方言比较与本字考释——以汉语方言喷射义“biāo”为例

Comparison of Dialects and Interpretation of the Original Character as Showed by the“Biāo”Meaning Jet in Chinese Dialect

方言比较是考证本字的重要方法。以汉语方言喷射义"biāo"为例,这个词通行于吴语、闽语、粤语、赣语、江淮官话、西南官话、南宁平话等,至少有"滮""瀌""飙""彪""标""熛""嘌""镖""摽""?""猋"等十一种写法。用字分歧这么大,与有些学者囿于单个方言考求本字不无关系。通过方言比较可知,本字当为"猋"。"猋"由群犬奔貌,引申为人奔跑,再引申为液体急速射出,其核心意思都是"飞速移动"。成都、武汉等方言里"猋"兼具"飞速奔跑"和"液体急速射出"等意思,就是明证;"蹿"有疾行义,又有喷射义,为"猋"喷射义产生路径提供了相关平行证据。这一个案进一步印证了方言比较对于考证本字的重要性。

Dialect comparison is an important method to research the original character.As the biāo meaning jet in Chinese dialect an example,this word is in common use in Wu dialect,Min dialect,Yue dialect,Gan dialect,JAC Mandarin,Southwestern Mandarin,Nanning Pinghua dialect,etc.There are at least eleven ways of writing,such as biāo(“滮”),biāo(“瀌”),biāo(“飙”),biāo(“彪”)(“标”),biāo(“熛”),biāo(“嘌”),biāo(“镖”),biāo(“摽”),biāo(“䅺”)and biāo(“猋”).The difference in the writing of characters is closely related to some scholars’confinement to a single dialect for the original character.Through the comparison of dialects,it can be seen that the original character is regarded as biāo.(“猋”)which originally meant the appearance of a group of dogs running.The meaning then extended to people running and the rapid jet of liquid.The core meaning is moving fast.In the Chengdu dialect and Wuhan dialect,biāo(“猋”)has the meanings of running fast and rapidly jet,which is a clear proof.Cuān(“蹿”)has the meaning of swiftly moving and jet,which provides relevant parallel evidence for the path of the generation of biāo(“猋”)meaning jet.This case further confirms the importance of dialect comparison for the research and interpretation of the original character.