“房”“屋”的方言分布与历时流变

The geographical distribution and diachronic evolution of the words“房 ”(Fang) and“屋”(Wu)

岩田礼等对"房""屋"意义的阐述有些可以成立:屋大房小,存在于五经之中,魏晋之前例外不多;"古-南""今-北"大致对应,但例外较多。所谓"古今颠倒",则难以成立。"房""屋"意义的演变主要是词义的互相渗透所致,"房"始终是演变的先导:其向"房大"的演变,战国时始见端倪;魏晋以后"房""屋"的意义逐步趋同。"房子"在唐代始见,在北方可以指整体和部分,在南方多指部分;"屋子"在宋代始见,在南方曾指整体,在北方多指部分。

Largely confirming Ray Iwata’s elaboration on the meaning of“房”(Fang)and“屋”(Wu),we can observe that“屋”(Wu)refers to house and“房”(Fang)refers to a smaller compartment within the house,the two terms came to prominence in the Five Confucian Classics.Before the Wei and Jin dynasties,“屋”(Wu)usually signified a larger space while“房”(Fang)normally meant a smaller place.However,in the etymological evolution of the connotations of these two terms,we can observe differences between northern and southern China both in ancient and present times.“房子”(Fang Zi)was first used in the Tang Dynasty.It could refer to the whole as well as a part of a house in the North,while in the South it was most commonly used to refer to only a smaller compartment within a house.“屋子”(Wu Zi)was first used in the Song Dynasty and could refer to a house in the South,while in the North it referred only to a part thereof.The evolution of the use of these two terms can be seen as a result of historic semantic change.Until the Warring States period,“房”(Fang)always denoted predominance,but since the Wei and Jin dynasties,these two terms gradually became more equal in meaning.