“字”作为基本结构单位的“音、形、义、法”

On the Phonetic,Orthographic,Semantic and Grammatical Properties of Zi as a Basic Structural Unit

"字"是独立编码、能够不断重组的常用汉语成分,既是汉语的最小意义单位(相当于英语的"语素"),也是基本的结构单位(相当于英语的"词")。"字"因此具有双重性。"字音"和"字形"边界清楚,容易界定;"字义"一般自足自立;"字法",即其组合法则,体现了自由和灵活的特点。

Common in every sense of the word in Chinese,Zi is independently coded and capable of being constantly regrouped. In Chinese,Zi is the minimal semantic unit,similar to the English morpheme,and also the basic structural unit,like the English word. Thus Zi has duality. Its phonetic and orthographic forms are well defined and its meaning is self-contained. As forms that enter into lexical or sentential arrangements,Zi exhibits strong freedom and positional mobility.