汉语“书信”义语义场的历史演变

Historical Evolution of Semantic Field of 书信(Letter) in Chinese

表示"书信"这一义位,上古汉语形成了一个同义义场,其语词主要有"书"、"牍"和"尺牍",主导词是"书";中古汉语增加了"笺(牋)"、"札"、"函"、"简"、"信"、"书信"等语词;近代汉语又增加了"信件",同时,"信"在清代中后期替换"书"成为主导词;到了现代汉语,该语义场主要有"书"、"札"、"函"、"信"、"书信"、"信件","信"依然是主导词。汉语"书信"义语义场演变的动因与社会的发展变化、词汇的口语化和复音化有关。

In early ancient Chinese, a semantic field of synonymy was constructed centered on the core meaning of Shu( 书),including Shu( 书),Du( 牍)and Chidu( 尺 牍). Later on, in Middle Ancient Chinese, the field extended to more words such as Jian( 笺 / 牋), Zha( 札), Han( 函),,Jian( 简),Xin( 信) and Shuxin( 书信). Then, in Modern Chinese, Xinjian( 信件) was added up to. And in Middle and Late Qing Dynasty, Xin( 信) gradually replaced Shu( 书) to connotate the core semantic value. At the end, in Contemporary Chinese, the same semantic field has already extended to words like Shu( 书), Zha( 札), Han( 函), Xin( 信) and Shuxin( 书信), etc., Xin( 信) still being the pivotal word. The historical evolution of this semantic field features Chinese lexical colloquialism and poly-syllabification, and is a result of social development and transformation in China.