Research On Naming Motivation In The Musical Instruments Class Words Of Shuowen Erya

Researching on naming motivation in the words is one of the important aspects of the study of language since ancient times. The musical instruments are the products of the productivity development to a certain period, in this way, the musical instruments words were generated in a particular cultural background, and most of them have a foundation. The ancients also recorded much thoughts about motivation and left clue to us. All of these offers the potential for our research. Based on the 56 musical instruments words in Shuowen, Erya as the research object, using the experience from the theory of modern linguistics, exploring the motivation of 56 musical instruments words. And then, to summarize the patterns of the motivation, analyze the rule, explain the features of the musical instruments words are named. The paper is divided into five parts:The first part, introduction. Briefly illustrate the basis of the article, the purpose of research, research tasks and the methods. Then summarize the research situations about the motivation and the motivation of the musical instruments words both ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign.The second part, determine the scope of research, and classify the musical instruments words. Select the 56 musical instruments words in Shuowen, Erya as the research object, classify these words on the basis of playing method.The third part, to explore the motivation of the musical instruments words which recorded in Shuowen, Erya. To elaborate the methods which are used in searching for naming motivation, clearly explain the standards of cognates, both pronunciation and meaning. Comprehensively and systematically explore the naming motivation of the musical instruments class words. By using the method of seme analysis to analyze the naming motivation.The fourth part, The naming patterns and naming principle of the musical instruments class words which recorded in Shuowen, Erya. According to analyze the naming motivation of the musical instruments class words, find that the ancients mainly named the musical instruments by means of association, including metaphor and metonymy. The metonymy association for a small proportion, the metaphor association accounts for a large proportion, related to voice, image, function, reflects different angle. The voice metaphor is divided into four parts. The image metaphor is divided into four parts: volume metaphor, form metaphor,spatial metaphor, container metaphor. And the metaphor is the main reason of the musical instruments class words. The metonymy refers to behavior. By using the relevant theory of cognitive linguistics to analyzes the characteristic of naming: intuitive, prominence, experience, national culture.The fifth part, conclusion. To summarize the results of research, and states the deficiency briefly.