterisintendedforaclearmanifestationofthemotive,rationaleandobjectivesforthecurrentthesis,hopingtogivereadersaskeletonofthecontentabouttobediscussedinfollowingchapters.1.1GeneralstatementInternethasbecomeanindispensablepartofourlives,whichmeansithasmorepowerexertingonourlivesthaneverbefore.Ourlifestyles,valuesandbehaviorsareinfluencedbyit,forcingustomakerightorwrongdecisions.Beingoneofthemostinfluentialtools,languagesusedininternetisthemostdirectwaytoaffectourmind.Weneedtobecomemorediscriminatewhenmillionsofideasthrowuponus,orelsewecouldeasilyfallintovictimstotheseideas,doingwhattheywantustodo,notours.Eventually,we’llhavelivesinventedbyothers.Basedonmemetictheory,itprovidesuswithamoreintrinsicexplanationforallthis,avoidingthe‘manipulation’ofmemes.Andbycomparingtwokindsoflanguageswecanfindhowlanguagememesmayinfluencepeople’slivesindifferentlanguageandculturalbackground.Comparisonlikethishasneverbeenappliedtothistopicbefore.Thisthesisattemptstostudytwodifferentinternetlanguagesfrommemeticpointofview.1.2TherationaleandsignificanceofthepresentstudyBeingoneofthemostimportantsubjectsinpragmatics,memetheoryhasdrawnwidespreadattentionfromtheacademicworldsincetheformationofthisconcept.Thechoiceoftheresearchtopicismainlybasedonthefollowingtwoconsiderations:Thefirstissociallyrelated.Asweallknowthatnotalltheideaswehadinourmindisalwaysoriginal.Wemayborroworlearnfromothers.JustlikewhatRichardBrodieinhisVirusoftheMindsaid:“Youcatchthoughts—yougetinfectedwiththem,bothdirectlyfromotherpeopleandindirectlyfromvirusesofthemind”(1996:15).Weneedtobecautiouswhenthosememesaretryingtorunourlives,thosesubtlemanipulations.Believeitornot,weareofteninfectedwithideasthatsubtlyinfluencethewaywelive,andsomecanreallymakeadifference.LanguageusedinInternetsurelyisoneofthemeanstopassthoseideastous.Thesecondreasonisacademic.Sincethe1970th,heateddiscussionaroundmemeticshasbeencarriedoutinthewesternacademicfield,whichlaterledtotheformingofthreemainschoolsofthoughtformemetics:thecontagionthought,semioticviewand1 西华大学硕士学位论文information-centredview.However,studyathomeonthissubjectisstillatitsinfancy.Memeticsisonegreatinventionintheacademicworld,especiallyforpragmatics—amajorandrathernewareaofpragmatics.ThisthesisaimstogatherthechangesinnetworkspeechinChineseandinEnglish.Thesamplecanonlybethosetypicalones,notonlybecausethetaskismassiveincollectingthembuttheyaretoonumeroustocountfortheirever-producingquality.Memeticsisthemaintheoreticalfoundationforthechanges.Somenetworkspeechcanonlyachieveshort-termsuccessandinatwinklingofaneyetheyvanishedlikethey’veneverexisted.Whileotherscanachievelongersuccessandsomereally“lucky”onescanberecordedinanorthodoxdictionaryandbereservedforaverylongtime.Memeticsprovidesthebeststandpointforexplainingallthisphenomena.Thecomparisonbetweenmemessetindifferentlanguageenvironmentscanwellillustratetheevolutionoflanguagememes,whichcanreinforcethecurrentresearchonmemeticsandthenewly-inventedsubject—linguisticsofnetworkspeech.1.3TheobjectivesofthestudyThepurposeofthecurrentstudyistoconductacomparativestudyonthedifferencesandsimilaritiesofE&Cnetworkspeechfrommemeticperspective.Memetics,sinceitscomingonthescene,hasgotmuchattentioninthelinguisticworld,yetnotmuchindomesticstudies,andacomparativestudyconsideringfrommemeticsisrarelyseen.ThecomparativestudybasedondistinctlanguageenvironmentsisexpectedtofindouthowthepropagationofE&Cnetworkspeechmayevolveinmemeticsense.Thispaperisintendedtoshedsomelightonthefollowingquestions:1)Howlanguagememessetintwodifferentlanguageenvironmentsmayaffectourlives?What’sthedifference?What’sthefactorbehindthisdifference?2)Whatkindofmemesofnetworkspeechcangetmorepropagated?1.4DatacollectionandresearchmethodologyDataandsamplesappliedinthisthesisaremostlycollectedfromcreditablewebsitesorbillboards.Thedevelopmentofcomputersciencemakesthedatacollectionpossibleforthispresentresearch.Themeritindatacollectionisthatalltheexamplescitedinthisthesisarefaithfullytranscribed.Evenwordsthatmayseemgrammaticallyincorrectormisspelledarekeptasoriginalastheyare.Atthesametime,theinformationsourcesarereliablewithpublic2 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比recognition.Someofthedataarecitedfromotherdependableaccountofpapersorbooks.Allthisenablestheresearchingprocessandresultmoreconvincingandrepresentative.Asfarasthemethodologyisconcerned,thepresentstudyismainlyaqualitativestudythatalsocoverssmallpercentageofquantitativemethodssincedatacollectionisinvolved.Thedatacannotbeanalyzedwithoutideas;atthesametime,theideasmustbeshapedandtestedbythedata(Dey,1993:7).Therefore,thisthesisisdatadrivenwhileatthesametimeitisendeavoredtoreduceabiasedsubjectivityembeddedintheoreticalspeculations.DataconcerningEnglishnetspeakinthisthesisweremainlycollectedfromthefollowingwebsites:http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php;http://www.noslang.com/articles.php;http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/internetglossary/a/glossary-of-internet-jargon-and-abbreviations.htmhttp://pc.net/slang/;;http://www.internetslang.com/http://www.abbreviations.com/acronyms/CHAT;;http://www.blackchampagne.com/slang.shtml.Allthesewebsitesweremeticulouslyselectedguaranteedbymassiveusergroupsandhighauthority,whichmakesthecurrentresearchmoreconvincing.Bythesametoken,dataconcerningthepartofChinesenetspeakwereelaboratelyoptedforhighcredibility,namely:http://bbs.csdn.net/topics/180003453;http://bbs.iyaya.com/123/614422.htm;http://www.docin.com/p-385501535.html;http://www.kaixin001.com/repaste/31532766_1898580862.html?uid=16257601&urpid=3890538724;http://www.tudou.com/home/diary_u70852642c0m00p1.html;http://blog.renren.com/share/220761901/583233747.1.5OrganizationofthestudyThissectionisintendedtoprovideaframeworkonthethesisasclearaspossible.Thisthesisconsistsoffivechapterswitheachplayingagoodpartinthecompletionofavaluableresearch.Chapter1servesasageneralintroductivepartthatpresentedtherationale,theobjectives,researchingmethodology,datacollection,andfinallytheskeletonofthethesis.Chapter2isaliteraturereviewofpreviousstudiesathomeandabroadconcerningthisarea,thusbothfrommemeticsandnetworkspeech.Inthissection,thedefinitionofbothwillbediscussedtokeepofffutureconfusion.Inadditiontothat,severaltermsrelatedtomemesaretobeintroducedtoeliminatebewildermentinelaborationafterwards. 3 西华大学硕士学位论文Chapter3isdevotedtoatheoreticalframeworkofthecurrentthesis.Severalfundamentalprinciplesaretobeintroducedtosupportfollowingdiscussionsinnextchapter.Itwillfocusonprincipleslike:memeticphenomenainlanguage,requisitionsofextensivetransmissionoflanguagememe,lifecycleofmemes,featuresofsuccessfulmemes,andlanguagedeviation.Chapter4isthemostvitalpartofthethesisthatitintendstomakeacomparativestudyofE&Cnetworkspeechfromtheperspectiveofmemetics.FirstitwillfocusonrootingoutsimilaritiesanddifferencesofE&Cnetworkspeech.Subsequenttothat,therewillbeamemeticinsightintodistinguishingcharacteristicsofpopularE&Cnetspeak,throughwhichitisexpectedtofindouthownetspeakmayevolveovertimewithonlyafrictionofthemgotsurvivedintheendofcompetition.Chapter5,theconclusivepartthatsummarizesthemajorfindingsgainedfromananalysisbasedonpreviouschapters.Moreover,theauthorpointsoutthelimitationofthepresentresearchandmakefeasiblesuggestionsforfuturestudy.4 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比ChapterTwoLiteratureReviewThispartofthethesisisaroughreviewofpreviousstudiesconcerningthissubjectathomeandabroad.It’snecessarytonaildowncertainconceptstokeepofffutureconfusionforthereaders.2.1DefinitionofnetworkspeechTotalkaboutnetworkspeech,firstwehavetotakealookattheinventionofnetwork.Thefirstcomputerwasproducedin1946duringthetimeofWorldWarⅡtosolvetheproblemofcalculatingmassivemilitarystatistics.Morethanadecadelater,sincetheinventionofcomputer,onlyfewpeoplecouldaffordtousecomputers.Computernetwork,thus,wasinventedforthatpurposetocarryoutawiderapplicationofcomputersbyconnectingseveralterminalsthroughonecomputer.WecanassumethatasthesimplestLAN(LocalAreaNetwork)embryoinhistory.In1992computernetworkgaineditshighgrowthinthewakeoftheenactmentof《U.S.InformationSuperhighwayAct》.InSeptember,1993,theU.S.governmentannouncedanewhigh-techproject—NII(NationalInformationInfrastructure)tofurtherpromotetheconstructionofnetworkinfrastructure,aimingtomakealltheinformationonlineaccessibletoallAmericans.StatisticsbytheCNNIC(ChinaInternetNetworkInformationCentre)showedthatbytheendof2011netizensinChinahadreached0.513billion.Thisvirtualworldisattractingmoreandmore‘citizens’,formingaspecialcommunitywecallnetizens.Networkspeech,initsbroadsense,meansalllanguagesusedininternetcommunication.Generallyspeaking,itrefersto:1)terminologiesusedincomputerscience;2)terminologiesrelatedtonetworkculture;3)certainuseofwordsusedamongCMC(Computer-MediatedCommunication)intercommunication(BBS,onlinechattingetc.).Networkspeech,narrowlyspeaking,referstothelastone,andthenetworkspeechwearegoingtotalkaboutintherestofthethesisisbasedonthisconception,thatistosay,whenwetalkaboutnetworkspeechinfollowingparagraphsofthethesis,wearereferringittothethirdkind.Asforthethirdkinddefinition,networkspeechstillgoundermanyoftheothernameslikenetspeak,internetslang,cyber-slang,chatspeak,internetshort-handornetlingo.Networkspeechisoneofthemedialanguagescreatedbynetizensandusedinnetworkcommunication.Itiswidelyusedinon-linechatting,BBSandothernetworkrelated5 西华大学硕士学位论文circumstances.Netspeak,insomesenses,representstheinternetculturethatwasinfiltratedinreallife,exertingcertaininfluencesonpeoples’lives.Thesourceofnetworkspeechismassive,usuallydrawingondialects,abbreviations,assonance,typographicalerror,andevencombinationsofsymbolstoachievepictographiceffect.Networkspeechisahybridlanguage.Duetolanguageandculturedifferences,thereformeddifferentandculture-orientedinternetlanguage.Someofthenetworkspeechwascalled“Martianlanguage”owingtotheexoticfontstylethatconfusedmanyminds,wrackingtheirbrainstofigureoutthemeaning.We’vecametoanagethatthingsarechangingfastduetothefascinatingspeedofinformationdelivery.Merelybysittingathomewecangetalltheinformationwewantwithouthavingtogoallthewaytofindthem.Thechangesaredelightfulwithoutdoubt,signifyingagreatevolutionofhumanrace.Oneexampleisthenetworkspeech.NetworkspeechisindeedthebyproductoftheconstructionofInternet,bringingmuchconveniencetoournetizens.Nowadays,apartfromusingmobilephones,wespentalotoftimeincommunicatingwithothersbychattingonline,whichisquitepopularwithinofficeworkersandteenagers.Andtheinventionofnetworkspeechowesalottotheseyoungpeoplewhoarecreativeandeagertoshowthingsthatcandifferentiatethemselvesfromothers.Thousandsofeccentriclanguageswerecreatedamongthesechatting.Itcertainlyhasitssurvivalvaluefortheirexistenceintheirhumorouswayofspeakingwhichmayenrichthedulllifeofmoderncitizensandtheirimpressivedeviationsoforthodoxlanguage.Thevariationsareenormous.Newwordsandexpressionsarebeinginventedeverydayforvariousreasons.Itmayduetosomebignewsontelevisionorscandalsoninternetandyoumaygooutofdatewithoutcheckingthelatestusesoflanguageoninternet,whichisquiteimportantbecauseonedayyoumayfindyourselfunabletounderstandanarticleforsomenewly-inventedwords.NetworkspeechinChinagraduallygaineditsgrowthafterChinajoinedtheInternetin1994.Peoplebecomeawarethatnetworkspeechhasmoderatelychangedthewaywelive,reflectingthechangesandformingitselfintoaculturedifferentfromwhatwe’vereceivedintheolddays.Therehavebeenvariedvoicesinusingnetworkspeech.Researchesonthissubjectwereabundant.2.2TypesofnetworkspeechTime-savingandlabor-savingaresignificantfeaturesofinternetthataccountformuchofthelanguagevariationsofnetworkspeech.Beingquitedissimilarfromtheconveniencesof6 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比Englishimputingmethod,Chinesespellingismuchmorecomplicated,makingitlessthanhandyforthenetizens.Therefore,outofthenecessitytobemoreefficient,peoplecompoundedapplicationsofnumbers,letters,andkeyboardsymbolstomakecommunicationeasier.It’snoteasytomarkcleardemarcationsamongdifferenttypesofNetspeak,especiallywhenitcomestotheintricacyofChinesecharacter.Moreover,classificationsofthiscouldbevariedwhenassortedfromdifferentperspectives.2.2.1AcronymWordsandphrasesinthiscategoryarecharacterizedbyabbreviatingalongerphrasewithsubstitutionsofinitials,orbyabbreviatingseveralwordsorasentenceintooneword.Examplesarelike:“BTY”(bytheway),“LOL”(laughoutloud),“FYI”(foryourinformation),“tfo”(totallyfreakout),“spam”(stupidpointlessannoyingmessage),“Lmao”(laughingmyassoff),“ALOTBSOL”(alwayslookonthebrightsideoflife),“AYTMTB”(andyou'retellingmethisbecause),“BAK”(backatkeyboard),“BT”(变态),“学困生(xuekunsheng)”（一学习就犯困的学生）2.2.2AssonanceThiskindofnetworkspeechisinventedbyalteringthemeaningofsomewordsornumbersforthesimilaritytheybearintheirpronunciations.Someofthemare“deliberatemistakes”oftheinputmethod.Peopleusuallytakethefirstwordthatcomesalong,greatlycuttingthehoursspentonchoosingtherightwordfrommanyoptions.Someofthemaremerelyaninventionforfun.Thecyberspaceaboundswithyoungpeople,accountingforthemajorityofthenetizensintheworld,whoarecreative,upbeat,neverrunshortofnewideas.Theyarerealexpertsinturningordinarythingstosomethingfunny,andfunnythingsarealwayseasygettingpropagatedandreadilyacceptedbypublic.Examplesofthiskindarelike:“56”(无聊)，“584”(我发誓)，“886”(再见喽)，“7456”(气死我了)，“9494”(就是就是)，“3x”(thanks)，“斑竹(banzhu)”(版主)，“水饺(shuijiao)”(睡觉)，“童鞋(tongxie)”(同学)，“大虾(daxia)”(大侠).2.2.3SemioticexpressionsOtherthanusingwordsandphrases,semioticexpressionisessentialinnetworkcommunication.Creativeyoungmanuseletters,punctuationsandothersemioticsymbolsonthekeyboard,creatingnumerouspictographicwaysofexpression.ThiskindofexpressionwasfirstinventedinAmerica,andthenitbecameuniversallyavailable.Semioticexpressions7 西华大学硕士学位论文arecharacterizedinprimelymakingupforthedeficiencyoflimitedfacialexpressionsinnetworkcommunication.People’semotionsbecomeimaginablethroughcomputerscreen.Theexpressionof“:)”,forinstance,isthebasicexpressionofahappyfacethatmostdirectlytriggerstheimageofthespeaker’sfacialexpressioninourmind.Moreexamplesarelike:“:(”,thesimplestexpressionofanunhappyface;“^_^”,abrightersmile;“^O^”,laughingoutloudbehindthescreen;“:-p”,amischievousprotrudingofone’stongue.2.2.4SummaryForthenetizens,“timeisgold”isnotmerelyafigureofspeech.Itbecomestherealisticneedinmoderncommunication.Theprincipleoftimesaving,laborsaving,simplificationandfastnessisaboveallthings,which,inconsequence,ledtoplentyalphabetic,numericalandassonanceuseinnetworkspeech.Asanewlyinventedwayofexpression,thegrowthofitsquantityandvarietyisbeyondanyages.ItisunlikelywithinthespaceatourcommandheretoexhibitalltypesofNetspeakusedonlinenowadays.Theabove-mentionedcategoriescanonlyberoughlyselected.Laterchaptersmayallowmoredetaileddescriptionforthis.2.3PreviousstudiesonnetworkspeechStudiesregardingnetworkspeechathomeandabroadsharedvariedcircumstances.Therefore,itisnecessarytodigintotheprogressproceededonbothsides.2.3.1NetworkspeechathomeNetworkspeechisstillrathernewinChinasinceitonlygraduallygaineditsgrowthafterChinajoinedtheInternetin1994.However,everythingmovesforwardwithahighspeednowadays,networkspeechinparticular.Andmuchofthecreditgoestoinformationtechnology.Wefeelthechangeeveryday.Itgreatlyinfluencesthewayweliveandthink.Researchesonnetworkspeechbegantoaccumulatetheseyears,reachingtomanyfields,whichcanberoughlyclassifiedintofollowingcategories:1)SimilaritiesanddifferencesofnetworkspeechusesbetweenEnglishandChinese.Forexample,JinYongjian(2009)findsoutthat,thoughbelongingtodifferentlanguageculture,networkspeechinEnglishandChinesestillbarealotofsimilarities.Hepointsouttheconstructionofnetworkspeechwasbasicallythesamebetweenthetwolanguages,usuallybymeansofassonance,abbreviation,acronym,semioticexpressionsandothermisinterpretation.Hefurtherpointsoutthatthetargetsandinventorsofnetworkspeechusuallycomefrom8 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比thosewhoareyoungandwelleducatedbasedonthestatisticreportofChinainternetnetworkdevelopment.2)Standardizationofnetworkspeech.Asissooftenpointedout,technologyisatwo-edgedweaponwhichcanbeusedequallyforgoodorevil.Theirregularusesofnetworkspeechfloodsintoourlives,bringingmuchconveniencetouswhileatthesametimechallengingtheorthodoxyoftheestablishedlanguagenorms.There’sawidespectrumofopinionsontheproblem.Forexample,ChenJianhua(2004)believesthatthestandardizationofnetworkspeechisoutofsocialneedaswellaslinguistpurification.There’sstillmuchtodosincewehaveyettoestablishanylawsandregulationsagainstunethicalusesofnetworkspeech.Othersarguethatwecouldloosenalittlebitandjustletthemrunitscourseasintheendonlythosesuitedbestwithourtimescouldsurvive.3)Languagedeviationofnetworkspeech.Deviationisoneofthebestfeaturesofnetworkspeech.Itisbelievedthatpeoplealwaysobeycertainkindoflanguagenormsinsocialintercourse.However,inspecificcircumstances,peopledeliberatelyderailfromtheregularlanguagenormsformoreconciseexpressions,whichiscalledlanguagedeviation.Manyscholarsendeavoredtheireffortsfromthisperspective.Forexample,ChaiLei(2005)foundthatlanguagedeviationcanbebestillustratedinnetworkspeech.HeconductedtheresearchbasedonthetheoryfromGeoffreyLeechwhobelievesthatlanguagedeviationcanbegenerallyclassifiedinto8categories,thusthephonologicaldeviation,lexicaldeviation,grammaticaldeviation,semanticdeviation,graphologicaldeviation,deviationofregister,dialecticaldeviation,anddeviationofhistoricalperiod.Asweallknow,grammar,vocabularyandpronunciationarebasiccomponentofanylanguage.However,messagesdeliveredonlinewerebasicallyaccomplishedthroughkeyboardinputratherthanaface-to-facecommunication,namelythevoiceinput.Soheexpatiatedhisanalysisjustonthesyntacticandlexicallevel.4)Culture-linkedexploration.Itisuniversallyacknowledgedthatlanguageistheproductofsocialdevelopment.Anylanguagecomesoutofacertainculturebackground.Theyarenotjustastringofsymbolscameoutofnowhere.Instead,theyaresignificantinthattheyarethereflectionsofatimeinhumanhistory,thatistosay,theyaresocialphenomenon.Forexample,ChangYuli(2009)takesastandonthistoexplorehownetworkspeechturnsouttobetheinevitableproductofinformationtechnologybytracingbacktoitsorigins.9 西华大学硕士学位论文5)Memeticpointofview.Asmuchasdomesticresearchesintermsofmemeticsarestillinitsinfancy,thepowerofmemeticscouldneverbeunderestimated.Itprovidesanewandreliabletheorytoexplaintheevolutionofnetworkspeeches,whichmaybethemostseemlyanswerevertothisphenomenon.Itexplainsmanyvexedquestionsinnetworkspeechmoretotheroot,suchaswhysomeofthenetworkspeechescouldsurvive,evenaddedtoorthodoxdictionaries,whileothersjustvanishedlikewildfire?Andwhypeoplearesoaddictedtocommunicatingvianetworkspeech?Forexample,WangBeiandGeLingling(2007)madeattemptstoaninterpretationofstrongmemeofnetworkspeechfromacognitivesensebasedontheRecognitionScriptTheory(ST).2.3.2NetworkspeechabroadEnteringthewordnetworkspeech,oranyothernamesitmaygounder,intoasearchengine,lotsofpagesrelevantcomesout.However,mostofthemmerelyserveasadictionaryreference,andsomeofthemonlygivebriefintroductionsaboutnetworkspeech.Asystematiclinguisticresearchtowardsnetworkspeechisrarelyseen.Earlyresearchesconcerningthissubjectwereverymuchfocusedonhypertextstudyorsemiotics.Inrespectofsemiotics,manydiscussthefeatures,grammarandlexicographyofonlinecommunications.Somemakecomparisonsbetweennetworkspeechandwrittenlanguageusedindifferentcircumstances,fromwhichtheygenerallyconcludedthatnetworkcommunicationisvirtuallyanintermediatestagebetweenoralandwrittenmodalities.Anevenmoredetailedstudywasalsocarriedoutindifferentiatingfeaturesbetweensynchronous(online)andasynchronous(offline)digitalcommunications(Crystal,2001).Asnetworkspeechbegantogainitsgrowth,studiesconcerningCMC(Computer-mediatedCommunication)drewattentionsfrommanyscholarsinacademiccommunities,fewworksintermofnetworkspeechcameonthescene,forinstance,conversationandcommunity:ChatinaVirtualWorld(LynnCherry,1996),CommunitiesinCyberspaces(SmithandKollock,1999),Computer-mediatedCommunication:Linguistic,SocialandCross-CulturalPerspectives(Herring,1996).Anotedjournalinconnectionwiththisfieldisalsoavailableonline,thustheJournalofComputer-MediatedCommunication.ItisworthmentioningthetentativeeffortmadebySusanHerringinherbookComputer-MediatedCommunication:Linguistic,SocialandCross-CulturalPerspectives,acollectionof14articlesfocusingonempiricalcasesstudiesincomputer-mediatedinteraction,10 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比givingmuchinsightintothissubjectfromlinguistic,social,ethicalandcross-culturalperspectivesseparately.Asfarasnetworkspeechisconcerned,veryfewsystematicworkscontributetothissubjecthasbeendone.There’svirtuallyonlyonebookconcerningthissubject,thusthelanguageandtheinternet,authoredbyDavidCrystal,whoistheeditorofthenotedCambridgeEncyclopediaoftheEnglishLanguage,hewhoisalsooneoftheseauthoritativerepresentativesonlanguageintheworld.Byprobingintotheproblemsubstantiallyofhowinternetaffectlanguageusedonline,hegavedetailedandthoroughdescriptionsinthisbook.Heheldthatnetworkspeechmainlyfallsinto5classes:languageinemail,languageinsynchronouschat-groups,languageinasynchronouschat-groups,languageinMUDandlanguageintheWorldWideWeb.2.4PreviousstudiesofmemeticsAsacoreconceptinthisthesis,memehasbeenquiteastirinthelinguisticworldsinceitsadvent.Areviewofpreviousresearchesofmemeticsisbeneficialtoourunderstandingofthedevelopmentofmemeticsandwhatitmayachieveintimestocome.2.4.1IntroductiontomemeItisuniversallyacknowledgedthatgeneisthebasicunitforthetransmissionofhereditaryinformationinlivingorganisms.It’stheutmostbasicunitofnaturalselection,bywhichthe‘survivalmachine’——livingorganisms——canachieveits‘selfish’end——tosurviveandpropagateitsgenedescendantsinthegenepoolasmuchaspossible.Neverthelessonlythiscannotexplainthevarietyandcomplexityoftheworld.Genes,apowerfulreplicatorasitmaybe,don’tdeservethecreditforallthis,especiallywhenitcomestotheculturalaspectofevolutionwhichwasbuiltonhumanknowledgeandexperience.Eitherfromthediachronicorsynchronicevolvement,merelyalittlestudycouldrevealthatmanysimilarcircumstancescanbetracedtothesameorigin,examplesincludinglanguage,religion,traditionalcustomsetc.,whicharealltheevidenceforthebirthofanewreplicator.Andwerefertothiskindofnewreplicator,similartogenes,asmeme.Theword‘meme’wasfirstbroughtupbyRichardDawkinsinhisrenownedbookTheSelfishGene,publishedin1976.Aswe’vealreadyknownthatgeneisthefundamentalunitofheredity,areplicator,inasimilarwaymemecanbeseenastheculturalreplicators,thustheutmostbasicunitofculturetransmission.Genesmakethemselvespropagatedbyleapingfrom11 西华大学硕士学位论文bodytobodyviaeggsorspermsinthegenepool;similarly,memesgetthemselvesproliferatedbyleapingfrombraintobrainviaimitationinthememepool.Imitationishowmemesreplicatethemselves.2.4.2DefiningthememeIt’snotsoeasytoanswereventheobviousquestion,“Whatismeme?”Therearemanywaysofdefiningthememe,buttwoofthemmightnecessarilygetextraseriousness.First,theDawkins’,whofirstcoinedthetermmemefromGreeklanguageinhisbookTheSelfishGenethatcatapultedhimtofame.Hedescribedmemeasthebasicunitofculturaltransmissionwhich“propagatethemselvesinthememepoolby…aprocesswhich,inthebroadsense,canbecalledimitation”(Dawkins,1976:192).“Examplesofmemesaretunes,ideas,catch-phrases,clothesfashion,andwaysofmakingpotsorofbuildingarches.”(Dawkins1976:206)Second,theOEDversion.TheOED(OxfordEnglishDictionary)isarguablythemostimportantdictionaryoftheEnglishlanguagewhichisalsothefirstdictionarytoincludetheterm‘meme’.Itdefinesmemeasfollows:Anelementofculturethatmaybeconsideredtobepassedonbynon-geneticmeans,esp.imitation.Bothofthesedefinitionssubsumethecrucialpointthatmemesareculturalinformationthatiscopiedbyimitation.Inadditiontothat,sometechnicaldefinitions,thoughquiteunlikethedictionaryone,arewellcompatiblewithit.Forexample,Dennett(1995)definestheunitsofmemesasthe‘thesmallestelementsthatreplicatethemselveswithreliabilityandfecundity.’(p.344)Somescholarsdefineitastheinformationunitinthesystemofmemorystorageinhumanmind,whichcanbereplicatedfrommindtomind.Inthecommonsense,itcanbedefinedasvirusofthemind.(Brodie1996)AndagoodexamplefromWilkins’s:“Amemeistheleastunitofsocioculturalinformationrelativetoaselectionprocessthathasfavorableorunfavorableselectionbiasthatexceedsitsendogenoustendencytochange.”It’sperfectlycompatiblewiththeOEDasitemphasizedthatthesizeofmemeisnotfixedbutisvariedindifferentcontextsandunderlinedtheimportanceoffidelity(i.e.theabilitytostabilizeorthepowertoresistthechangeoftheinformation).ThisisverymuchsimilartothewayWilliamdidin1966bydefiningtheterm‘gene’.Whereasintermsoftheoreticalpurposesthisdefinitioncouldbeusefulexceptthatitmightbetoocomplicatedforamoregeneraluse.SomeareinevidentcontradictionwiththeOED.Some,forexample,implythatalmostanythingweknoworexperiencecanbecountedasmemes,regardlessofhowitmaybe12 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比acquired,whetherbyimitationornot(e.g.Brodie,1996;Gabora,1997;Lynch,1996).Brodieregardsoperantconditioning,virtuallyallconditioning,asmemetic.Gaboragoesevenfurtherbyincluding“anythingthatcanbethesubjectofaninstantofexperience”,whichcouldbeideas,emotions,attitudesandperceptionswenormallyhave.Withadefinitionlikethisbroad,ahouselizardcouldhaveamassofmemes,simplybecausetheyhaveperceptionsandarecapableofmanylearningskills.Itisbettersticktotheoriginaldefinitionthatmemewastransmittedbyimitation.Definitionlike“anidea,behavior,style,orusagethatspreadsfrompersontopersonwithinaculture”fromtheWebsterDictionaryonlyaddconfusiontothealreadydifficultproblemofunderstandingmeme.2.4.3Severaltermsrelatedtomemea.ImitationAshasbeenmanifestedintheconception,bothfromOEDandfromDawkins,thatmemewastransmittedfrompersontopersonviaimitation.Wethereforeneedtomakecertainfirstwhatismeantbyimitation.Imitationisdistinctfromindividuallearning,contagionandsundryothernon-imitativesociallearning,instancesarelikelocalenhancement,stimulusenhancementandgoalemulation.Theresearchonimitationbothinhumansocialpsychologyandanimalbehaviorcouldbetracedthroughalonghistory.Darwin,inthe19thcentury,gatheredmanyexamplesofwhathebelievestobeimitativebehaviorsinanimals,buthedidnotmakeexactdefinitionofwhatimitationis.Baldwin(1902)pointedoutinhistheoriesofevolutionthatalladaptiveprocessescanbeviewedasimitative.AndThorndike(1898),apsychologist,wasprobablythefirsttogiveimplicitdefinitionofimitation,thus“learningtodoanactfromseeingitdone”,whichcapturesthecoreideathatimitationisaccomplishedbycopyingsomeoneelse’sbehavior.However,toreallygettoknowimitation,weneedtobeclearaboutthedistinctionsofimitationfromotherkindsoflearning.Otherkindsoflearningcouldroughlybecategorizedasnon-imitativesociallearningandindividuallearning.Beforegoingtothat,weneedtomakeanotherclarificationoftheterm‘contagion’whichisoftenassociatedwithmemeticsinmanycircumstances.Oftentimeswetreatmemesassomethingcontagious,likeaninfectiousdisease.Inmemeticterms,theterm‘contagious’couldbeemployedtodescribephenomena13 西华大学硕士学位论文thatarecertainlymemetic,aspreadoffads,forinstance.Andit’sallfairtosaythatcertainkindsofmemeiscontagious,orevenmorecontagiousthanothers.Nevertheless,thetermcouldbeusedinaconfusingwayandthatissomethingwemustmakecleardistinctionsfromatrueimitation.Thisiswhathasvariouslybeenreferredtoasimitativesuggestion,coactions,instinctiveimitationorsimplycontagion.Typicalexamplesinhumanbehaviorwouldbethespreadoflaughing,yawningorcoughing.Onthefaceofit,theseareverycontagiousbehavior,buttheyarequitedifferentfromthecontagionwementionedabove.Indeeditcouldbedifficultnottolaughwheneveryonearoundyouislaughing,buttheycan’tbecountedasatrueimitation.TofigureoutthereasonwejustneedtotakealookatthesimpledefinitionfromThorndike.Laughing,yawningandcoughingareonlyinnatebehaviorsofus.Wedonotlearnhowtolaughwhileseeingeveryonearoundmeislaughing,wesimplyknowhowtolaugh,andthatisnotsomethingmodeledonthelaughingwehearatthatmoment.Sotheycan’tbeseenasatrueimitation,andtheyshouldn’tbecountedasmemeticbehaviors.Nowwecanmoveontotheothertwokindsoflearningwementionedearlier,thustheindividuallearningandthenon-imitativesociallearning.Individuallearning,intraditionalterms,canbedividedintotwomajortypes—classicalconditioningandoperantconditioning,bothcarriedoutwithoutanyonebeingnecessarilyinvolvedbutwastaughtbyitself,itcouldbehappenedinanimalsorhumans.Classicalconditioningbroadlyexistsintheanimalkingdom,forinstancewhenadoglearnstodistinguishpalatablefoodfrompoisonousfood.Itcouldalsooccursinhumanswheneverwetendtoassociatesomethingwithanotherastheyhavepreviouslybeenpaired,instancesofwhichcouldbesounds,ideasorsights.Neitherofthemcouldbecountedasmemeticfornothingispassedonbyimitationduringtheprocess.Asforoperantconditioning,ithappenswhenabehaviormadebyananimaliseitherrewardedorpunishedbywhichwayeitherincreasesordecreasesthefrequencyofthatbehavior.Atypicalkindofthistrialanderrorlearning,forexample,istheSkinner’sexperimentcarriedoutin1930s,inwhichheprovidedrats,pigeonsandotheranimalswithleverswhich,whenpressed,causefoodtobedelivered.Theseanimalsquicklylearnedtopresstheleversandtheirbehaviorwassuccessfullyreinforcedaccordingtotheplan.Itcouldalsooccurinhumanlearningbythistrialanderrorreinforcement,forexamplewhenparentseitherrewardorpayattentiontochildrentoreinforceacertainbehavior,childrentendstobehavewellinthefuture.14 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比However,thiskindoflearningcouldn’tbecountedasmemeticsincenonewbehaviorwaslearnedbyimitationintheprocess.Therearealsonon-memeticlearningbothinanimalsandhuman,forinstance,thecognitivemapsoftheenvironmentmanyanimalshasdeveloped,whethertheyareinsects,birdsorrats,withoutwhichtheycouldnotliveatall.Theformationofthiscognitivemapislearnedbyindividualexplorationandconditioningwithnoimitationinvolvedintheprocessandthereforecouldn’tbecountedasmemeticbehavior.However,inpractice,weusuallylivewithbothoftheminvolved,asthosethingswehavelearntindividuallycouldbeconditionedfromthoselearntbyimitation,thereforewearenotalwaysbeabletoseparateonefromanother.Butwehavetobeawarethattheyaretwodifferentthings.Inmemeticterms,trueimitationisrarelyseeninanimals,onlyhumansarecapableofanextensivememetictransmission.Humans,whilestillinfants,areabletoimitateawiderangeofbehaviorsandwhentheyare14montholdtheycanevendelayimitationforaweekormore,andthat’swhyhumanalonehaveproducedcomplexculture.Thereasonwhyweinsistonatrueimitation,sincebothsociallearningandimitationsharethequalityofallowinginformationaboutbehaviortobetransmitted,isthatonlytrueimitationcansustainatrueevolutionaryprocess—areplicationsystemrequirestrueheredity.Therefore,itisofessentialimportancethatwesticktotheoriginaldefinitionofimitation.b.MemeandmemeplexAswe’vementionedearlier,memesarethebasicunitofculturaltransmissionviareplicationofthemselvesfromonebraintoanother.They“rangefromsinglewordsandsingleactionstothevastmemeplexesofscience,art,religion,politicsandfinance”(Blackmore,2003).Wecaninferfromthatmemeplexesaremorecomplexformsofmemes.Memesdonotalwaysworkalone,oftentimestheyworktogethertoprotectandreinforceeachotherfrombeinginterruptedinthereplicatingprocessinordertomakeasuccessfulpropagationofmemes.Thiskindofreplicationofdifferentmemesworkingingroupsiscalledmemeplex.Therearesundryexamplesofgroupsofmemesthatreplicatetogether.“Dawkinscallssuchgroups‘coadaptedmemecomplexes’,aphraserecentlyabbreviatedto‘memeplexes’”(Speel1995).Intermsofgenes,there’regenecomplexesthatcausemanygenestoworktogether,whereasmemeplexesarequitedifferentfromgenecomplexesinthatmemeplexesdonothavetopandertheneedofgenesinordertogetreplicated.Forexample,a15 西华大学硕士学位论文memeplexthatincludestheconceptofsexualabstinenceisgeneticallyharmfulasitsabotagestheonly“purpose”ofgenestogetasmuchreplicationofgenesaspossibleinthegenepoolthroughreproduction.Blackmorewellillustratestheconceptofmemeplexthroughexpatiatingononeoftheexamples—religion.Weareliveinaworldofmanyreligionsthatseriouslyaffectourlives,causingpeopleallaroundtheworldspendvastamountsofenergyandmoneyworshippingtheirgods,buildinggloriousmonuments,andincurringwarsamongpeoplewithdifferentreligions.Tosomeonewhoisuninfectedwithanyreligionsmaygetextremelyconfusedbyanyofthesebizarrebehaviors.HowcouldGodreallyexist?HowcouldthoseprayersworkjustbysilentlywhisperingtoaninvisibleGod?Howcouldsomanypeoplefallforsomethingthatissoobviouslyfalse,especiallyperplexingwhenmanyofthesefollowersarewelleducated?Well,takingfromtheeyeofmemes,wecanconcludethatthismustasuccessfulmemeplex.Severalmemesworktogethertomakeitlastlongenoughtilltodaywhenitspositioncanneverbewavered.Forexample,peoplecouldbetoldthatGodiswatchingyouatalltimesandwillpunishthosewhodisobeyHiscommandmentswithmosthorriblepunishmentinhell.Itsuccessfullyrosesthefearinpeoplesincethesethreatscannotbeeasilytested.ThentheytrytoeasethefearinpeoplebyprovidingthemsolutionssuchasgoingregularlytomassthenGodwillforgiveyouevenifyouhavesinned.Inadditiontothat,theyprovidemythicalanswerstoinexplicablehumanquestionssuchas:Wheredidwecomefrom?Wheredowegowhenwedie?Andthemythswereprotectedbyuntestablity,threatsandpromises.Allthesereligiousmemes‘gangtogether’,using‘craftytricks’tokeepeachothersafelystoredinmillionsofbrains,booksandrepeatedlypassingontomore.Peoplenowadayshavelearnttousethismemetictrickstospreadtheobjectivememestomakemoney.Themostsimilarcasesarethoseusedinmarketing.Theynormallyraisethefearofsomethingthentheytrytoreducethefearbyofferingyouasolutionwhichistobuytheirproductsortheirservices.Inaword,whenmemesworktogethertoformamemeplextheyaremorelikelytogetpropagatedbecausetheygotmoreprotectionstosurvive.c.GenotypeandphenotypememesAccordingtoBlackmore,“…thetotalmake-upofgenesineachindividualisknownastheirgenotype.Correspondingly,thevariouscharacteristicsofthefinalpersonisknownasthephenotype”.Phenotypeisn’tmerelyacopyofgenotype,butwithoutgenotypethere’sno16 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比morephenotypebecausegenotypeservedasinstructionsforbuildingproteinswhichiscriticalatcontrollingthedevelopmentoftheembryoasitgrows.Whenitcomestomemeticterms,it’snecessarytodifferentiateagenotypememefromaphenotypememe.Agenotypememeiscodedwithpureinformationthatarethebuildingblocksforanypossiblebehaviorapersonhas,whichcouldbevariedfrompersontoperson.Whichkindofbehaviorapersonmayproducesthenlargelydependsonhowtheyvarythecombinationsofthesebuildingblocks.Thatistosay,aphenotypememeisthebehaviortakenonapersonwhichisbuiltonthegenotypememe.Andsincewearenotsureabouthowinformationstoredinourbrains,thesaferwaytostudymemesisthustoendeavoronthephenotypeeffectsapersonproduces.d.HostandvectorAsHenrikBjarneskans,BjarneGrunevikandAndersSandbergputit(http://www.aleph.se/Trans/Cultural/Memetics/memecycle.html-60k-):A“host”mustbeabletopossessatleastthepotentialcapacitytoelaborateonthememeandtoperformthosecognitivetasksconnectedtothememethatwenormallyrefertoas“understanding”.Anda“vector”isanythingthattransmitsthememebetweenhosts.Accordingtothisdefinition,wecanconcludethatonlyhumancanbecountedashosts.Andavectorreferstoanintermediaryagentforspreadingmemesbetweenhostandhost,andexamplesarelikevoice,email-programorbooks.2.4.4PreviousstudiesonmemeticsabroadTherearemainlyfourschoolsofthoughtonmemeticsabroad:1)TypifiedbyLynchandDennett(1991,1995),theyholdthatmemesshouldbelookedonasakindofinformationschema.Dennettbelievesthatthecarrierofmemenotonlyliesinourbrains,butthethingsinthemselvescanalsobecomememes,whichisdifferentfromDawkins’spointofviewthatmemescanonlyexistinourmind.AndLynchclaimsthathe’sgoingtofindthebiologicalrealityfortheexistenceofmemesinourmind.Concerningthatmemescan’treplicatethemselvesinexactlythesamewayasgenedoes,whichmeansmemescan’tbequantified,Lynchheldthatthecongregationviewofmemescanexplainhowasimplememeevolvesintoamemeplexwhichcanexertmoretremendouspoweroflanguage.2)Thecontagionthought.TypifiedbyGatherer(1998,2001),whoopposedtheideathatmemeistheinformationunitinournerves,thatwecan’tfindthebiologicalrealityofmemes17 西华大学硕士学位论文inourbrains,thuswecan’texplaintheevolutionofmemesfromageneticperspective.Heinsiststhatmemeisaunitofcultureinformationforpropagationsortheunitofreplicationwhichistheearlierdefinitionofmemewhenitwasfirstindiscussion.3)Cultureevolution.RepresentedbyGabora(1997a,b),theyviewmemeasabridgebuiltbetweenthebiologicalevolutionandculturalevolution,whichsuggeststhatwecannotonlyfindthebiologicalfoundationofmemes,buttheculturalimagealso.Emphasizingonthesimilaritybetweencultureandbiologicalevolution,theybelievethatthetwobelongstothesamesystemofevolution.Memeisconsideredasthesecondevolutionarypatternaftergenedoes.Apartfromthesocialperspective,italsoillustratestheproduction,storage,constructionandexpressionoftheseimagesstoredinmind.4)Thesemioticview.Scholarsconcerningthispointofviewweremainlyfromanthropologicalperspectives,expectingtofindasolutiontotheabsenceofbiologicalbasisformemetics.TherepresentingfigurewasDeacon(1999),professorofanthropologyinBostonUniversity.Theintroductionofmemeticviewtosemioticsishelpfulintacklingthevexedquestionsinsemiotics.Lately,there’sanupsurgeinthestudyofmemetics.ThiswasmarkedbythepublicationofTheMemeMachineauthoredbyBlackmoreinJan.1999,amasterpiecethatsummarizedtheresearchfindingsofmemeticsinrecentyears,bringingtolightanewconceptthatilluminatedthefield.Shedidafantasticjobinthefollowingthreeaspects.Tostartwithshewidenedtherangeofmemesweweretalkingaboutbyabsorbingallkindsoffindings.Shebelievesthatmemescanbeanykindofmessagethatiscapableofreplication.Itcanrefertoathought,orthestructureinsidethebrainwherethethoughtistakingplace,orconcretebehaviorproducedbythestructure,evenbooks,recipes,mapsandmusicbooksandsuch.MemeticsinBlackmore’sworkisbasedonthetheoryofbiologicalevolutionandmemeticreplication,whileshealsoassumedthatmemeshasrheologicalphysicalformsinthattheoutcomeandbehaviorofmemesisobservable.Secondlyshebroughtupwithtworeplicatingandtransmittingmethodsofmeme,namelythereplicationofoutcomeandthatofinstructions,which,toalargeextent,dismissedtheconcernspeoplehadaboutthecopying-fidelityofmemesintheprocessoftransmission.Lastly,there’snolackofmanybrilliantideasflickeringinherillustrationofreligions,brains,languages,altruismandsuchphenomena.Arepresentativeoneinherbookisthememe-genecoevolutiontheory.Sheconsidersthatthe18 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比transmissionofmemeislimitedbynaturalselection,andmemesarethe‘slaves’ofgenesforwhatmemesdofortheirowninterestsisactuallyfortheprosperityofthegenesthatbehindthem.Shealsocameupwiththeideaofmemeplexesinherillustrationofreligions.Apartfromthat,empiricalstudiesarenowunderway.InSussexuniversity,Marsden(2001)carriedoutanempiricalstudyonwhethertheideaof‘suicide’couldbecontagiouslikememes.Quantitativeresearcheshavebeeninprogressaswell.InCambridge,KendalandLaland(2000)fromthezoologyhavebuiltfeasiblemathematicalmodelformemeticevolution.AmorerecentstudyonmemeticsreacheditshighpeakwiththeTED（Technology,Entertainment,Design）conferencecomeonthescenein2008.DanDennettattheconferenceassumesourmindissimilartoecosysteminwhicheverymemecompetesforashareofourmind,coexisting,reproducingandflourishinginourmind.Apartfromthat,SusanBlackmorewhowasdedicatedtounderstandingthescientificnatureofconsciousnessandturnedRichardDawkins’intuitionaboutmemesintoafullyfledgedtheory,takesawildguessthatmemesinnowadayshastakenonanewformthatismorepowerfulandmoreadeptatspreadingit.Shebelievesthatwe’renowheadingtowardsanewformofmemespreadbythetechnologywe’vecreated,whichistemporarilynamedas“teme”.AccordingtoBlackmore,wehumansareearth’s“Pandoraspecies”thatletthesecondreplicator—meme—outofthebox.Theyusesourmindastheircopyingmachinerytogetthemselvesspreadviahumanconsciousness,andwe’retheirslavestoworkfortheirownbenefits—togettheirmemescopiedtomanyotherbrainsasmuchaspossible.2.4.5PreviousstudiesonmemeticsathomeRecentyearswe’veseenplentyofresearchesofmemetics,reachingtomanyfieldsofsocialscience,sincememeticsprovidesuswithanewandseemlyanswertomanyphenomenainourlives.However,thebeginningofmemeticstudyinChinaisrelativelylateandslowmuchasbooksinreferencetomemeticshavebeenavailableinChinayearsago,suchasTheSelfishGene(1976)inChineseversionandTheMemeMachine(1999).AndnoresearchhasattractedmuchattentionathomeuntilProfessorGuiShichunmentionedtheimportanceofmemeticsintheprefaceofLanguageandCulture(GuJiazu,LuSheng,2002).LaterProfessorHeZiran,oneofthefewinfluentialscholarsonmemeticsinChina,showedmuchinterestinthisnewsubjectandsubsequentlymuchofhisworksconcerningmemetics19 西华大学硕士学位论文camealong,infectedmanypeople,withthepaperMemeticsandSocialUsageofLanguage(2003)inparticular.Manyofhisworksdedicatingtothissubjectareamongtheweightiestones.Memeticssincethenbegantobeappliedtomanyfieldsofsocialscience.Examplesareabundantthatmainlyinclude:memeticswithtranslation,memeticswithpedagogy,memeticswithcognition,memeticswithpragmatics,memeticswithadvertizing,memeticswithlegallanguage,memeticswithnetworkspeech,andtheexplorationofmemeticsinitself,whichcanfurtherbeclarifiedinto3morecategories,thusmemeticswithlanguage,memeticswithpragmaticuses,andmemeticswithinitself.1)MemeticswithlanguageLanguageisacorevehicleforthetransmissionofmemes.Memetics,ontheotherhand,helpstoexplainthemechanismoflanguagetransmission.Researchesconcerningthisareacountsformuchofthenumberinlightofacloseassociationwitheachother.Forinstance,ChenJianming(2011)madeastudyoflegallanguagememes,inwhichhefoundthatthecontinuity,precisenessandformularizationoflegalexpressionsmakethemstrongmemesintermsoftherequiredfeaturesofsuccessfulmemes.ChenLingxia(2006)startedwithadvertisingslogans,tryingtogiveexplicationsonwhyidioms,proverbs,commonsayings,famousremarksandclassicpoemsbecomesuccessfulmemestheirtransmissiveprocess.2)MemeticswithpragmaticusesMemeticsisapplicableinpragmaticusesaswell.Itgivesnewinsightintoareaslikepedagogy.Forexample,WeiXiaohong(2009)findsthatinterpretationisvirtuallytheprocessofmemeticassimilation,retention,expressionandtransmission.MemeticsprovidesinterpretationteachingincollegeEnglishwithareplicatingpatternoflanguageandculturalinformation.Thespreadingof“symbiosismeme”,imitativelearningundersituatedlearningmodels,andsuitablemanagementofculturalmemescaneffectivelypromotethedevelopmentofinterpretationskills.3)MemeticswithinitselfSincememeticsisstillarathernewandcontroversialsubjectinlinguisticfield,researchesconcerningthisareahasneverrunshortofattempts.Forexample,ZhangXuhong(2008)offeredanewperspectivewithwhichtounderstandChomsky’sInnatenessHypothesis,anddoessobyanalyzingtherelationsbetweenlanguageandmeme,inwhichshefoundout20 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比thatathoroughunderstandingofthecognitivebasisforlanguageinconjunctionwithanunderstandingofthetrajectoryoflanguageadaptationthroughculturaltransmissionwouldamounttoatotalexplanationoflanguagestructure.Memeticsgavenewinsighttomanysubjectivestudiesfromanperspectivewhichhasneverbeendonebeforeandtheconsequenceofthestudyisdelightful.Withmoreandmoreworksathomecomingthisway,peoplearegettingtoknowmemeticsbetter.However,comparedwithwhatthoseforeignscholarsdidinthelastfewyearsonmemetics,ourresearchstillhasalongwaytogo.2.4.6SuspicionsaboutmemeticsandresponsesfromsupportersEventhoughmostofthescholarshaverecognizedthatcontributionsthatmemeticshasmadetotheuncoveringofcultureevolutioncannotbeunderestimated,therearemanyquestionsaboutsomespecificissuesinthetheory.Typicalquestionsarelike:howthecopying-fidelitybekeptduringtheprocessoftransmission;howtoidentifymemesfromtheextendedphenotypeofmemes,sincetherearelittledifferencesbetweenthemonthefaceofit,farlessdistinctivefromthatofgeneandgenotypeingenetics,whichmakesitdifficulttoidentifytheentityofmemesinrealworld.Inotherwords,we’reunabletoidentifytheunitofanalysisformemes.OneoftherepresentivefiguresinoppositiontothetheoryistheauthorofRelevancetheoryinpragmatics,Sperber.Ontopofeverythingelse,hepointedoutthatagesagoanthropologistshavealreadyfoundthatculturaltransmissionisnon-genetical,whichisnothingnewintheacademicfield.HedoubtedthismemeticviewbroughtupbyDawkinsthatcultureisreplicatedbymemes.Hebelievesthatculturalproductionisagradualprocess,duringwhichtherearecausallinksbetweenoneandanother.Healsodoubtedthattherelativestabilityduringthetransmissionprocesscanbeasufficientevidenceforreplication.InTheExtendedPhenotypeDawkins（1982）detailedonthevexedquestionsaboutcopying-fidelityinmemereplication.Heexpatiatedononeexamplebasedonanexperiment.Itwellillustratedhispointofviewthatcopying-fidelityinmemereplicationisstillveryhighinitself.Thoughthephenotypesofthereplicasmaydifferentintheirownways,thememebehindthosephenotypesisgenerallythesame.Thisiswellmanifestedinthecontinuity(thequasi-geneticinheritance)oflanguage,religionandtraditionalcustomspasseddownfromgenerationtogeneration.21 西华大学硕士学位论文HoweverSperber(2000)insiststhattheprocesshasnothingtodowithreplication,butratherabouttheidentificationofthedemonstrator’sintention,whichisextremelythecasewhenthedemonstrationwasdisplayedbymerelanguageinsteadofspecificmanualoperations,becausetheparticipantshavetoworkonthemeaningofthelanguage.Hefurtherpointedoutthatmemesexertdifferentpowerindifferentculturedomains.Forinstance,imitationisneededmoreinlearningtapdancingthaninwalking,moreinlearningpoetrythaninphilosophy.He’sverypositiveabouttheimportanceofnaturalselectionintheculturalevolution,buthedoubtedthatthecomingintobeingofculturehasanythingtodowithmemes.2.5MemeticphenomenainlanguageAswementionedearlier,memeticstudiesconsideringlanguageisofmuchimportance,agoodpartofmemeticresearches.Thereasonwhylanguageissoimportantinmemetictermsisbecauselanguageisoneofthemajormediausedfortransmissionofmemesfrombrainstobrains.Furthermore,thisisamutuallybenefitedresearches,eithersidecouldaddsomeweighttotheircurrentstudy.Sincetheadvanceofmemetics,researcherswerenotcontenttomerelydefineit.Manyscholarshaveengagedonusingmemeticstounravelvariouskindsofphenomenainsocialscience,suchasthecausesofmentalillness,socialtaboosforhomosexuals,modernismstyleinarchitecture,scientificecologyetc(PretiandMiotto1997,Gatherer2001,SalingarosandMikiten2002,Blute2002).However,there’venotbeenmuchreactionsexpectedinlinguistics.Andasfarasitisconcerned,languageservesasamajorvehicleinculturaltransmissionwhileatthesametimeitrepresentsadistinguishedculturalphenomenoninitself,whichmeansmemeticsholdsgreatpromiseintheexplorationoflanguage,anditdeservesmuchmoreattentionintheroleitplaysinsocialevolutionoflanguageandcommunications.2.5.1ReplicationofmemesinlanguageThebiologicalattributeoflanguageisthenewconceptChomskyhasbroughttothelinguisticcommunity.Hebelievesthatlanguageissomethingthatisnaileddownbycertainmechanismsinourbrains,whichisinherentinourbodies,passingdownfromgenerationtogeneration.Languagebecomesoneofthedistinctiveattributesbetweenmenandanimals,thenaturalabilityofhumanbeings.ThisviewoflanguagefromChomsky,asitwere,assumedthebiologicalattributeoflanguageorigins.Basedonthisviewpoint,scholarsdidnolesswork22 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比onthestudyofgrammargene(Gopnik1990,Bishop1996).Chomskyacknowledgedtheimportanceofacquiredexperiencesinlanguageevolution,whereasheonlymentionedthetriggeringeffectandshapingeffectoflanguageenvironmentwithoutmuchspecificaccountonhowlanguagemayshapeandgrowintheprocess.Chomsky’stheoryaccentuatedonhumancreativity,howeverhegavelittleaccountonhowthiscreativityfunctionedinthefinalshapingofregulativesocialsystemoflanguage.Howanewwordcreatedbyoneindividualcouldbewidelyacceptedandusedbythemasses?AfterKripke(1979)dissectedthedifferencesbetweenspeakerreferenceandsemanticreference,hebelievesthatthedivisionwillnotonlybehelpfulindiscriminatingthevaguenessinsemanticmeanings,itcouldprobablybeservedasthefoundationinshapingahistoricalevolutiontheoryoflanguage.Thekeyquestioniswhatisthedrivingforceduringtheprocess?Theanswerismeme.Memetictransmissioncannotbeasdigitallyaccurateasgenes.Whatmemesdoistoimitate.Andwhenitcomestoimitations,roomsforerrorsshouldbeallowed,sincenogoodimitationcanbeattheoriginal.Anynewwayoflanguageexpressionhastheliabilitytobeimitated,likeasthenumerousimitationphenomenainChineselanguage.Theimitationcouldbefoundindifferentlevels,likethatinphrases,sentences,orevencontexts.2.5.2‘Contagion’inlanguagecommunicationInTheMemeMachine(1999),Blackmoreraisedafunnyquestion:Why,inallkindsoflivingcreaturesonearth,onlyhumanbeingsuselanguage?Assumingthatthereweretwonewbornbabieswithoneraisedamongwolves,andtheotherraisedinperfectlynormalsituationaroundhumanbeings,itwouldn’tbeoddthatthebabylivingwithwolvescannotsayasinglewordofhumanlanguage,whereasthecasewouldbetheoppositeiftheotheronecouldn’t(giventhatnoautismisinvolved).Beingabletotalkisveryimportantinhumancommunication,bywhichwecouldmaintainsocialrelationswithothers.It’sunimaginablewhenpeoplegettogetherwithnoonesayingaword,soitbecameaconversationalcodebyavoidingsilence.Forinstance,mostofthemiddle-classAmericanspursueapolicyof“Nogap,nooverlap”,whichmeanswhenevertherewasapauseinaconversation,oneofthemwouldstarttotalksomethinginsignificanttofillthisgap.Gossipingissomethingwealldosometimesinourlives,anditservesasoneofthemajorfunctionsoflanguage.Moreover,evenwithouttalking,we’relivinginaworldencircledbymediaoflanguage,televisions,23 西华大学硕士学位论文mobilephones,newspapers,letters,mailsandinternettonameafew.Soamongtheseendlesstalking,istherememepushingbehindallthis?Itisbelievedthatbesidesthespecificityofreferenceormakingclearofintentionsinaconversation,theinformationandlanguagedeliveredis‘contagious’(thephenotypeofmemes).Thisismostevidentoninternet,wherewecanfindmemetic‘contagion’andreplication.Oneoftheprototypeswouldbethechainedletter.Thiskindofemailiscontagiousintwoways:oneistoagitatetheexcitementoftheaddresseebypromisingsomekindofluck(e.g.Attheendofanemailitputsthatifyoucouldforwardthismessagetoseveralmorepeople,somethingmiraculouswouldhappentoyouinafewdays.);andthereisthefrustratingone,theysendfakeandthreateningmessages.Internetprovidessufficientconditionsformakingitcontagious,facilitatingittopropagate.Justwithinaclickof‘forward’onthemailbox,themessageiseasilytransmittedtothenextrecipient.Mostlikelyinmanywebsitestherewouldlocateakeywithsomethinglike“mailthistoyourfriends”or“insertemailaddressesofyourfriends”writtenonit.Inadditiontothe‘contagion’ofmessagesthatmentionedabove,languageitselfactsasthetargetfor‘contagion’.Thetypicalexampleisfalserumor.Languagememeislikeaparasitelivingonahost,socialcommunicationmakesitpossibletothrivefromhosttohost.Ifhumancommunicationwasstrictlycoded,fidelityoftheinformationcouldbeassuredsolongasbothsidesusingthesamecode.Howeverpeoplehavealreadyrealizedthatreasoningisneededinconversationsandissignificantinaccomplishingasuccessfulcommunication.Thisiswellmanifestedinnetworkspeechwhenitcomestoreplicationoflanguagememes.It’sfairtosaythatmemeisthereasonfortheformationofnetworkspeech.Networkspeechinbroadsensereferstoanywordsconcerningnetworktechnology,suchwordsassoftware,logging,explorer,netbug,hackeretc.Andinanarrowsense,networkspeechisamedialanguagecreatedbyinternetusersfortheconvenienceorentertainmentininternetcommunication.Thenetworkspeechwearetalkingaboutherereferstothelatterone.Previoustheoriesofverbalcommunicationplacemoreweightonspeechcomprehensionandspeechstrategieswhilelostsightofhowthenewwordsmayaffectintercommunicationviamemeticreplicationandtransmission.Memeticsprovideanewinsighttotheexplorationofverbalcommunication.Inparticular,itwouldinspireresearchesonfeaturesofspeechactintheeraofnetworkcommunication.24 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比ChapterThreeTheoreticalFrameworkThischapterisanessentialbuildingblockforasolidconstructionofasuccessfulthesis,onlybasedonwhichadiscoursecanbecarriedoutwithoutbeingcensuredforashortageofsolidtheoreticalfoundation.3.1IntroductionThenotedbookOntheOriginofSpeciescreatedbyCharlesDarwinisaworkofscientificliteraturewhichisconsideredtobethefoundationofevolutionarybiology.Itwaspublishedon24November1859,withtheoriginalfulltitleofOntheOriginofSpeciesbyMeansofNaturalSelection,orthePreservationofFavouredRacesintheStruggleforLife,whichthenwaschangedtotheshorttitleofTheOriginofSpecies,thesixtheditionpublishedin1872.Darwin’sbookintroducedthescientifictheorythatpopulationsevolveoverthecourseofgenerationsthroughaprocessofnaturalselection,whiletheideawascontroversialatthetimeastheyconflictedwiththebeliefsthatspecieswereunchangingpartsofadesignedhierarchyandthathumansareunique,unrelatedtootheranimals.Howeverthebookstillattractedwidespreadattentionuponitspublicationasitwasintelligibletothemasseswhoarenon-specialistreaders.Darwin’sconceptofevolutionaryadaptationthroughnaturalselectionbecamecentraltomodernevolutionarytheory,andnowitistheunifyingconceptofthelifesciences.BeingahugefanofthisbookandDarwinism,RichardDawkins(1976)gottheinspirationtothepublicationofTheSelfishGene,anditbuildsupontheprincipaltheoryofGeorgeC.William’s(1966)firstbookAdaptationandNaturalSelection.HeshowedhisadmirationofDarwininTheSelfishGene,“ItwasDarwinwhofirstputtogetheracoherentandtenableaccountofwhyweexist”.(Dawkins,30thanniversaryedition2006)Dawkinscoinedtheterm“selfishgene”asawayofexpressingthegene-centredviewofevolutionasopposedtotheviewsfocusedontheorganismandthegroup.Indescribinggenesasbeing“selfish”,there’snoimplicationbytheauthorthatgenesaredrivenbyanymotivesorwill,merelysuggestingthattheeffectscreatedbygenesmakethemlookasiftheydohaveminds.Thisbookmainlyexpatiatedonhow‘gene’,theutmostbasicunitofnaturalselection,operatesthesurvivalmachinetoachieveits“selfish”end——tosurviveandpropagateitsgenedescendantsinthegenepoolasmuchaspossible.Moleculesofgenes——these25 西华大学硕士学位论文differentvarietyofreplicatorsmustcompeteforalimitedbuildingblockswhichhadbecameascarceandpreciousresourceastheprimevalsoup(Biologistsandchemistsbelievethattheprimevalsoupconstitutedtheseasomethreetofourthousandmillionyearsago.)wasnotcapableofsupportinganinfinitenumberofreplicatormolecules.It’sseemslikeakeencompetitionbutthestrugglewasconductedwithoutanyhardfeelings,actuallynofeelingsofanykind.Moleculesofgenesinitsinitialreplicationwasinevitablytomakeerrors,Thankstotheseerraticcopinginbiologicalreplicators,theyvirtuallyaretheessentialconditionforbiologicalevolution,thusthedifferentialsurvivalsofspecies.Itisbelievedthatevolutionworksbynaturalselectionandnaturalselectionmeansthedifferentialsurvivalofthe“fittest”,tobemoreexact,itisvirtuallythesurvivalofthestable.Theearliestformofnaturalselectionwassimplyaselectionofstableformsandeliminationofunstableones.Onlythosewhocanbestadapttotheenvironmentandcooperativewithothergenescanbethefittesttosurviveandproducemoregenesinfuturegenerations.Andthoseunstableoneswouldgraduallyvanishinthegenepool.Replicatorsthatcansurvivewereusuallytheonesthatcanbuildaprotectioncoat—thesurvivalmachine,forthemtolivein.Thesereplicatorsgounderthenameofgenes,andwearetheirsurvivalmachines.Anorganismisexpectedtomaximizethecopiesofitsgenestobepassedonglobally(ratherthantoaparticularindividual).Thepopulationofitsoffspringtendstodeveloptowardsanevolutionarilystablestrategy(ESS)—onceitisfixedinapopulation,naturalselectionaloneissufficienttopreventalternative(mutant)strategiesfrominvadingsuccessfully.ItwasactuallybyreferringtothisDarwinianidea,Dawkinsbroughtupwithhismemeticidea(meme,anothercoinedwordbyDawkins),viewingmemeasaunitofhumanculturalevolutionanalogoustogenes,suggestingthatsuch“selfish”replicationmay,inadifferentsense,alsomodelhumanculture.‘Examplesofmemesaretunes,ideas,catch-phrases,clothesfashion,andwaysofmakingpotsorofbuildingarches.’(Dawkins1976:206)Genesmakethemselvespropagatedbyleapingfrombodytobodyviaeggsorspermsinthegenepool;similarly,memesgetthemselvesproliferatedbyleapingfrombraintobrainviaimitationinthememepool.Imitationishowmemesreplicatethemselves.Justasnotallgenescanreplicateinthegenepoolsosuccessfully,sosomememesaremoresuccessfulreplicatorsthanothersinthememepool.Thisisanalogoustonatural26 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比selection.Somememes,likesomegenes,canachievebrilliantshort-termsuccessinspreadingtheircopiesrapidly,butdonotlastlonginthememepool.Popularsongsandstilettoheelsareexamples.Whilesomeoftheothermemesmaycontinuetopropagatethemselvesforthousandsofyears,usuallybecauseofthepowerofwrittenrecords.Dawkinsbelievesthatonlymemeswiththesurvivalvaluecanpropagatethemselvesinfuturegenerations.Andqualitiesthatmakeforhighsurvivalvalueamongmemesweregenerallythesameasthosediscussedforreplicatorsinbiologicalsense—genes:longevity,fecundity,andcopying-fidelity.Controversiesweremainlyfocusedonthethirdquality,namelycopying-fidelity,puttingthetheoryonashakyground.3.2LifecycleofmemesAccordingtoHeylighen’spaperWhatmakesamemesuccessful?Selectioncriteriaforculturalevolution(1998),presentedatthe15thinternationalcongressoncybernetics,hebelievesthattocompleteasuccessfulreplication,amememustpassthroughfoursubsequentstageswithoutmistake,whichare:1)assimilationofmemesbyanindividual,thusthehostofmeme;2)retentionofmemesinthehost’smemory;3)expressionofmemesfromhosttohost;4)transmissionofmemesthroughvehiclestootherpotentialhosts.Afterthelaststage,itmovesagaintothestageoneofanotherreplication.There’reeliminationsofcertainmemesateachstageforfailingtomeetthequalification.a.AssimilationThisisthefirstandcriticalsteptofulfillthelifecycleofreplicatingameme.Toassimilateamemeistoletitgetintothehost’smemory,andtoaccomplishthatpurposemeansthatamememustbenoticed,understoodandacceptedbythehostrespectively.Noticingmeanswhenanindividualencountersameme,itmustbesalientenoughtoexcitetheattentionofthehost.Understandingrequiresthatthememecouldberecognizedincognitivesense,whichmeansitmustdovetailwiththecognitivestructuresthatarealreadyacquiredbythehost.Andtoacceptacertainmemeistosaythatthehostmustbewillingtobelieveortotakeitseriously.Forexample,youmayunderstandapropositionineverywordtheyputitthatthehouseyoulivewasbuiltbyaliensfromanotherplanet,howeverit’shardforyoutoacceptthepropositionifwithoutconvincingevidence.Therefore,inregulartermsyouwon’ttakethatseriouslyanditwilljustgooutofyourmindwithinseconds,which27 西华大学硕士学位论文meansthismemewon’tbeassimilatedbythehost,anditwillbeeliminatedatthislevelwithoutbeingabletoproceedtothenextstage.b.RetentionThentherecomesthesecondstageofreplication,withoutwhichwewillbeunabletoletanythingstayinourmemoryforenoughlongtogetexpressedtoanotherhost.Retentionmeansthetimeamemestaysinourmemory,andthelongeritstaysinthehost’smemorythegreatertheopportunityitwillgettofurtherpropagatethecopiesofitsmemesbyinfectingotherpotentialhosts.AndthisiscalledlongevitycharacteristicforreplicatorsaccordingtoDawkins(1976).Inallverity,thethingsmostofwhichwesee,hearorperceivedduringthedaystayatbestafewhoursinourmemory,onlythoseimpressedyouverymuchorthoseoccurtoyourepeatedlyeitherbyexternalorinternalreinforcement,canstayasalongtermmemory.Memesgetthelongestretentioninthehostwillcertainlygetthebestshottosurviveandeventospreadtooneormorehosts.c.ExpressionJustbystayinginthehost’smemorycannotmakeasuccessfulreplication.Itmustturnintoactualmeaningthatcanbeperceivedbyanotherhosteitherbymakingspeechesorusingbodylanguages,thustoexpressthememe.Somememescanonlystayinthehost’smemorywithoutbeingabletogetexpressed.Thereasonscanbevaried,suchasthehostlikestokeepsomethingsecret,orthehostishandicappedtoexpressanyidea,orsimplydoesnotknowhowtoexpressittoothers,orthehostdoesnotconsiderthememeinterestingenoughforotherstoknow.Orthingsmaygotothecontrarywhenthehostbelievessomethingissoimportantthatitmustgetexpressedoverandoveragaintoasmanypeopleaspossible.It’sevidentthatmemesthatgetmostexpressedwillbemorelikelytogetpropagatedtootherhosts.d.TransmissionThelastbutnotleast,tosuccessfullypassanyinformationtootherhosts,theexpressionstageneedsanintermediaryagentorcarrierthatisadequatelystabletotransmitthemessagetootherhostswithouterringtoomuchoftheoriginalinformation.Theobviousexamplewouldbethesoundswemaketogetpassthespeechofindividuals.Andshortmessageswillbetransmittedthroughmobileterminalstomanymoreindividuals.Usuallytheexpressionwilltaketheformofaphysicalsignal,transformedtodifferentshapeswhichcanbe28 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比re-derivedtotheoriginalmemesforotherindividuals,andthiswascalledmemevehicle,suchasbooks,photographs,orCD-ROMs.Eliminationatthisstagehappenswhenthevehiclethatcarriesthememesisdestroyedorgetscorruptedbeforeitpassedontootherhosts.Forinstance,aradiocommunicationmaygetobstructedorlostbecauseofbadreception,oritcouldbebroadcastedtomillionsoflistenerswithmillionsofmemesgetcopied.Thisisespeciallythecasesincetheadventofmassmediawhichmakethecontrastevenmoreprominent.Throughthisbriefintroductionofthefourstagesofmemeticreplication,we’reacknowledgedthateachstageisofgreatimportanceinfulfillingalifecircleofmemeticreplication.Afailureatanystageindicatesadefeatinfuturereplication.Withmucheliminationateachstage,onlythosefittest,thatistosay,bestsatisfytherequirementofeverystagecansurviveandgetmorecopiesofitselftomanymoreindividuals,whichatthesametimegainsmorechancesforthememestosurvive.3.3FeaturesofsuccessfulmemesThetermmemewasoriginallydefinedonthebasisoftheconceptofreplicator.Areplicator,usuallywiththehelpofsomedevices,isasystemtomakecopiesofitself,suchasviruseseitherrealorartificialonesincomputertechnology,respectivelytheyneedacellandcomputerprocessortoreplicateandpassontooneormorehosts.Memesarethenewreplicators,accordingtoDawkins,astheyappearedratherlatelycomparedtogenes.Memesarereplicatorsinthatitgetsitselfcopiedwheneveritistransmittedfromhosttohostthroughimitationorcommunication.Replicators,likegenes,aresubjecttonaturalselection,andforthosethatcansurviveinthelongtermshould,accordingtoDawkins(1989),bemanifestedwiththefollowingcharacteristics:Longevity:thelongerareplicatorsurvivesorstaysinthehost,thegreaterchancesitgetstomakemorecopiesofitself.Ashortlifespanofareplicatorissimilartotheetchinglinesinthesandwhichcouldbeeasilyerasedbysomeonewithinseconds,tooshorttomakeacopyofit.Fecundity:thefasterareplicatorcopiesthemorethereplicatorwillpropagate.Industrialprintingpressisdefinitelymoreprolificthanoffice-copyingmachinewilldoinunittime.Thisprolificattributeofreplicatorisofessentialimportance,makingsurereplicatorsstanda29 西华大学硕士学位论文goodchancetosurviveinthefuture.Replicatorswithfewercopiesofitaremorelikelytobeeliminatedinnaturalselection.Copying-fidelity:areplicatorcannotbedeemedsuccessfulwithoutexhibitingthisattribute.Paintingswillsoonbecomeunrecognizablewithtoomuchphotocopiesreproducedbyit.Copying-fidelitymeansafaithfulcopyofthereplicator.Thiscopyingprocessmustbeastableonewithouttoomuchdeformation,otherwisenothingwilllastlongenoughtogiveitaname,andtheworldwouldbeinchaos.Replicatorscharacterizedbytheabovementionedattributestendtobecomemoresuccessfulinfuturereproduction.Notallmemescansurviveinthepassageoftime,andthosethatcansurvivedefinitelyhavegood“reasons”.It’snotthatmemeshaveamindwhichmeticulouslydesignedthecoursefittedwiththethreefeatures,becauseitwillnotmakesensesincenumerousmemesdieoutinnaturalselection.Memesthatsurvivearesimplycoincidencesconnectedwithothercoincidences,andwecancallthat“luck”.Somegotgoodluck,andsomegotbadluck.However,somepeoplenowadayshavelearnttousethetrickofmemesanddeliberatelyusingthemtomanipulateourmindtoseekfortune.3.4RequisitionsforextensivetransmissionoflanguagememeDonaldCampbell,anAmericanpsychologist,previouslypointedoutthatthereasonwhygeneticevolutionandculturalevolutionaresosimilarinmanywaysisbecausebothofthemfallwithinevolutionarysystem,intermsofwhich,blinddeviationofreplicatingunit,selectiveretentionofcertaindeviations,andselectiveeliminationsarewidelyexist(Blackmore1999:17).Memesarecharacterizedinselectiveness,whichowestodissimilarcapabilitiesofmemetictransmission.Someinformationiscatchy,easiertobememorizedandpassedontosomeoneelse,andthenturnsintorealmemes,whilesomeofthemnevergetachancetobetransmitted,failedtobecomememes.Blackmorefurtherpointedoutthatthere’sbeenhugeselectivepressureintheprocessofmemeticevolution.Inthemyriadsofpotentialmemes,onlyasmallnumbercanbesuccessfullyreplicatedformbrainstobrains,frombrainstoprintedmatters,orfromsoundstoCDs(Blackmore1999:17).Theprocessofselectionandapplicationoflanguageisaprocessofcompetition,inwhichthesurvivalchanceofamemeisdeterminedbyitsfunction.Memeticwords,oncetheygetextensivepracticaluse,whileatthesametimeexertpositiveeffectonverbalcommunication,theybecomepowerful.Latertheywillbebroughtintolanguageusesofthemasseswheretheycangetconstantreplicationand30 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比propagation,whichintheendmakesthem“successfulmemes”.Onthecontrary,there’re“failedmemes”thatcanonlyserveitsfunctionforafewtimes,couldn’tbereadilyacceptedbythepublic,sotheyquicklybecomepassingaffairs.AccordingtoHeZiran,memesthataremanagedtoattainuniversalreplicationsatleastfitintooneofthefollowingrequisitions.1)PracticabilityItiswithoutdoubtthatlanguagewasinventedforpracticaluses,primarilyusedforhumancommunication.Newly-inventedwordsorphrasesaregenerallytheresultofindividualcreativities,whilesomearesimplyimprovisedcreationsinlightofcertaincontext.Oncountofitspracticability,itstandsbetterchancetogetacceptedbythemasses,whichiscrucialinachievinguniversalapplication.Withexpandedreplicationandmultipliedpropagationthosewordsorphrasesbecomelanguagememes.Languagememestendstogetmorereplicationwhenitcatersmoretotheneedsofthepeople.Takethe“jerry-builtproject”(豆腐渣工程)forexample.It’safigureofspeechwhichatitsearliestreferstoshoddyengineeringconstructions,animprovisedcreationfromPremierZhuRongjiduringhisinspectionsofflooddamageofYangtzeRiverin1998.Soonthephrasegainedwidespreadapplicationasthedepictionprimelyfittedtothephenomenonwithstrongpracticability,whichcontributestoitsformationaslanguagememe.However,“jerry-builtproject”isnotrestrictedtobeingappliedinthebusinessofconstructionnowadays.Itreferstoanyworkorserviceswithinferiorqualityingeneral,suchaslegalservices.2)RationalityLanguagememewithmoreplausibilitycertainlyismanagedtogetmorereplication.Wordsorphraseshavetobecomemoreexpressivesoastocapturetheattentionofthepublic,whichisessentialinkeepingthemreinforcedandretainedinpeople’smind.Wearelivinginaworldfullofdiversifiedexpressions,synonymouswordsisoneofthekind.Synonymsusuallygetsfavorableapplicationforitwellsatisfiedtheneedofdiversifiedexpressionofthepeoplewhichallowsthemtoapplysynonymsindifferentcontextsandsituations.Synonymsreferstowordsorphraseswiththesamemeaningasanotherinthesamelanguage,thoughperhapswithadifferentstyle,grammarortechnicaluse,whichsuggestacompetitivestateofco-existenceofmanyturnofexpressionsconveyingthesameidea.Therefore,itisevidentthatwordswithmoreexpressivenessandreasonabilitygenerallyearnmoreapplicationsinthepopulace,inotherwords,getmorereplication.31 西华大学硕士学位论文3)StylishStylishmeansthelanguagehastofollowthespiritoftimes.Wordsthatcanmostrelatedtopeople’scurrentlivescangetbetterchancetobeaccepted.Stylishwordsarecatchyandtrendywhichnaturallydrawmoreattentionbythemasses.Moreover,peopletendtofollowthetrendsoasnottofeelsooutdated.Therefore,stylishlanguagememestendstogainmorereplicationandpropagation.4)AuthoritativenessGenerallyspeaking,manofhighrenownorreputationtendstogainmorecreditandattentionfromthepublic.Intheeyesofpublic,authorizedinformationalwaysgetsthehighestcorrectness.Andbyborrowinginformationfromfamouspeoplecanaddcreditandattentiontothecontentoftheirownspeeches.Inthisway,moreandmorepeoplestartusingauthorizedinformation,inotherwords,moreandmorecopiesofauthorizedinformationwaspassedonfrombrainstobrains,whichforgestheformationoflanguagememeintheprocess.Forexample,DengXiaopingfirstraisedtheideathat“developmentisoverridingimportance”duringhisinspectiontriptothesouth.Thepreciousthoughtwasinstantlybecameword-of-mouththroughvariouschannels,suchasdocuments,television,newspapersandotherconsensuspropaganda,makingitsomethingpeoplelovetoimitateevenexpandingitsoriginalmeaningtorefertosomethingreallyimportant.3.5LanguagedeviationLanguagedeviationisageneralanduniversallinguisticphenomenon.It’sfairtosaythatlanguagethatisinconstantapplicationsmustbe,atthesametime,inaconstanttransformingprocess.Thisphenomenon,fromthememeticpointofview,couldalsobeconstruedasthedeviationoflanguagememesinitscourseofreplicationandtransmission.Asisoftenthecasewhenwetrytorecountastorytosomeoneelse,wedon’trelateittotheletter.Instead,wetwistitinourownwaybyaddingortrimalittlebitdetailswhilenothurtingthepithofthestory.Thenthetransformedversionofstorywouldagainbevariedinotherpeople’srelationsuitedtohis/herstyle.Itisowingtothisconstantvariationofmemesthatlanguagecangetcontinuousenrichmentanddevelopment.Tosumup,duringtheprocessofverbalcommunication,peopleusuallyintentionallyorunconsciouslydeviatefromtheoriginalobtainedinformationorthegenerallyacceptedlanguagenorms,andthisphenomenonisdefinedaslanguagedeviation.32 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比There’remanyformsoflanguagevariationwhichcouldbecategorizedintoeighttypesaccordingtoGeofferyLeech,thusthelexicaldeviation,grammaticaldeviation,phonologicaldeviation,semanticdeviation,graphologicaldeviation,dialectaldeviation,deviationofregister,anddeviationofhistoricalperiod.Inactuarialterms,languagedeviationcouldbevariedlyclassifiedfromdifferentperspectives.Forinstance,itcouldbedividedintoorderedvariationanddisorderedvariationjudgedbywhetherithasanyconnectionwithexternalfactors.Disorderedvariation,justasthenameimplies,isarandomdeviationthatdoesnotconcernexteriorfactors,whichareaboundedinpeople’sdailyverbalcommunications.Orderedvariation,proposedbyWeireich,U.andLabov,W.(1968),ontheotherhand,isgreatlyconnectedtotheoutsideworld.Ithappenswhendisorderedvariationsstarttobeacceptedandspreadbycertainbunchesofpeopleinaspeechcommunity,thereforethedisorderedvariationsoflanguagebeginstostepintothestageoforderedvariation.ThisprocesscouldbewellmanifestedbyresearchesdonebyXuTongqiang(1987)andChenBaoya(1999),accordingtowhom,languagevariationisaself-organizedprocessthatcirculatebetweentheoldandnewstructure:oldstructure→disorderedvariation→orderedvariation→disorderedvariation→newstructure,whichinotherwords,meansthemaincauseoflanguagevariationistheresultofinherentdisequilibriumoflanguage.Networkspeechisoneofthemostoutstandingformsofdeviationoutofthenecessitytobemoreconciseandfuninthecyberworld.Thereforeitdeservesmoreattentionfromtheresearchers.33 西华大学硕士学位论文ChapterFourMemeticComparisonbetweenE&CNetworkSpeechNowcomethemostvitalpartofthisthesis.Thisiswhatalltheeffortsputintotheformerchaptershasbeenfor.ItwilllaboronacomparativestudyofE&Cnetworkspeechfromtheperspectiveofmemetics.4.1NetspeakasavarietyoflanguagememeIt’snottoolongbeforeinternethasbecomesomethingcommoninourlives,whichistosaythatthedevelopmentofnetworkspeechisstillatitsinfancycomparedwiththelonghistoryofanylanguageinhumanity.Thereforeit’stooearlytoentitleitlanguagesinceit’snotyetgotextensiveacceptanceinlinguisticcommunitywithanysystematicframes.Sofaritcanonlybeassumedasalanguagevarietyappliedinacertainspeechcommunity.Languagevariety,alsoknownasspeechvariety,referstoanynoticeableformofspeechusedbyacertainamountofspeakers.R.A.Hudson(2000),anotedsociolinguist,definesitas“asetoflinguisticitemswithsimilarsocialdistribution”:Specifically,itwillbenoticedthatitisconsistentwiththedefinitiontotreatallthelanguagesofsomemultilingualspeaker,orcommunity,asasinglevariety,sinceallthelinguisticitemsconcernedhaveasimilarsocialdistribution—theyareusedbythesamespeakerorcommunity.Thatis,avarietymaybemuchlargerthanalay‘language’,includinganumberofdifferentlanguages.Conversely,accordingtothedefinitionavarietymaycontainjustahandfulofitems,oreven,intheextremecase,asingleitem,ifitisdefinedintermsoftherangeofspeakersorcircumstanceswithwhichitisassociated.4.2SimilaritiesanddifferencesofE&Cnetworkspeech4.2.1SimilaritiesbetweenthetwonetspeakJ.B.Pride,anAmericanscholar,raisedtheideaof“co-variationoflanguageandsocialstructure”inhisworkofSociolinguistics,inwhichhepointedoutthatwhenoursociallivesisgoingthrougheithersmallorviolentchanges,language,asoneofsocialphenomena,willdefinitelymakesmallorviolenttransformationsatsimilarpaces.Theadventofinternethasanobviouseffectonthevariationoflanguagepeopleusingtoday.4.2.1.1Memeticvariationofnetspeak34 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比Thedeviationofnetworkspeechofthetwoisverysimilarinmostways.Thecauseofthisgeneralcompatibilitycouldbeinterpretedastheresonanceofcreativityinformingnewvocabularies,asthemainusersoninternetareuniversallyyoung,who,regardlessoftheraces,genderandcountries,arecreativeandenergetic,longingforattentionandintercommunicationfromothers,moreoverthey’refondofnewthings,alwaysfollowthetrendandhatebeingrestrictedtoconventionalideas.Inadditiontothat,whatevervarietyoflanguageitis,theycouldbeconfrontedwiththeconfinementofkeyboardimputingmethod,which,outofthesamenecessitytobemoreefficient,bringsaboutsimilarcompositionmethodforpeoplebelongingtotwolanguagebackgrounds.Basedonthematerialcollectedoninternet,wecanarriveatsomesimilaritiesofthetwoincompositionmethod.1)PhonologicaldeviationPronunciationisfirsttakenintoaccountduringtheprocessofcreatingnewexpressionsinNetspeakmemes.NumberassonanceisamongthehighestfrequentlyusedNetspeakbothinEnglishandChinese.NumberassonanceisbothreadilyusedintheE&CNetspeak.Bothemployedthesimilarityinpronunciationsbetweenacertainnumberandthecorrespondingvocabulary,substitutingorthodoxwordsthatconsumemuchenergyandtimewithsimplernumbers,whichatthesametimeiseasytounderstandandenablespeopletodrawanalogiestosimilarapplications.Numbersthatbearsimilarappearancetoacertainwordcouldalsobeusedforreplacement.Examplesareplentyforbothcases,withapplicationsinChineserelativelylarge.TypicalexamplesinChinesearelike:“9494”(that’sitorthat’sright),“7456”(I’msopissedoff),“8147”(don’tbemad),“5201314”(Iloveyouforallmylife),“259758”(ifyouloveme,marryme),“95”(saveme),“0457”(youaremywife),etc.AndthefrequentlyusedtermsinEnglishNetspeakarelike:“L8”(late),“224”(today,tomorrow,forever),“5FS”(fivefingersalute),“121”(0netoone),“14AA41”(oneforallandallforone),“2Bornot2B”(tobeornottobe),“2G2BT”(toogoodtobetrue),“303”(mom),“4COL”(forcryingoutloud).2)Lexicaldeviationa.AcronymsAcronyms,bothinEnglishandChinese,accountsforamajorpercentageofnetworkspeech.Outofthesamereason,theyareinventedforhighefficiencyoninternet35 西华大学硕士学位论文communication.Acronymsarewordsformedfromtheinitiallettersofaname,oraphrase.BeforeNetspeakcametoscene,acronymshavegainedextensiveapplicationsinmanyofficialterms,suchas“WTO”(WorldTradeOrganization),“NATO”(NorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization).Nowacronymsplayamajorpartinnetworkspeech,notonlyconfinedtoEnglishterms.There’renumerouscasesinEnglishNetspeakconcernedwithacronymsthatalmostconstitutethebiggestpartofit.Thetypicalinstancesarelike:“AFAGAY”(afriendasgoodasyou),“AFINIAFI”(afriendinneedisafriendindeed),“AFJ”(Aprilfool’sjoke),“AYV”(Areyouvertical?),“KOTL”(kissonthelips),“PAW”(parentsarewatching),“HAK”(hugsandkisses),“NALOPKT”(notalotofpeopleknowthat),“RUMORF”(Areyoumaleorfemale?),“SSDD”(sameshitdifferentday),“AFK”(awayfromkeyboardorawayfromkeys),“rofl”(rollingonfloorlaughing),“KISS”(keepitsimplestupid);“tswc”(tellsomeonewhocares).AcronymsinChineseNetspeakareplentyaswell,examplesarelike:“PMP”(winfavorbyflattery),“FB”(meansyouarecorrupted),“SJB”(anabusivelanguagetocallsomeoneapsycho),“JJWW”(talkslikeachatterbox),“BXCM”(acomplimenttosomeoneofbeingextremelyintelligent,sometimesitcouldbeusedtorefertothespeakerhimself/herself).b.AbbreviationAbbreviationisverycommoninlanguagecommunication.Itisashortenedformofawordofphraseusedchieflyinwritingtorepresentthecompleteform,suchasMass.forMassachusettsorthepostalabbreviationofKSforKansas.Thismethodforsimplificationhasalsobeenemployedinthenetworkspeech.ThefamiliartermsinEnglisharelike:“newb”,shortfor“newbie”,referstosomeonewhoisnewinsomething,especiallyingameplaying;“pro”,abbreviationfor“professional”,meaningsomeoneisarealexpertatsomething,usuallyatgameplaying;“ADR”for“address”;“YW”shortfor“you’rewelcome”;“ESO”,abbreviationfor“equipmentsmarterthanoperator”;“bcoz”for“because”;“BR”for“bathroom”;“def”for“definitely”;“EZ”for“easy”;“gratz”for“congratulations”.AbbreviationlikethisisrelativelyrareinChinesenetworkspeech,withmostofittingedwithirony.Typicalexamplesarelike:“神童(shentong)”—“神经病儿童(shenjingbingertong)”(itoriginallymeansachildprodigy,whileinNetspeakitmeansjusttheopposite—aneuroticchild,ashortenedversionoftwowords),“天才(tiancai)”—“天生蠢材(tianshengchuncai)”(theorthodoxmeaningofthewordreferstoagenius,whileinnetworkitisshortfora36 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比combinationoftwowordsthatmeanstheopposite—aninbornfool),“蛋白质(danbaizhi)”—“笨蛋，白痴，神经(bengdan,baichi,shenjing)”(insteadofreferringtoanessentialconstituentsoflivingcells,innetworkspeechitisaabbreviationofthreewordsaddedupwhichmeans—anidiot,moronandapsychoatthesametime).3)GraphologicaldeviationEvidenceindicatesthatduringaface-to-facecommunication,only35%oftheinformationisconveyedthroughspeechact,while65%ofitwasbynon-verbalmeans(Samovaretal,1981:155).ThereforeitisfairtosaythatthemostcreativetypeofNetspeakincomponentelementsandpatternswouldbesemioticexpressionsthatarecombinedtoexpressvariousmeanings.However,inthecyber-worldcharacterizedforreal-timeinteractions,theintercommunicationisdisadvantagedbyinsufficientnon-verbalbehaviorssuchasfacialexpressions,gesticulationsandbodylanguagesetc.,whichmeansinordertomakeupfortheinsufficiencyinnon-verbalexpressions,peopleusesemioticexpressiontoachievesimilarexpressiveeffects.TypicalexamplesinEnglishNetspeakarelike:“>^.^<”(acatface,whichcouldalsosignifyingafacecrinkledupwithlaughter);“<3”(signifyingloveforthesimilarlookofaheart);“”(referstoacupofcoffee);“!”(Ihaveacomment);“*$”(Starbucks,akindofcoffeepopularinthemasses);“(((person)))”(meansgivesomeoneavirtualhug).ExamplesinChineseNetspeakarelike:“(^@^)”(luckypig);“!-)”,openoneeyewithanotherclosed;“:-x”,sealthemouthtostoptalking;“@>>--->---”,arose.Asamatteroffact,computertechnologynowadayshasmadeamuchmorelivelyandvividfacialexpressionspossible.4)SemanticdeviationHerepeopledeliberatelytwisttheoriginalmeaningofawordtoanother.People,youngmaninparticular,enjoymakingsuchkindofmisconstrueofwordsfortheyconsideritasahumorouswayoftalking.Funnythingsarealwayseasierforpeopletoremember,sotheyusuallygetpropagatedreallyfast.Examplesarelike,theword“surfing”,whichoriginallyreferstoasportofridingonwaveswhilestandingonanarrowboardcalledasurfboard.Then,innetworkspeech,itmeanstheactivityoflookingatdifferentthingsontheInternetinordertofindsomethinginteresting.OtherexamplesinEnglishNetspeakarelike:“Easteregg”(originallyitreferstoeggsmadeofchocolatethatisgivenasapresentatEaster,usuallyhiddentoletchildrenlookforthem.InNetspeakitmeansahiddenelementwrittenintoa37 西华大学硕士学位论文programorplacedonawebsitetoaddacertainextradepthandchallengetotheprogram,usuallyingameplaying.);“meatloaf”(insteadofreferringtoabakedloafofgroundmeat,itmeansunsolicitedpersonale-mail,avariationonspamtoreflectthatthesemessagesare“homemade”).AndinChinese,theword“孔雀(peacock)”,insteadofreferringtoalargemalebirdwithlongblueandgreentailfeathersthatitcanspreadoutlikeafan,wassubstitutedfromitsoriginalmeaninginnetworkspeechforthemeaningofthemanwhowronglyimaginesthathe(she)isthefavoriteofoneoftheoppositesex.4.2.2.2SimilarusergroupsTheapplicationofnetworkspeech,eitherconsideringEnglishorChinese,wecanarriveatasimilarconclusionthattheusersofnetworkspeechischaracterizedasbettereducatedandloweraged.《ThestatisticalreportontheinternetdevelopmentinChina》issuedin2013convincinglydemonstratedthatthenumberofpeoplewhohavereceivedjuniorhighschooleducationhaskeptincreasing.Peoplewhoareaboveseniorhighschooldegreehaveaccountedfortwothirdsofthetotal.Moreoverthepercentageofinternetuserswhoareundertheageof29is56.1%.Studentsarethemainusersontheinternet,accountingfor25.1%.SimilarfindingsaboutEnglishNetspeakcouldbeunraveledinastatisticalreportontheagedistributionsofSNS(SocialNetworkingServices)users,centredonusersofMySpace,Facebook,LinkedInandTwitter—thefourSNSmagnateinAmerica.Thereportfindsthat,eventhoughthere’vebeenunevendistributionsofusersamongthefoursocialnetworks,theyoungstersaccountforamajorpercentontheentireusergroups.Forexample,theamountofusersaged18-35occupied70%ofthetotalnumberonMySpace.4.2.3DifferencesbetweenthetwonetspeakThiskindofresearchhasneverbeendonebefore,whichsuggeststhatresearchesinthisareadeservemoreexploration.a.MemeticvariationofnetspeakAswementionedearlier,thecompositionmethodofthetwoaregenerallyalike,butthereisonekindofNetspeakinChinesethatgreatlyoutnumberedthatinEnglish—assonance.Thiskindofassonancehasnothingtodowithnumbersorletters.It’saboutwords.Assonancemeanstheresemblanceofsoundinwordsorsyllables.Netusersmakeuseofthisfeaturetomakenewwordsthatarefunnierorironicaltosubstitutetheorthodoxwords.SomeoftheassonantwordsinNetspeakattributestotheinputmethodofChinesePinyin(aspelling38 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比methodinChinese),becauseinordertosavetimeandenergyintypingwords,netuserstendtochoosethefirstwordthatcomesalongsolongasitwon’tcausingtoomuchconfusiontothecounterpart.AssonantwordsinEnglishNetspeakarehardlyseen,onthecontrary,assonantNetspeakinChineseisverypopular.Examplesareabundant,suchas“鸡冻(jidong)”—“激动(jidong)”(excited);“稀饭(xifan)”—“喜欢(xihuan)”(havealikingforsomething);“白烂(bailan)”—“白卵(bailuan)”(derivedfromMinNandialect—aChinesedialectinsouthernpartofFujianProvince,whichmeanssomeoneisstupid,wordyandtroublesomeatthesametime,anegativeexpression);“人参公鸡(renshengongji)”—“人身攻击(renshengongji)”(apersonalattack,inNetspeak,itusuallymeansusingwordstomakepersonalabuse);“虾米(xiami)”—“什么(shenme)”(means“Whatareyoutalkingabout?”or“What’sthat?”);“肿么了(zhongmele)”—“怎么了(zenmele)”(means“What’sgoingon?”).ThereasonbehindthisdifferencemaybeputdowntodistinctwordformationinEnglishandthatofChinese.ChineseiswaymorecomplicatedthanEnglish,whichmakesChinesemuchmoreversatileatthesametime.ThisalsosuggeststhatChineseallowsitsNetspeakwithmoremanifoldnessthatbringsmorefunandnewwordsin,whichisveryimportantinlanguageevolutionasvarietyisanessentialqualityinanyevolutionprocess.b.ContentofnetworkspeechConsideringlimitedspaceforthispaper,examplescitedabovecanonlybetypicalonesandrelativelyconservative.Networkspeechaswehavediscussedearlierarememes,languagememesmorespecificly.Blackmore(1999:74)pointedoutinhisbookMemeMachinethat“Apartfromthat,theeffectivetransmissionofmemesdependscriticallyonhumanpreferences,attention,emotionsanddesires—inotherwords,thestuffofevolutionarypsychology.Forgeneticreasonswearedrivenbythedesireforsex,forsexofdifferentkinds,forfood,forbetterfood,foravoidingdangerandforexcitementandpower”.Inotherswords,memesthatappealtopeople’sinstinctsaremorelikelytobecopied.AndthedifferentialpointofE&CNetspeakinquestionconcernedwiththedesireofsex.There’salargenumberofNetspeakinEnglishthatareconcernedwithsex,wayoutnumberedthatinChinese.Examplesareplenty,suchas:ASL(Age/Sex/Location),CU46(SeeYouForSex),GNOC(GetNakedOnCam),IWSN(IWantSexNow),DURS(DamnYouAreSexy),ITS(IntenseTextSex),etc.InChineseinstancesconcerningsexisrarely39 西华大学硕士学位论文seen.Thedifferencesmayduetodifferentculturalbackgrounds.PeopleinmostEnglishSpeakingcountriesareveryopenabouttalkingsex,consideringitassomethingverycommoninpeople’slives.Bycontraries,peopleinChinaarewaymoreconservative,shamedoftalkingaboutsexinbroaddaylightandafraidofwhatothersmightthinkaboutthemiftheydo.However,aswasrelatedbyBlackmore,wehuman,whatevercountriesyoumayfrom,areinstinctivelyattractedtothememesinrelationtosex.Thereforethetrendtosaywordsconcerningwithsexisgoingtothrive,thoughstillformanyyearstocomeinChineseNetspeak.c.InfiltrationofEnglishnetspeakSincetheAmericansweretheinitiatorofinternationalinternet,thelanguageofEnglishnaturallygainedtheadvantageonthebuildingofnetworklanguages.Accordingtostatistics,totheendof2008,over4.5billionpeopleonlinewereEnglishuserswithEnglishpagesaccountingfor75%ofallthewebpages.Englishbecamedominantintheworldofnetworklanguageanditexertstremendousinfluencestoothernetworklanguages,includingChinese.It’scommontoseethatpeopleinChinanowadaysuseloanwords,especiallyinEnglish,toexpresssimilarideas.English,asthesecondforeignlanguageinChina,hasbeenappliedtothestudiesasrequiredcourseforeverycollegestudentssinceprimaryschool.ThepopularizingrateofEnglishinChinaismuchhigherthanthatinEnglishspeakingcountries.Chinesenetizens,mostlyoccupiedbyeducatedpeople,aremoreorlessacquaintedwithalittlebitofEnglish.EnglishNetspeaklikeLOL(laughoutloud),CU(seeyou),BRB(berightback)usedinChinanowadaysisalmostasmuchasthatbeingappliedinEnglishspeakingcountries.Contrarytothat,wedon’tseemuchinfiltrationofChineseNetspeakintoEnglishspeakingcountries,sincetherequiredstudyofChineseinthesecountrieswasonlyarecentaffair.Toachievethatendwestillhavealongwaytogo.4.3AmemeticinsightintodistinguishingcharacteristicsofpopularE&CnetspeakAprobingintopopularE&Cnetworkspeechfrommemeticperspectiveisofessentialimportance.ItprovidesuswithabetterviewpointofhowNetspeakevolveovertimewithonlyafrictionofthemgotsurvivedintheend.Netspeakarememesthathastocompeteforashareofourmindtosurvive.Thelimitedavailabilityofmeme-carriersandthelargeamountofmemesmakeitafactthatthereisacompetitionamongmemes(Dennett,1993).40 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比ArankingofpopularNetspeakexhibitedinthereportofLanguageStudiesinChinamayshinealightonhownetizensfavoredNetspeak.It’sanauthoritativereportissuedbytheMinistryofEducation,inwhichitlistedtop20mostfavorableNetspeakinChina.TheresultwasbasedonstatisticalcollectiononBBSfromsevencollegesanduniversities.Theword“顶(ding)”rankthefirstplaceonthelistwiththerestofitexhibitedasfollows:555(呜呜呜)(sobbing),ding(顶),mm/MM(美眉)(prettygirl),LZ(楼主)(peoplewhopostinaforum),DD/dd(弟弟)(youngerbrother),88(拜拜)(byebye),偶(我)(me),马甲(ID)(identification),斑竹(版主)(forummoderator),恩(嗯)(yes),汗(anexpressionofspeechlessnessorawkwardness),晕(非常惊讶)(completelyastonished),bs/BS(鄙视)(todespisesomeoneorsomething),ddd(顶顶顶)(replyaposttomakeitonthetopofaforum),灌水(发帖子)(postinonlineforum),楼猪(楼主)(louzhu)”(sameasabove).AsforEnglishNetspeak,asimilarrankingonlineisalsoavailable(www.netlingo.com/index.php),inwhichitexhibitedtop50popularNetspeak,suchas:2moro(tomorrow),2nite(tonight),BRB(BeRightBack),BTW(ByTheWay),B4N(ByeForNow),BCNU(BeSeeingYou),BFF(BestFriendsForever),CYA(CoverYourAss-or-SeeYa),DBEYR(Don’tBelieveEverythingYouRead),DILLIGAS(DoILookIGiveAShit),FUD(Fear,Uncertainty,andDisinformation),FWIW(ForWhatIt’sWorth),GR8(Great),ILY(ILoveYou),IMHO(InMyHumbleOpinion),IRL(InRealLife),J/K(JustKidding).Frommaterialsgivenabove,itisreasonabletogenerallysumupcommonattributesinE&CNetspeakthatmakethemsuccessfulmemesfornow.4.3.1SimplicityAmongthetop20/50popularNetspeaklistedabove,eitherinEnglishorinChinese,mostoftheinstancesareveryshortwithinfourcharacters.Numbersandacronymswerefrequentlyusedtomakesimplicitypossible.AccordingtoDawkins,oneofthefeaturestobecomesuccessfulmemesiscopying-fidelitythatrequiresafaithfulcopyofthereplicator.Simplicityissignificanttoachievethatquality.Ashortmemeislesslikelytobechanged,andwouldprovideeasyunderstandingtothehostaswellasaneasieradaptationinthemindofthepotentialhost(Chielens,2003).Netspeakthatistoolongcostmoretimeandenergytomemorize,anditcouldeasilybeseveredintoseveralpieceswithonemissingorchangedintheprocessofreplication.Ontheotherhand,ashortmemecangreatlylowerthechancestobemodified.Thatistosay,41 西华大学硕士学位论文Netspeakwithasimpleformationtendstostandagreaterchancetobefaithfullyimitated,thusgetmorecopiesofitselfinitstransmissionfrombrainstobrains.Examplesarelike,1589854(要我发就发五次)(sendforfivetimes)，940194(告诉你一件事)(Iwanttotellyousomething)，9908875(求求你别抛弃我)(pleasedon’tleaveme)etc.Theyaretypicalexamplesofnumberassonanceaswehavementionedabove.Howevertheyaretoolongtomemorize,andnotwellsuitedtothecorrespondentassonantwords.Peopleratherofficiallytypetherightwords,theywouldn’ttakealotoftimetomemorizeastringofnumbersthatisdifficulttorememberandunderstandatthesametime.SoNetspeaklikethisusuallygetsmallchancetosurvive,peoplesoonwillforgetthem.Therefore,ashortNetspeakusuallygetsgreaterpossibilitytopropagateinthemasses,andahighfrequencyofimitationmeansahighrateofsurvivalinafiercecompetitioninmyriadsofNetspeakthatmaycreatedeveryday.4.3.2NoveltyNoveltyisthequalityofbeingnew,differentandinteresting.It’sjustlikewalkingthroughashopwindowgotmagnetizedbyafancyjewelry.People’salwaysgetcaughtbysomethingnewandfun.Inasimilarway,Netspeakwithgreatnoveltytendstocatchtheeyesandimpressus.Aswehaveacknowledgedbefore,thefirstandessentialsteptocompleteasuccessfulmemeticreplicationistoassimilateameme,whichmeansitmustbesalientenoughtobenoticedfirst.AnovelNetspeakisarealexpertatstealingthelimelight,thusstandsbetterchancetobeassimilated.Besides,thecorrelationbetweennoveltyanddegreeofspreadingisastrongpositiveone(Chielens,2003).Inotherwords,novelNetspeakaremorelikelytobereplicatedfromonetoanother.Forexample,“马甲”(ID)(identification)inChineseNetspeak,itoriginallyreferstowaistcoat.However,inthevirtualworldofinternet,peopleusuallyhavemanyIDswithtrueorvirtualpersonalinformation.Inthisway,peopledon’treallyknowthetrueidentityofthepeopleonline.Sincethenpeopleuse“马甲”torefertothisvirtualidentificationonline,andcallpeoplewhousemanyidentificationsonlineas“穿马甲”.Itvividlyraisedthefunnyimageinpeople’smindthatsomeonewearsdifferentwaistcoatstocoverhis/heridentity.Andpeopletendtogivefunnythingsashareoftheirmind,whichmeanstheygetmorechancetobereplicatedtomanybrains.Alargereplicationleadstohighpropagation,thusfecundity,acoreattributetobecomesuccessfulmemeaccordingtoDawkins.Thischaracteralsofitsintotherequisitionsforextensivetransmission42 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比oflanguagememeproposedbyHeZiran,inwhichstylishlanguagememesareoneoftherequisitions.4.3.3UniversalapplicabilityItisuniversallyacknowledgedthatthingsgetuniversalapplicabilitywouldachieveuniversalapplicationintheend.Athingwithweakapplicabilityislikeacustomizeddresswellcutaccordingtothespecificationsofacertainindividual.Inasimilarway,athingwithhighapplicabilityisliketheinventionofelectriclampthatimmediatelywinstheheartsofmillionsinceitsreleasetothepublic.ThisisalsothecasewithNetspeak.Netspeakthatissuitedtolotsofconversations,thuswithhighapplicability,tendstogainwideapplication.Onthecontrary,Netspeakconfinedtospecificcircumstances,thoughnovelandsimpleatthesametime,wouldnotgetextensivereplication.Letustakealookatthefollowingexample:A:吃没？(Haveyouhadyourmeal?)B：米！(Assonanceof“haven’t”inChinese)A:你在哪？球去？(Whereareyou?Youwanttoplaybasketball?)Inthisinstance,theNetspeak“球去？”isshortfor“去踢球吗？”,anditsapplicationisspecifiedwithincertaingroupsofpeoplewhoarecapableofkickingaball.Inthisway,itsapplicationcanonlyberestrictedinafixedgroupofpeople.Contrarytothat,Netspeaklike“偶(我)”issuitedforanygroupofpeople,thatistosay,itcouldgetwiderapplicationthantheformer.ExamplesinEnglishNetspeakarelikeFYSBIGTBABN(FastenYourSeatBeltsIt’sGoingToBeABumpyNight),GAGFI(GivesAGayFirstImpression),HPPO(HighestPaidPersoninOffice).Theyallhaveaverylimitedapplicationincertainconditions.Thefirstcanonlybeusedwhensomeoneisgoingtohaveadifficulttime.AndtheapplicationofthesecondNetspeakisconfinedtomenwhoaresexuallyattractedtopeopleofthesamesex.Thelasthasalimitedusesinofficeforcertainconversationalsubject.Thereforeit’sobviousthatNetspeakwithuniversalapplicabilityleadstoprolificapplicationofitself,namelyawidereplicationoflanguagememe—fecundity.Andthatisoneofthecriticalfeaturestobecomesuccessfulmemes.43 西华大学硕士学位论文4.4SummaryTosumup,Netspeakispartoflanguagememe.Language,ontheotherhand,couldbeviewedasamediumformemetictransmissionaswell.Languageservesasacorevehicleinspreadingmemeswhileinreturntheprogressanddevelopmentofanylanguageintheworldowemuchtotheexistenceofmeme.Thepropagationprocessofanykindisaprocessofimitationandreplication,whichiswhatDawkinshasassumedbothingeneticevolutionandmemeticevolution.Withoutevolutionofeitherkind,lifeandcultureinthisplanetsimplycan’tgoanywhere.Forthiscause,memesmakeushumanandgenesmakeussurvive.AmemeticinsightintoNetspeakdevelopingprocessisanevolutionaryinsightthatfundamentallyexplainsthevicissitudesofnetworkspeech.Thereforeitstransmissionissubjecttomemeticcriteriaaswehavediscussedpreviously.Memesthatgetupperhandinthisfiercecompetitionarestrongmemes,andasformemesofNetspeakthatgetmaximumreplicationgenerallyfitintothethreeattributes:simplicity,noveltyanduniversalapplicability.Theseattributescanbestsufficethecriteriatobecomesuccessfulmemesofanykindandlanguageisnoexception.44 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比ChapterFiveConclusionItisgoeswithoutsayingthatinternet,sinceitscomingonthescene,hasgreatlyinfluencedthewaywethink,feelandliveintheageofinformation.Thepopularizationofcomputerandexpansionofglobalnetworkmaketheworldasmallerplace.Andtherisingofnetworkisaccompaniedbyabloomingacademicsubject—networkspeech.Memeisconsideredasculturalreplicators,actingasthebasicunitofculturaltransmission.Language,asitshouldbe,isaculturalphenomenon.Nowthatnetworkspeechisdeemedasalanguagevarietyaswehavedescribedinthepreviouschapter,itnaturallyfallsintothecategoryofmemes.Inotherwords,networkspeechesarememes,ormorespecificly,arelanguagememes.5.1MajorfindingsofthepresentstudyThisthesisisatentativecomparativestudyonE&Cnetworkspeechfrommemeticperspective.Researchesconcerningthissubjecthaveneverbeendonebefore.AndmemeticsisstillrathernewinChinawithonlyafewpeoplegotacquaintedwiththistheory.Thepresentresearchhasbeengivenhopestomakepeoplegettoknowmoreaboutthisunprecedentedcreation—meme.Itisfocusedonhownetworkspeechmaychangeovertimethroughmemeticselectioncriteriaindistinctlanguagebackground.Thispaperendeavorstogivepleasantanswerstoquestionsraisedinthefirstchapter.ThroughmajorillustrationanddiscussiononmemetictransmissionofE&CNetspeakinpreviouschapters,itisjustifiabletoarriveatfollowingconclusionstothesequestions.5.1.1HowE&Cnetspeakmemessetintwolanguageenvironmentsevolve?ThisthesisislaboredonacomparativestudyofE&Cnetworkspeechthroughamemeticviewpoint.ThroughatentativeexplorationintothedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenthetwolanguagesNetspeak,itisfoundthattheybearsimilarrulesofformation,which,toputitinanotherway,meansthedeviationoflanguageformsbetweenthetwoNetspeakisverymuchalike.Forexample,amongthemostfrequentlyused,bothemployedthetechniqueofnumberassonance,acronyms,andabbreviations.Moreover,bothhavesimilarusergroupswithyoungstersaccountingformuchofthenumber,andthenumberofeducatedusersisontherise.However,therearedissimilarpointsbetweenthetwoNetspeakthatareworththewhistle.Thecompositionmethodofthetwoisgenerallyalikeexceptforonekindofthem45 西华大学硕士学位论文defersgreatlyinquantity,namelythewordassonance.AssonantwordsinChineseNetspeakgreatlyoutnumberedthatinEnglish,whichcouldbeexplainedbythecomplexityofChinesecharacters,endowedwithmuchmoreflexibilityformanycombinations.Tosomeextent,thismanifoldnessprovidesChineseNetspeakwithmuchmorevitalityinitsfuturedevelopment.Apartfromthat,thecontentofthetwonetspeakisdistinctespeciallyinsexualexposure.Thismaybethecauseofdifferentialattitudestowardtalkingaboutsex.PeopleinwesterncountriesaremoreopenaboutthiswhiletheChineseshunstalkingitinpublic.Furthermore,infiltrationofEnglishnetspeakintoChinesenetspeakhasbeenseeninrecentyears.However,theoppositeisrarelyseen.AmemeticinsightintodistinguishingcharacteristicsofpopularE&Cnetspeakprovidesuswithabetterviewpointofhownetspeakevolveovertime.Netspeakarememes.Popularnetspeakarestrongmemesthatgetmostapplicationinthemasses,whichsuggestsprolificcopiesofthemselvesfromonebraintoanother.Aprobingintothemostpopularonesisofessentialimportanceinthatitexplainswhyonlyafrictionofnetspeakcansurviveinthemistsoftimewhileotherssoonfadeawayfrompeople’smind.WecollectedseveraltopnetspeakinChineseandEnglishrespectivelyfromtheinternet.Bygoingintothefeaturesofeitherside,itisfoundoutthatsimplicity,novelty,anduniversalapplicabilityareamongthecoreattributesinconstructingstrongnetspeakmemes.SimplicityprimelycorrespondstotherequirementofbeingfaithfulintheprocessofreplicationaccordingtoDawkins.Noveltysuggestsaqualityofbeingnew,differentandinterestingwhichwellcoincideswiththerequisitionofprolificreplicationtoachievehighchanceofsurvivalinmemeticcompetition.Andauniversalapplicabilityimpliesextensiveapplicationamonghosts,whichmeansahighreplicationinthemasses.TheseattributesareapplicablebothinEnglishandChinesenetspeak,inosculatingnicelywithDawkins’threefeaturesofsuccessfulmemes,namelylongevity,fecundity,andcopying-fidelity.Thereforeitis,insomesense,manifestedthatE&Cnetspeak,thoughsetintwodifferentlanguagebackgrounds,bothcomplywiththeevolutionprincipleofculturaltransmission.5.1.2Whatkindofmemesofnetworkspeechcangetmorepropagated?Networkspeechesarememes,ormorespecificly,arelanguagememes.Asthenewlyarisenreplicatorinculturaltransmission,memes,analogoustogenes,aresubjecttonaturalselectionintheprocessofpropagatingthemselves.Inordertosurviveinthelongruninstead46 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比ofbeingonlyaflashinthepan,memeshavetobeequippedwithessentialqualitiestohelpthemsurviveinakeencompetitionofgrabbingspacesinpeople’smind.Beingoneofthememes,netspeakhastobetriedbythisordeal.Byexpatiatingonthemostpopularonesandviaacombinativeanalysiswithqualitiesrequiredforstrongmemes,wecanfairlydrawtheconclusionthatnetspeakaregenerallysubjecttothefollowingqualitiessoastobecomesuccessfulmemes,inotherwords,togetmostpropagationfromhoststohosts.Aswehaveexpoundedinearlierchapter,memesfittedwiththeattributeoflongevity,fecundityandcopying-fidelitytendstobemoresuccessfulonesinfuturereproduction.Correspondingly,thefeaturesofnetspeakthatgetsmostpopularityareinaccordancewiththethreeattributesofsuccessfulmemes,namelysimplicity,noveltyanduniversalapplicability.Simplicitycorrespondswiththeprincipleofcopying-fidelityforashortmemeislesslikelytobechangedintheprocessoftransmission;Noveltytendstoleadtolargepropagationasitgetsmorechancetocaptivatepeople’smind,andthatcorrespondswiththecodeoffecundity;Universalapplicabilitysuggestsawidelyacceptedapplicationwithinvariedcircumstances,whichcorrespondswiththequalityoflongevityandfecundityaccordingtoDawkins.5.2LimitationsofthepresentstudyAcomparativestudyfrommemeticperspectiveconsideringnetspeakintwolanguageenvironmentshasneverbeendonebefore.Therefore,thepresentresearchconductedinthisthesisisatentativeone,andmoreresearchesfromdifferentperspectivesleavestobedesiredinthefuture.Firstly,netspeakissuchacomplexphenomenonthatchangesfromtimetotime,anditseemsquiteimpossibletoconfineitsdissemination.Theclassificationofdifferentnetspeakisahugeprojectthatnocleardemarcationscouldbemarkedamongthem.Itisaperplexingtasktomakethoroughanalysisonthissubjectandconsequentlythecurrentresearchcanonlybearoughone.Inshort,thisthesisisjustatrailanalysisonthenewly-emerginglinguisticphenomenon,urgingmoreandfurtherstudyinlinguisticfield.Secondly,theconceptofmemeisstillrathernewtotheearsofmanypeopleinthedomesticfieldoflinguistics.AcomparativestudyofE&Cnetspeakfrommemeticperspectivehasneverbeendonebefore.Thus,relevantreferencesconcerningthisareaarehardtofindwithmostofthematerialscollectedfromtheinternet.Inthisway,itisoutofthe47 西华大学硕士学位论文questiontogiveathoroughandexhaustivediscussionconfinedwithinonethesis.Furthermore,thepresentstudyconcernswithtwodistinctlanguagesystemsthatsuggeststwodistinctculturalenvironments.Thelimitedknowledgeonbothsidesmaynotbeabletogiveacompleteexpositiononthissubject.Moreover,thisthesisissolelyacomparisonbetweentwolanguagesystems.Hence,itmayseemabitlop-sidedwhenplacedwithindiverselanguagesintheworld.Complementaryresearchesrespectinginthisareaaregreatlyanticipatedinthefuture.Finally,thecurrentresearchisnotaquantitativestudybutaqualitativeone,thereforetheanalysisappliedinthisthesisisinevitablysubjectivetosomedegree.5.3SuggestionsforfurtherstudyInorderthatmorecouldbeachievedconcerningthissubjectinfutureresearches,somesuggestionsareputforwardforfurtherstudies.First,netspeakconcernedinthisthesisisanarrowconceptthatmerelyforspecificuseofonlinecommunication.Therangeofstudycanbebroadenedtocoveranotherlinguisticarea—networkhotwords.Thiskindofwordsisnotonlyconfinedforonlinecommunication,moreoftenitisusedforadescriptionofcertainphenomenon.Amemeticresearchintothissubjectdefinitelywouldinspiremoreinsightinlinguistworld.Secondly,tomakethecurrentresearchmoresubjective,itisnecessarytocarryoutmorequantitativeresearchesintimestocome.Researchbasedonlargedataofnetspeakwouldcertainlymaketheoutcomemoreconvincing.Thissamplingproblemcouldbesolvedbymeansofcorpus.Thirdly,theobjectofthestudyisexpectedtocovermorelanguageenvironment,thatistosay,itcanbebroadentootherlanguagevarieties,suchasItalian,German,Swissetc.,tofindoutifwecanarriveatsimilarconclusionsfrommemeticperspective.Thiscomplementarystudywouldbebeneficialinconsolidatingthecurrentstudyandgetmoreenlightenmentbothintheareaoflinguisticsandthatofmemetics.5.4SummaryWeneedtobecautioussinceNetspeakisidentifiedasmemes.Memes,analogoustogenes,havenofeelings.Replicationisalltheydo.Theyfindahosttoliveandtrytheirbesttokeepthemretainedinforaslongaspossible.Intermsofgenes,thehostreferstoallthecreaturesontheearth.Andwhenitcomestomemes,wearetheironlyhost.Theymaygo48 从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比wildexpandingthecopiesofthemselvesindisregardoftheinterestofthehost.Theknowledgeandideasweknowabouttheworlddidnotcomeinherentwithus.Theywereshapedonhowpeopledefinethingsinthepast,andthatwisdompassedontousisaprocessoftransmittingmemes.Ifwelacktheabilitytodetectrightfromwrong,wemayfallintovictimsofmemes.Inotherwords,ourmindwouldbemanipulatedbymemes.Netspeak,inquestion,isoneofthememesinourtimes.WithalotofNetspeakbumpingintooureyeseveryday,theyvirtuallysignifynewconceptscreatedbyindividuals.ThememesofNetspeakusewhatevertheygot,eitherbyworkingindividuallyorbyworkingtogetherasmemeplexes,tocatchtheeyesfromhosts.ItseemslikeNetspeakhasamindschemingforallthistohappen,butindeedtheydon’thaveanyfeelings.It’sjustthewaytheywork,anditcouldbedeliberatelyoperatedbypeoplewhoknowaboutthisworkingmechanismofmemesfortheirownpurposes.Advertizing,forinstance.Tosumup,ifweallowourmindwideopenforreceptionsofNetspeakofanykindwithoutdiscrimination,outmindwouldberunbytheideaofothers.Thewaywethinkandspeakisformeduponthememescreatedbyothers.Andtheabilitytodiscriminatemakesusdifferentfromonetoanother.49 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从模因论视角看中英网络语言对比AcknowledgementsUponthecompletionofthisthesis,Iwouldliketotakethisopportunitytoexpressmyheartfeltgratitudetoallthosewhohavecontributedhelpandsupportduringthetimeofwritingthisthesis.MydeepestthankfulnessfirstgoestomysupervisorProf.YangChunhong,whospentherprecioustimeguidingmethroughthewholeprocessofwritingthisthesis.Shetookgreatpaintoreadseveraldraftsofthisthesisandgavemeadviceandsuggestionsalongtheway.Evenwhensheissooccupiedwithherwork,sheofferedmegreathelpinfinishingthisthesis.Withoutherconsistentandilluminatinginstructions,thisthesiscouldnothaveachievedthisfullprogeny.MysincerethanksalsogoestothoseprofessorsandteachersinXihuaUniversityfortheirinsightfullectures.Personally,Iwishtoacknowledgethesupportofmyfriends,classmates,roommatesandmyparentswhohavesupportedmesilentlyandofferedgreathelpthroughthepastthreeyears.Thankyouverymuch!55
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