中国汉族女性“名”的语言文化分析

A Linguistic and Cultural Analysis of Han Women'`s Names

姓名是一个符号体系 ,它蕴涵着丰富的社会文化意义。中国字是最形象的文化符号之一 ,每个字的产生和运用都有着特殊的作用 ,因而中国人对于取名非常重视。不同阶级和家族在取名时 ,不仅注意到姓与名的结构和组合 ,还要考虑到其中的寓意 ,包括富贵荣华、升官发财之类的世俗意义。此外 ,有的名字还要考虑木、火、土、金、水的搭配 ,有的名字考虑到笔划的多少与生辰八字是否吻合 ,有的名字考虑到阴柔与强刚等。而中国女性的名字具有明显的象征和期盼性。如以花为名 ,希望如花似玉 ;以德为名 ,希望贤淑温柔等等。如果从人类学的角度来分析 ,这些名字的构成更有其深奥的内涵。

Name is a symbol with abundant social and cultural meanings. The Chinese characters are visual cultural symbols, and each character has its special functions in its creation and appliance, so the Chinese people take names seriously. In naming, people from different classes pay attention to not only the combinations of the surnames and the names but also their implications: honour, wealth, promotion, etc. Besides, collocation of the five basic elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water is considered, agreement of the number of the strokes of the name and the time of birth is considered, and femininity and masculinity are considered. The names of the Han women are full of symbols and expectations. If a woman is named after a flower, she is expected to be as beautiful as a flower; if she is named after virtues, she is expected to be virtuous and mild. Analyzed from the perspective of anthropology, names of the Han women contain more abstract connotations.