On The Beijing Dialect Terms In The Works Of Lao She

Lao She is a great wordsmith in modern literary circles, who has a unique style ofhis own in mastering Beijing dialect terms in his works. The thesis aims to study theBeijing dialect terms in Lao She’s four works,“Rickshaw Boy”,“Longxugou Ditch”,“Teahouse” and “Beneath the Red Banner”. The four writings describe storieshappened in Beijing with genuine Beijing dialect which is very typical andrepresentative to study Beijing dialect terms.The numerous Beijing dialect terms in Lao She’s works can be divided intoeleven types according to the grammar function and possess the characteristics ofincorporative word meanings and stability, which reflect their unique charm thatdifferent types’ dialect terms possess various percentages and have certain feature andregularity. Meanwhile, the thesis focuses on the problem of diction choice in thedialect terms in his works.Beijing dialect terms in Laoshe’s works are in four categories: direct use withoutexplanation, semantic explanation in the context, use of dialect terms together withthe corresponding Mandarin terms, and annotations in the text. The terms in the worksare unique in their rhetorical functions which are manifested by the plentiful use ofretroflex suffixation in phonetics as well as the abundant use of figures of speech inrhetoric which is rustic in style and is significant in the presentation of the productionand life with local color, the depiction of the social and cultural properties and theportray of the characters.For readers in different dialect districts, the semantic intelligibilities of theBeijing dialect terms are various. Through sample survey, the semantic intelligibilityof the readers in different dialect districts and the readers of different ages in the samedistrict are sorted out, and the dialect terms of different intelligibilities aresummarized and analyzed. That’s the innovation of the thesis.Lao She’s view of language obviously varies before and after the founding ofP.R.C: more dialect terms, high liveness and intense Beijing-style dialect before thefounding of P.R.C; less dialect term dialects, low liveness and light Beijing-styledialect after the founding of P.R.C. More dialect terms are used due to his life experiences and his pursuit to the art of using vernacular while less dialect terms areappeared in his works resulted from the factors of politics, environments and policiesof popularizing Mandarain. Therefore, understanding Lao She’s view of language canbe of great help to our creation works on dialect terms.