中日同形词“章程”的语义演变

On Semantic Evolution of the Homograph “Zhangcheng” in Chinese and Japanese

本文利用中日词典、英华华英字典、英和和英词典及报刊数据库分别对汉日语中的“章程”进行了词源考证、词义考察。考察结果显示,“章程”最早产生于汉语,经历了“法令、法规”“历数和度量衡的推算方法”“规范、准则”及“事务执行的细则”等意义;日语“章程”除没有吸收“历数与度量衡的推算方法”意义外,其余与汉语一致。“章程”所有意义均最早发生在中国,只是在语义演变过程中汉日意义趋向各有偏重。英汉对译早于英和对译,在对译词的竞争中“regulation”与“章程”的对译最为稳定。

This paper examined the etymology and meanings of vocabulary“Zhangcheng”in Chinese and Japanese after consulting Chinese-Japanese dictionaries,English-Chinese dictionaries and English-Japanese dictionaries,as well as databases of periodicals.The results show that the vocabulary of“Zhangcheng”,derived from Chinese,evolved from the meaning of“statute,regulation”,“calculation method for enumeration and measurement”,“standard,criterion”to“detailed rules for performing operations”.Except for the absence of the meaning of“calculation method for enumeration and measurement”,the rest remains the same with the above in Japanese usage of the word.The meanings of the vocabulary of“Zhangcheng”came into being in Chinese,whereas,some are lost or changed in the words’semantic evolution,as the semantic preference in Chinese and Japanese is different.Since the English-Chinese translation of the word preceded that in English-Japanese translation,the translation of the vocabulary of“regulation”suits more with the Chinese explanation of“Zhangcheng”compared with that in Japanese.