论“五四”文字革命的“欧化”理论

On Europe Orientation Theory in May Fourth Character Revolution

“文学革命的第一步就是文字问题的解决”,“五四”时期的“文学革命”的前提和起步是“语言文字革命”,那么,考察“五四”精英们对中国语言文字的思考评价、理论探索和改革思路就显得颇为必要。与西方语言文字相比,“五四”精英们发现中国文字在表达上具有相当的缺陷,那就是词意的笼统和语法的粗疏(在这一点上胡适持相反的意见),这些都应该有改革的必要,而引进西文可以丰富和精确我们的词汇和语法,于是,他们主张通过“翻译”来促使中文的“欧化”,即使今天来看他们当年的主张也是不无价值的。

As some intellectuals concern, Character Revolution is the first step in May Fourth Literature Revolution. So it is necessary to review the opinions and thoughts on Chinese character of many intellectuals in New Culture Movement. Compared with Europe character, they think Chinese character has some limitations either in grammar or in meaning, so it is necessary to innovate Chinese by translating Europe works to enrich our words and exact our grammar.