粤语本字考订之观念与方法问题刍议

Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Textual Researches on Etymological Characters of Cantonese

依本字考订乃方言研究中一个传统项目。受传统考据体式局限,现有之方言本字考研究有时难以将本字之定义、"字"与语音之明确关系、考本字之明确目的与实际运用之研究方法内部统一起来;一系列早被公认应当揭櫫之研究观念,往往又未能付诸方法。通过对近年来经典研究成果进行具体分析,尽可能系统总结若干观念与方法问题,对日后本字考订研究取得质的进步,显得尤为必要。

Textual research on etymological characters is a traditional part of research on Chinese dialects. Limited by the form of traditional textual research, existing researches on etymological characters have not reached any agreement on the definition of etymological characters, the connection between characters and pronunciation, the specific purpose of the researches and the methods used; meanwhile, a series of conceptions supposed to be implemented have not been put into practice. By analyzing typical researches in recent years, the present study aims to summarize some conceptual and methodological issues, which may be especially essential to the future progress in textual researches on etymological characters.