“方言”考

On the Origin of Dialect

现代语言学传入中国后,人们便用“方言”来对译“dialect”。但事实上两者并不完全对应。“方言”这个词语大概可以汉代扬雄所著的《方言》一书,但书中包含了一些非汉语的异质成分。历史上,“方言”“国语”既可以指汉语,也可以指其他语言。文章试图清理有关材料,就中国古今不同的语言、方言称谓作一番梳理。

Since modem linguistics was introduced into China, dialect has been taken as the equivalent to ＂Fangyan＂ （language forms used by different parts or regions inside or outside of China）. In fact, dialect is not a good equivalent to Fangyan in Chinese. In the ＇article, the author stresses that ＂Fangyan＂ in Chinese can be traced back to the book Fangyan by Yang Xiong in Han Dynasty, in which some heterogeneous Chinese is also mentioned. In Chinese history, ＂Fangyan＂ and ＂Guoyu＂ refer to not only Chinese but also other languages. Based on the materials concerned, this article is intended to sort out the different terms for Yuyan （ languages ） and Fangyan （ dialects ） in Chinese history.