Abstract:

Rhetorical competence is an important component of western rhetorical theories. Few studies have been carried out on the core elements of rhetorical competence up to now, though it is widely discussed among rhetoricians. In this paper, the author argues that rhetorical competence can be viewed as an inner attribute of rhetors, namely, the sum of rhetors’ abilities to successfully make a rhetorical act. Thus, it encompasses a wide range of elements. To figure out the theoretical framework of rhetorical competence, the author makes an attempt to define its concept by examining the scope of classical and new rhetoric, as “rhetoric” is an essential element in rhetorical competence. On the basis of the concept of rhetoric, rhetor, rhetorical object, rhetorical situation, rhetorical strategy, and rhetorical purpose are crucial factors in defining rhetorical competence. On the basis of those five parameters, the author attempts to give the definitions of rhetorical competence in classical rhetoric and new rhetoric respectively, and thus to generalize the basic concept of rhetorical competence. Moreover, clarification of the concept of rhetorical competence can shed light on the way to promote research on foreign language competence as well as national rhetorical competence.

Keywords: rhetorical competence; rhetoric; western rhetoric; national rhetorical competence

摘要：

修辞能力是西方修辞学理论体系的重要组成部分。修辞能力虽耳熟能详,但现有研究中却鲜见对修辞能力核心要素的构建。修辞能力一般被视作修辞者的一种内在属性,是修辞者为履行修辞任务必须具备的各种具体能力的总和,因而其包含的内涵较丰富。鉴于此,为提炼修辞能力的内涵,本文将基于西方修辞学发展历程中的两个重要阶段——古典修辞学与新修辞学,尝试从修辞的定义出发厘定修辞能力。依据修辞的概念范畴可知,修辞者、修辞对象、修辞情境、修辞策略与修辞目的是界定修辞能力的重要因素。笔者在界定古典修辞学与新修辞学视域下修辞能力概念的基础上,归纳出修辞能力的基本概念,认为把握修辞能力的概念对促进外语能力以及国家修辞能力研究都有着重要的启示意义。

关键词: 修辞能力, 修辞, 西方修辞学, 国家修辞能力