“五音口訣”的功能和來源

Explanation of Five Tones in the Chart of Five Tones

"五音"在古代音韻學中應用過寬,要具體分析使用環境才能明其所指。在《五音之圖》中,"五音"是用來區别五種發音狀態的標記,並不具體與字音的聲韻調中某個因素發生關聯。"宫商角徵羽"五個字的本身讀音也與《五音之圖》的口訣没有必然聯繫。該口訣起源於人聲與音樂相配的觀念,脱胎於古代以五音占卜的做法。在唐宋時期一度流傳甚廣,出現了很多與之有關的類似口訣,並流入佛門爲僧人所借鑒,結果成爲了一份音韻學材料被現代學者重視。雖然五音口訣確實描寫了某些發音的區别特徵,但歸根結底,這不是對特定音節所作的分析,而且過於籠統,故而其價值十分有限。

As a terminology,Five Tones was so widely used in Chinese traditional phonology that it can’t be understood without an analysis on the literature where it was used.As for the Chart of Five Tones,it was used as a symbol to identify five different distinctive features.There was no relationship between Five Tones and the initial consonant,the vowel or the tone of a character.Pronunciations of Gong Shang Jue Zhi Yu was irrelevant to the pithy formula in the Chart of Five Tones.This formula originated from the idea that there can be a harmonious relationship between voice and music,and also from the divination using Five Tones.Widely spreading in the Tang and Song Dynasties,while lots of similar ones relevant to it appear,this formula was used by monks for reference.As a result,it is now an important material of Chinese traditional phonology.It can be confirmed that this formula is relative to some distinctive features,while its generality,meaning that it is lack of deep analysis,limits its value.