5.1.4 “或”表示措辞更新
《现代汉语词典》第7版（2016：595）与《现代汉语八百词》增订本（1999：284）都曾指出，作连词用的“或者”可以表示等同关系，例如“世界观或者宇宙观是人们对整个世界的总的看法”。伍铁平（1999：265-266）认为这种“或（者）”有“即”的意义，可以表示等值关系这种逻辑功能。从实际语料例75）至例80）看，等同关系或等值关系的名称过于严格，因此我们改称为措辞更新。
75）‘I quite agree with you，’said the Duchess；‘and the moral of that is—“Be what you would seem to be”—or if you'd like it put more simply—“Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.”’
那公爵夫人道，“你的意见不错，于此可见——‘画兔画须难画耳，知人知面不知心’——或者简单些说就是——‘再不要以为你自己不是对于别人所见的以为你从前的情形或是你不然也许会有过的情形相差的不是对于你所做过的对于他们似乎不同的样子。’”
76）She did not get hold of anything，but she heard a little shriek and a fall，and a crash of broken glass，from which she concluded that it was just possible it had fallen into a cucumber-frame，or something of the sort.
她并没有捞到什么东西，可是她就听见哜地一叫，扑通一声，一下又是豁喇喇许多碎玻璃的声音，她从这个就猜那兔子大概是跌在一个黄瓜藤的架子或是什么东西上了。
77）The poor little thing sobbed again（or grunted，it was impossible to say which），and they went on for some while in silence.
那小东西又哭了一声（或是咕了一声，横竖辨不出哪一样。），他们就呆呆着没有话说。
78）就是在奔跑的时节，他的心中也没忘了这件事，并非清清楚楚的，有头有尾的想起来，而是时时想到一个什么意思，或一点什么滋味，或一些什么感情，都是渺茫，而又亲切。
…but even as he ran he could not stop thinking about this business，and not in a clear，methodical fashion.Rather，random bits and pieces surfaced in his head—a particular meaning or feeling or emotion，vague and yet close and very personal.
79）因此，她才越觉得有点意思，她颇得用点心思才能拢得住这个急了也会尥蹶子的大人，或是大东西。
With this in mind，she knew she'd have to tread more carefully if she was going to hold on to this big fellow—this big creature—who could buck and kick if pushed too far.
80）不是那些衣服，也不是她的模样，而是一点什么态度或神味，祥子找不到适当的字来形容。
It wasn't her clothes or her looks；no，it had more to do with her attitude and her behavior，though Xiangzi had trouble putting it into words.
例75）中的“或者简单些说就是”是典型的换一种说法的标志语。例76）至例80）每个句对中的两个析取支都可以看作话语建构者对自己在第一个析取支中的措辞不满意或不确定，然后再在第二个析取支中更新自己的表述，以期更加准确，更加到位。这种情况下，将其称为等同关系或等值关系，是不那么确切的。另外，例79）的英译文中并没有出现典型的析取关系标记“or”，而是用破折号代替。破折号在这里的作用在于说明破折号前后的内容是类似的，这与措辞更新是吻合的。例80）中的“态度或神味”也可以看作措辞更新，如果在英语中用析取关系来对译可能会更加恰当。实际英译时处理成合取关系的“her attitude and her behavior”，也许是由于英译文的谓语改用了“had more to do with”（与……更有关联），而不是直译汉语原文中的“而是”。