Narrative as“legal tender”:the semiotic meanings of“exchange”in Malcolm Bradbury’s Rates of Exchange  

作　　者：Yanfang Song 

机构地区：[1]School of Foreign Languages,Soochow University,Suzhou,China

出　　处：《Language and Semiotic Studies》2024年第3期343-366,共24页语言与符号学研究（英文）

基　　金：supported by the Project of Social Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province in 2020 under No.20WWB008(“A Study of Cultural Geography in Contemporary Anglo-American Academic Fiction”);National Social Science Foundation Project in 2023 under No.23BWW035(“A Study on Social Changes and the Development of Humanities in Contemporary Anglo-American Academic Fiction”).

摘　　要：Malcolm Bradbury’s novel Rates of Exchange,taking the economic term“rates of exchange”as a central metaphor,depicts various exchanges occurring in the socio-economic landscape of Britain during the 1970s and 1980s.In the context of governmental emphasis on economic development,the novel intricately explores exchanges among diverse entities,playing with multiple meanings of the term“exchange”.In this way,the novel itself becomes a form of“legal tender,”exchanged for reader comprehension,communication,and participation.It highlights the ubiquitous presence of exchange and the risks associated with the uncertain exchange rates between different entities.Furthermore,it invites readers to participate in the story-telling and the nostalgic journey back to British literary tradition.This paper,drawing on Roland Barthes’s semiotic theory along with structuralist and poststructuralist concepts,investigates the multifaceted meanings of“exchange”in the novel.Through this analysis,the paper aims to illuminate the semiotic significance of various narrative forms and the profound thematic concerns in Bradbury’s work.

关 键 词：Rates of Exchange NARRATIVE Roland Barthes SEMIOTICS 

分 类 号：H03[语言文字—语言学] F82[经济管理—财政学]