抽象与具体
(Abstract vs．Concrete)
英语的名词化往往导致表达的抽象化。G．M．Young曾指出，“an excessive reliance on the noun at the expense of the verb will，in the end，detach the mind of the writer from the realities of here and now, from when and how and in what mood the thing was done．and insensibly induce a habit of abstraction, generalization and vagueness．”英语的抽象表达法(method of abstract diction)主要见于大量使用抽象名词。这类名词涵义概括，指称笼统，覆盖面广，往往有一种“虚”、“泛”、“暗”、“曲”、“隐”的“魅力”，因而便于用来表达复杂的思想和微妙的情绪。如： 1)The signs of the times point to the necessity of the modification of the system of administration．(“Times”)( =It is becoming clear that the administrative system must be，modified)
谭旭光博客管理体制需要改革，这已越来越清楚了。
2)No year passes now without evidence of the truth of the statement that the work of government is becoming increasingly difficult．(“Spectator”)(=Every year shows again how true it is that…) 行政管理工作已变得越来越困难了，每年都证明确实如此。
3)There seems to have been an absence of attempt at conciliation between rival sects．(“Daily Telegraph”)( =The sects seem never even to have tried mutual conciliation)
对立的派别似乎从来就没有试图去谋求和解。
抽象表达法在英语里使用得相当普遍，尤其常用于社会科学论著、官方文章、报刊评论、法律文书、商业信件等文体。这种表达法得以流行，还有以下几个主要原因： 清华大学校长顾秉林一、抽象思维被认为是一种高级思维(superior mind)，是文明人的一种象征(mark of civilized man)．随着科学技术的发达和文明社会的进步，原有的感性表达方式已不足以表达复杂的理性概念，因而需要借助于抽象、概括的方法。这正如H．Jacobi所说的：‘‘abstract methods of diction were more and more needed as the sphere of ideas to b
e expressed became narrower and narrower．”此外，许多作者为了显耀其思想深奥而故弄玄虚、追随时尚，也嗜好抽象表达法。例如：
1)The absence of intelligence is an indication of satisfactory developments．(=No news is good news)
劳埃德大厦
没有消息即表明有令人满意的进展。
2)Was this the realization of an anticipated liability?(=Did you expect you would have to do this?)
你有没有预料到你必需做这件事?
3)The actual date of the completion of the purchase should coincide with the availability of the new facilities．(=The purchase should not be completed until the new facilities are available)
必须等到有了这些新设备，才能购买这批货。
4)A high degree of carelessness, pre-operative and post-operative, on the part of some of the hospital staff，took place．(=Some of the hospital staff were very careless both before and after the operation)
医院某些医护人员在手术前后都非常粗心。
5)The lack of figures may prove to be an obstacle to the efficiency of the whole of the proposed statistical content of the exercise．(=Lack of figures may make it difficult to produce accurate statistics)
缺乏数据会使准确的统计变得很困难。
二、抽象词语意义模糊，便于掩饰作者含混(cloudy)或真实的思想，以迎合其某种表达的需要，因而也得以流行。E．Gowers指出，“Unfortunately the very vagueness of abstract words is one of the reasons for their popularity．To express one’s thoughts accurately is hard work，and to be precise is sometimes dangerous．We are tempted to prefer the safer obscurity of the abstract．It is the greatest vice of present-day writing．”这种不良的
文风常常表现在过分使用涵义抽象、内容虚泛、语气庄严的大字眼(pompous words)，有时简直到了装腔作势、令人难以捉摸的地步：
Whereas the micro-economic neo-classical theory of distribution was based on a postulate of rationality suited to their static analysis and institutional assumptions，we are no longer justified in accepting this basis and are set the problem of discovering the Value premises suited to the expectational analysis and the institutional nature of modern business．The neo-classical postulate of rationality and the concept of the entrepreneur as the profit maximizing individual，should，I think，be replaced by a sociological analysis of the goals of the firm in relation to its nature as an organization within the socio-political system．
这段文字是英国人写的，说的是有关商业人士如何作出决策；下段文字则出自美国人之笔，讲的是有关检验为军用飞行器或宇宙飞船特制的食品：
浙江海洋学院学报Strangeness of samples has been shown to lead to relative rejection of products in the comparative absence of clues to a frame of reference within which judgment may take pl
ace．Variation in clues selected by judges as a basis for evaluation lead to greater inter-judge disagreement．Addition of a functional(utilitarian)basis for judgment tends to reduce relative importance of product physical characteristics as a basis for judgment．In the absence of any judgmental frame of reference reduction in the number of product physical attributes apparent to the judge appears to reduce operation of bases for rejection and increase homogeneity of judgment between subjects；inter-sample discrimination is also reduced．
滥用抽象词语在公文里已是司空见惯。加拿大国防部根据某些常用虚泛词语的搭配习惯，发明了一个“公式化套语生成表”，称之为“Buss—phrase Generator”：
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
0. integrated 0. management 0. options
1. overall 1. organizational 1. flexibility
2. systematized 2. monitored 2. capability
3. parallel 3. reciprocal 3. mobility
王茂亮
4. functional 4. digital 4. programming
5. responsive 5. logistical 5. concept
6. optional 6. transitional 6.time-phase
7. synchronized 7. incremental 7.projection
8. compatible 8. third-generation 8. hardware孤独的人
9. balanced 9. policy 9. contingency
此表的用法很简单：只要从每栏内任取一词，按其顺序便可组成一个公式化的套语，如405，即functional management concept．这些套语，外行人听起来以为很重要，但实际上并无多大意义。作者用令人困惑的抽象词语(puzzling abstraction)把所要表达的意思隐蔽起来，
读者只能“透过朦胧的玻璃”看出其大概的轮廓。这种模糊的“行话”其实是虚泛的空话，但却在政府、商业或技术等部门里甚为盛行，并成了时髦的词语(vogue terms)。
三、英语有丰富的词义虚化手段，这就大大方便了抽象表达法的使用。这些手段主要有：
1．用虚化词缀构词。前缀和后缀都可以使词义虚化，其中以后缀数量最多、分布最广。如：
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