“妞”的形义演变与满汉文化关涉

The evolution of Niu(妞)and its relationship with Manchu and Han culture

宋代伊始,“妞”字作为古“[丑女]”的讹误而产生。“妞”是形声字,最初其形旁“女”并非专指女性,据“声符有义”原则,其声旁“丑”也无“丑陋”“丑恶”义,而是承接古“[丑女]”的“好”以及宋时的“高丽姓”二义而来。清中叶后,满语与汉语融合,“妞”有了“未婚女孩”之义,“妞妞”成为满语Nio nio([niɔ:niɔ:])的汉字音记,此乃彼时“满式汉语”之特色。“妞”字复杂的古今异变,既揭橥了汉字简繁转换中“一对多”现象,又体现了汉满两大民族语言、文化次第交融的过程。但其体变结果,不能以满汉两族语言最终调和无二而片面视之,还关涉到双方内部的语言形塑、自我修补,以及各自民族体认与情感留存因素,这对追溯今日北京方言的真实演变规律,有一定的价值。

From the beginning of the Song Dynasty,the word Niu(妞)came into being as an error of ancient Niu(丑女).Niu(妞)is a pictophonetic character.At fi rst,its meaning element“女”did not specifi cally refer to women.According to the principle of sound and righteousness,its sound element“丑”has no meaning related to ugliness,but derives from the meaning righteousness of the ancient Niu(meaning Good)and the Gao Li surname of the Song Dynasty.Since the middle Qing Dynasty,Manchu and Chinese have become integrated.Niu obtained the meaning of an unmarried girl,and Niu Niu(妞妞)became the Chinese phonetic record of Manchu NiO NiO,which was the characteristic of Manchu Chinese at that time.The complicated changes in ancient and modern forms of the character Niu(妞)not only reveal the phenomenon of one to many in the conversion between simplified and complex Chinese characters,but also refl ect the blending of Han and Manchu in language and culture.However,the change of its body can not only be regarded as the result of the fi nal negotiation between Manchu and Chinese languages,but also be related to the internal language shaping and their selfrepair,as well as their national identities and emotional retention,which is of certain value for us to trace the real evolution law of today’s Beijing dialect.