Abstract This study presents a semantically-oriented theoretical and descriptive study of tense backshift and its literary effects in FID. Based on Fludernik’s study (1993), the detailed linguistic indicators of FID are described in order to provide the criteria for data collection for this study. The data are FID passages collected from four canonical English novels: Austen’s Persuasion, Conrad’s Lord Jim, and Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse. A theory of tense semantics underlying FID is explored, and the literary effects of tense backshift in FID are examined. The results of this study show that: (1) the mechanism of tense backshift in FID is tense backshift from absolute tense defined by the default temporal reference point t0 in present time domain in the narrator’s intensional domain into relative tense defined by the central time of orientation in past time domain in the represented character’s intensional domain; and (2) the literary effects of tense backshift in FID, analysed in terms of relative past tense, relative lazy past tense, relative past progressive tense and relative past future perfect tense are shown to be effects of remoteness, terseness, close-up and irony respectively.

中文翻译：

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时移倒退的语义研究及其在FID中的文学作用

摘要这项研究提供了一个针对语义的理论性和描述性的时态回移及其在FID中的文学效果的研究。基于Fludernik的研究（1993），描述了FID的详细语言指标，以便为该研究的数据收集提供标准。数据是从四本经典的英国小说中收集的FID段落：奥斯丁的说服力，康拉德的吉姆勋爵（Lord Jim）和伍尔夫的《达洛维夫人》和《到灯塔去》。探索了FID的时态语义理论，并研究了FID中的时态倒退的文学效果。这项研究的结果表明：（1）FID中的时态向后偏移的机制是，从叙述者的意图域中当前时域中默认时态参考点t0定义的绝对时态向所代表的过去时域中方向中心时间定义的相对时态进行时态反向移位人物的意图领域；（2）从相对过去时，相对懒惰过去时，相对过去渐进时和相对过去将来完成时等方面分析，FID中的时态倒退的文学效果显示为偏远，简洁，特写和分别具有讽刺意味。