汉语年龄表述用语来源、特征及形成机制探析

An Exploration on the Sources,Features and Mechanisms of Formation of Age-related Chinese Expressions

汉语年龄表述用语据其来源可以分为来源于身体或生理特征、来源于古代礼仪或习俗、来源于衣物或动植物、来源于诗文典故、来源于文字游戏等五个大类,有产生方式不均衡、性别指示不均衡和年龄范围不均衡三个使用特征,从古代到现代表现出数量减少、同根结构减少、四字格增多、词义范围扩大四种发展趋势,隐喻机制、语用需求、文学发展以及使用者求新和避讳心理的共同作用促成了汉语年龄表述用语的形成和发展。

There are five types of age-related Chinese expressions according to their sources, namely from the body or physical features, from ancient rites and customs, from the clothing, animals or plants, from allusions and epigrams and from paronomasias. It displays the imbalance on the way of formation, gender and age range. There are four trends which are the reduction on the quantity, the structures with the same morpheme, the increase on the four-word structure and the extension of the meaning from ancient to modern Chinese. The metaphor mechanism, demanding of the language, the development of literature, the language user＇ s psychology of pursuing new things and taboos contribute to formation and development of the age-related Chinese expressions.