Naxi Dongba Text Grapheme Study

Naxi-Dongba characters currently used in western dialect region of Naxi nationality soon absorbed many researchers' attention after being discovered at the beginning of 20th century. Researchers achieved some fruits by investigating, researching and analyzing with particularity. The process of researches on Dongba characters includes the stages from the transcription to compilation of Naxi sutra, from the collection of Naxi sutra to researches on itself, especially the property of the characters, and from theoretical summing-ups of the features to comparative researches. All the achievements established the basis for further research.With the help of grapheme theory in philology, and modern information technology, we split every Dongba characters into graphemes to describe and analyze microscopically, in order to grasp the overall law of the writing system.This article, starting to describe and research from the view of static analysis as well as dynamic analysis, is composed of five chapters, besides introduction and appendix.We traces back to the origin of Naxi-Dongba characters and the history of its research in Introduction. The reason why we raise the point of research is also mentioned.In Chapter I , from the angle of view of static analysis and on the basis of splitting into well-defined graphemes from Dongba characters, different types and features are concluded.Among 1840 characters in all, there are 803 graphemes in ZiPu(^^%), in which 763 graphemes can form characters individually and 43 quasi-graphemes can not The quantity of graphemes in Dongba characters is bigger, yet ability to construct characters lower, than other scripts in the same type.Those graphemes have features such as obviously graphical, rich meanings expressed, and numerous syllables, as well as a great deal of allographemes and identicalness. Affixing graphemes and defbrmable graphemes as well as basic graphemes reflect the prunitivity of Dongba characters.In Chapter II, from the angle of view of dynamic analysis, we divide all graphemes into stable graphemes and active ones to analyze their functions on expressing pronunciations and meanings, as well as the features on structure levels of active graphemes.During the forming process from graphemes to characters, both stable graphemes and active graphemes are character-formation units at the level expressing pronunciations and meanings. Stable graphemes and active graphemes separately bear the function to express pronunciations and meanings of characters, one in dominant state while another recessive, or both in dominant state while the relationship between each other turn out to be primary and secondary. The latter situation is more usual than the former one.Stable graphemes and active ones have substitutional functions besides that expressing pronunciations and meanings. In stable graphemes, it is shown as substituting the structure of one grapheme with that of another. While in active graphemes, it is shown as substituting the structure of one constituent element withthat of another. All these substitutions show determinate stability. Very few stable graphemes have ornamental functions.Dongba characters have only 64 active graphemes, majority of which have a compound structure with fairly low ability to form characters, which shows it is still under developing.From the angle of view of synchronic analysis, in Chapter ffl, we make conclusion that there are three ways, which are single-grapheme method, adding-affixes method, and compound-graphemes method to form a single character.Single-grapheme characters formed by these graphemes mostly come from the direct trace following the image of things or changes. Characters formed by deformable graphemes can also express action, state and amount.Affixes in Dongba characters can be added not only on a large quantity of single-graphemes, but also on compound ones, while in ancient Han Scripts can not, which is a complementary way when assembled determinative signs can not fully express meanings.We ca...