A Study Of Non-single-character Structures Of Naxi Dongba Characters

This dissertation takes as its research object the non-single-character structures(hereinafter referred to as NSCS) from such materials as Records of Naxi Ideographs,Research on"The White Bat Learned From Experts"Written in Naxi Hieroglyphs andResearch on"Ancient Anecdotes"Written in Lijiang Mexie Ideographs. The authorfirst divides NSCS in typological terms into four kinds, namely, hewen, zizu, ziduanand compound graphs (CG for short), and then makes a systematic exploration of thefour's components, pronunciation and their corresponding relations with phoneticunits.Except appendix,it consists of six parts.Chapter 1 Introduction1.The author first explains why the present research topic has been selected onthe basis of introducing some neglected cases of Dongba characters in the presentI iterature.2. Then the paper from three aspects reviews the research history and actualityrelated to the present study.3. It also introduces the extant research materials about Dongba characters. Onthe basis of making clear the material-selecting criteria of our study, we introduce inparticular three of them, that is, Records of Naxi Ideographs, Research on"The WhiteBat Learned From Experts"Written in Naxi Hieroglyphs and Research on"AncientAnecdotes"Written in Lijiang Mexie Ideographs.Chapter 2 The Meaning of Naxi Dongba NSCS & Related Terms1.Dongba single characters refer to the structures that can be analyzed in termsof six traditional ways of character formation.2. In Dongba characters, apart from single characters, there are also pictures andso-called quasi-characters that are similar to both characters and pictures, but strictlyspeaking do not belong to either. When pictures, quasi-characters and singlecharacters are mixed in use, we call it non-single-character structures. NSCS for short.3. In this paper, some borrowed terms, viz. formation, component and component function, from Chinese-character-formation Studies are introduced andhow they are to be used in the case of NSCS is exemplified as well.Chapter 3 Research on hewen in Naxi Dongba Characters1.Hewen refers to the case when two or more characters are written in acombined fashion, which can express the same meaning as expressed otherwise with aword, an utterance or even a longer phonetic unit. Hewen's pronunciation is thecombination of that of component characters. Judging from its form, the combinationis as closely-structured as one character.2. In terms of the number of component characters, there are two-, three-, four-andfive-character hewen. Two-character hewen number 160, accounting for 88.4% ofthe total.3. In Records of Naxi Ideographs, there are 2288 graphs, of which 160 aretwo-character hewen, 15 three-character hewen, 4 four-character hewen and 2five-character hewen. There are 181 hewen in total, accounting for 7.9%.4. In terms of the structure of the component single character, the characterscreated in six traditional formation ways and Geba characters can all be used ashewen components. Theoretically speaking, any kind of these components cancombine with other components and form hewen. But in reality we have only seen 25kinds of combinations in our materials.5. Hewen is somewhat similar to huiyi characters and xingsheng characters interms of component number and formation fashion. But after thorough study we thinkthat hewen has a totally different structure from huiyi and xingsheng characters. Theymust be strictly differentiated.6. A comparative study between hewen of Dongba characters and hewen ofChinese characters proves that the former is much richer than the latter in terms offorms and contents. That has resulted from the phase in which Dongba characters liein the history of character evolution.Chapter 4 Research on zizu & ziduan of Naxi Dongba Characters(â… ) Research on zizu1.The definition of zizu: When two or more characters are combined together in a certain way to transcribe an utterance or an even longer phonetic unit (some cannot betranscribed), we call the combination zizu.2. According to the number of its components, zizu can be divided into differenttypes, ranging from two-character to ten-character ones except nine-character zizu thatis not found in our materials. Ten-character zizu has got the most components of all.3. The components of zizu can perform three functions, namely signifyingmeaning, signifying pronunciation, and signifying both meaning & sound.4. According to the positional relations between its components, zizu can bedivided into close type and loose type.5. According to the structural relations between its components, zizu can bedivided into unmotivated and motivated.6. According to whether there are silent components or not, zizu can be dividedinto full-pronounced and part-pronounced.7. According to the components' frequency of being pronounced in thecombination, zizu can be divided into"one character for one pronunciation"and"onecharacter for multi pronunciation".8. According to the length of phonetic units transcribed, zizu can be divided intosingle-utterance, double-utterance and multi-utterance type.(â…¡) Research on ziduan1.The definition of ziduan: When two or more characters are combined togetherto transcribe an utterance or clusters of utterances (some cannot be transcribed), wecall the combination ziduan. The only difference from zizu is that the components ofziduan are usually combined in an irregular way.2. In terms of the number of its components, ziduan can be divided into differenttypes, ranging from two-character to eleven-character one except ten-character ziduanthat is not found in our materials. The eleven-character ziduan has the mostcomponents of all.3. The components of ziduan can perform three functions, namely signifyingmeaning, signifying pronunciation, and signifying both meaning & sound.4. According to whether there are silent components or not. ziduan can be divided into full-pronounced and part-pronounced.5. According to the components' frequency of being pronounced in thecombination, ziduan can be divided into"one character for one pronunciation"and"one character for multi pronunciations".6. According to the corresponding relations between ziduan and the phoneticunits it transcribes, ziduan can be divided into single-utterance ziduan,double-utterance ziduan and multi-utterance ziduan.Chapter 5 Research on Compound Graphs of Naxi Dongba Characters1.The definition of compound graphs: when a combination includes pictures orquasi-characters, we call the combination compound graphs (CG for shorthereinafter).2. There are three types of CG components, namely character components,non-character components and quasi-character components. Of the three, the secondone can be subdivided into picture components and sign components.3. CG can be divided into three kinds, namely, mono-case, bi-case andmulti-case.4. CG components can reflect both positional and behavioral relations betweenactual things.5. CG components can perform five functions, namely, signifying shape,signifying meaning, signifying pronunciation, marking and signifying both meaning& sound.6. According to whether the components are all pronounced or not, CG can bedivided into full-pronounced and part-pronounced.7. According to the character components' frequency of being pronounced in thecombination, CG can be divided into"one character for one pronunciation"and"onecharacter for multi pronunciations".8. According to the corresponding relations between CG and the phonetic unitstranscribed, CG can be divided into single-utterance, double-utterance andmulti-utterance.Chapter 6 Conclusion 1.The present study sums up the characteristics of non-single-characterstructures (NSCS) in terms of their components, pronunciations and theircorresponding relations with phonetic units.2. It probes into the reason why NSCS came into being from two aspects, namely,the relics of primitive pictures and phases of character development.3. It also discusses the significance of research on NSCS from the perspectives ofDongba characters proper, general study of characters and comparative studies ofcharacters.Appendix1.All hewen in Records of Naxi Ideographs, with phonetic transcriptions andexpository notes.2. All zizu, ziduan and CG in Research on"The White Bat Learned FromExperts"Written in Naxi Hieroglyphs and Research on"Ancient Anecdotes"Writtenin Lijiang Mexie Ideographs, with phonetic transcriptions, literal translations andparaphrases.Being the first comprehensive and systematic research on NSCS of Naxi Dongbacharacters, the present study is original in terms of1.The demarcation of single characters and non-single characters.2. The division of NSCS into four types, namely, hewen, zizu, ziduan and CG..3.The comprehensive and systematic research on the components,pronunciation and corresponding relations with phonetic units of the fourtypes of NSCS.4. The arrangement and demarcation of character components, non-charactercomponents and quasi-character components according to their developmentalmaturity.5. The arrangement and demarcation of hewen, zizu. ziduan and CG according totheir developmental maturity.