论“肉”的上位化过程及影响

The epistasis process and influence of“rou”

先秦时,“肉”本指称可食用的动物肉,“肉”指称人体时具有特殊语境。西汉后,“肉”的义域扩大,可用于指称人体肌肉。约在东汉末年,“肉”开始用于指称植物去皮后的可食用部分。北朝时,“肉”完成上位化,成为肉概念域的强势上位词,并延续至今。“肉”的上位化是内外因素综合作用的结果,义域宽、语用势能强是“肉”实现上位化的内因,而汉语从综合到分析的类型转变等因素起到了推动作用。“肉”的上位化顺应了语言的经济性原则,也提高了词语表义的明晰性。

In pre-Qin dynasty,“rou”(肉)refers to edible animal meat,and“rou”refers to human body in a special context.After the Western Han dynasty,the meaning of“rou”expanded and could be used to refer to human muscles.Around the end of the Eastern Han dynasty,“rou”was used to refer to the peeled parts of plants.In the Northern dynasty,“rou”became a strong hypernym in the concept domain of“rou”,which continues till now.The epistasis of“rou”is the result of the combined effect of internal and external factors.The wide meaning domain and strong pragmatic potential are the internal reasons for the epistasis of“rou”,and the factors such as the type change of Chinese from synthesis to analysis play a driving role.The epistasis of“rou”conforms to the economic principle of language and improves the clarity of lexical expression.