“樂”字的语音演变

Phonetic Evolution of"Le(樂)"

“樂”是多音字,在现代标准汉语中有yuè、lè、lào三个读音,依次对应《广韵》中的五教切、卢各切、五角切,但是“樂”字的语音演变情况与音义对应关系并不甚明朗。甲骨文文献出土后,学界对“樂”字的本义和本音有了新的认识。该文结合前人论述和早期文献,判定“樂”的本义应为树名,本音为於霄切,后来由树名引申出快乐义(卢各切),又因构词的需要产生音乐义(五角切)和动词义(五教切)。在入声消失以后,“樂”根据语音演变的原则分派在普通话中,卢各切演变为lè,五角切演变为yuè,lào是消失后汇入卢各切的痕迹,只保存在地名中。

"Le(樂)"has three pronunciations in Mandarin:yuè,lè,lào,corresponding to Guangyun's"wu jiao qie","lu ge qie","wu jiao qie",but its phonetic evolution and semantic links are unclear.Oracle bone inscriptions shed light on"le(樂)"'s original meaning as a tree name,with a sound akin to"yu xiao qie".Over time,the concept of happiness evolved from this tree name("lu ge qie"),and due to linguistic needs,musical("wu jiao qie")and verb meaning emerged.Following the disappearance of the entering tone,Mandarin assigned"le(樂)"according to phonetic evolution principles:"lu ge qie"evolved into lè,"wu jiao qie"into yuè,while lào remains as a trace merged into"lu ge qie"and is preserved only in this form.