A Study Of Naxi Dongba Pictophonetic Characters And Its Significance In Written Linguistics

This paper, based on a survey of Records of Naxi Pictographs, Naxi Ideographs and Transcriptions Characters Dictionary, and Dongba Scriptures, namely, Gu Shi Ji, Chong Ban Chong Zuo, is an attempt to explore the pictophonetic characters therein. Featured with synchronic and diachronic perspectives, this paper tries to trace the development of Dongba characters of Naxi by a systematic research of the pictophonetic characters of Dongba as well as a detailed analysis of the interrelationship between characters and languages.Based on the researches done before, this paper deciphers the pictophonetic characters in the following aspects:1.To define notions concerning with Dongba pictophonetic characters.This paper is to discuss pictophonetic characters, quasi-associative compounds and pictophonetic characters, quasi-pictophonetic characters, the original form of pictophonetic characters, fully-developed pictophonetic characters, etc.2.To classify statistics compiled from the Dongba pictophonetic characters.This paper collects all the pictophonetic characters in Records of Naxi Pictograph, Naxi Ideographs and Transcriptions Characters Dictionary and arrives a conclusion that pictophonetic characters as a system is historical. The system starts with the quasi-associative and pictophonetic characters, quasi-pictophonetic characters, the original form of pictophonetic characters, which gradually evolves into various pictophonetic characters.3.To analyse the usage of pictophonetic characters in Gu Shi Ji, Chong Ban Chong Zuo.The paper, through a detailed examination of the types, number and the development of pictophonetic characters in Gu Shi Ji, and Chong Ban Chong Zuo, tries to assert that in a pictophonetic character, the symbol of form and pronunciation may alter owing to the arrangement of the whole scripture. The analysis also indicates that several characters may share the same symbol of form or pronunciation.4. To investigate the features of the symbol of form and pronunciation in Dongba pictophonetic characters as well as their relation from a static point of view.Generally, little change occurs to the symbols of form, which however has already fixed. The phonetic symbols, on the other hand, is more flexible and at once arbitrary. From time to time, the position of forms varies according to the degree of resemblance. The more easier a symbol can be categorized, the larger space it would occupy and vice versa.5.To find out the similarities and the differences of the Dongba pictophonetic characters and the ancient pictophonetic characters of Chinese by comparison.This paper studies the features of symbols of form and pronunciation, the way it evolves and other societal factors so as to demonstrate the similarities and the differences of the Dongba pictophonetic characters and the ancient pictophonetic characters of Chinese. Thereby the development of ancient Chinese characters carved on tortoise shells or animal bones and Dongba pictophonetic characters of Naxi can be traced. Dongba pictophonetic characters, early in time, is different from ancient Chinese characters as far as the way of development is concerned, which also can account for the status-quo of Dongba pictophonetic characters.6.To trace the development of Dongba pictophonetic characters.The paper categorizes the development of Dongba pictophonetic characters from sychronic and diachronic perspectives and maps out the process as a means to reflect the evolution of Dongba characters. Dongba characters, as a transition from ideographic to ideograhic-phonetic characters, was not developed in a balanced manner. The appearance of Dongba pictophonetic characters does not necessarily signify that they have achieved the highest level, for Dongba characters encounter variegated limitations.7.The significance of Dongba pictophonetic characters and its contribution to the history of written linguistics.From a macroscopic view, the research of Dongba pictophonetic characters has great significance for the study of history of written linguistics, general written linguistics and research of Chinese characters.