从广州方言口语词“掂”的变化看词语演变的复杂性

The complexity of lexical development as seen from Tim in Cantonese

广州方言的口语词"掂",本义是"直","妥当"是它的引申义。根据西方传教士留下来的广州方言历史资料和近代出版的广州方言词典的比较分析,结合当代方言口语的实际,"掂"在近两个世纪里的变化主要有二:词语的替换和词义的变化,表现出词义演变的复杂性。此外,粤语区记录这个方言词有四种不同的字形,反映了粤语方言用字随意性的特点。

The literal meaning of the parol word 'tim' in Cantonese local dialect means 'direct'or 'straight', while its extended meaning is 'well-arranged' or 'well prepared'. By analyzing the historical documents on Cnatonese dialect handed down by Western missionaries and those dictionaries on Cantonese dialect published lately, and at the same time combining the real situations of modern dialect parol, the word 'tim' has undergone two major changes in the last two centuries, i.e. the substitution of terms and the change of lexical meaning, which indicate the complexity of its lexical development. In addition, according to the record in Cantonese spoken area, this word has four different character patterns, which show the casualness in the usage of words in Cantonese dialect.