从历史演化看汉语的基本结构单位

What is the Basic Structural Unit of the Chinese Language from the Evolutionary Perspective?

先秦汉语的语素组合都具有递归性,语素即为基本结构单位;现代汉语中的语素组合既有递归性的,也有非递归性的,后一类组合中的语素不是基本结构单位,只是基本结构单位的组成成分。从历史演化的角度看,汉语的基本结构单位的构成层次发生了变化,由单层发展为双层,在这一变化中,"一个字·一个音节·一个概念"的强势关联制约着整个语法格局的形成,通过字化现象和用字策略表现出来。英语等其他多音节语言常用的"增音节策略"在汉语中不用。

The combinations of morphemes in Pre-Qin Chinese were all recursive, which means that morpheme is the basic structural unit. However, the combinations of morphemes in modern Chinese may be either recursive or non-recursive. Those morphemes in the non-recursive combinations are not basic structural units, but they are components of basic structural units. From the evolutionary perspective, the component hierarchy of the basic structural units in the Chinese language has changed from single tier to double tier. In the course of this change, a strong connection of ＂one character with one syllable and one concept＂ has constrained the formation of Chinese grammar as a whole. This can be denoted by the phenomenon of characterization and the strategy of using characters to form compound words. The strategy of adding more syllables in such multisyllable languages as English has been rarely used in the Chinese language.