On the Nature of Unmotivated Components in Modern Chinese Characters

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15210%2F19%3A73597570" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15210/19:73597570 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.36824/2018-graf-slam" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.36824/2018-graf-slam</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.36824/2018-graf-slam" target="_blank" >10.36824/2018-graf-slam</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

On the Nature of Unmotivated Components in Modern Chinese Characters

Original language description

From an etymological perspective, the graphics of Chinese characters are in general supposed to encode at least semantic, but primarily both semantic and phonetic information concerning the recorded linguistic unit. This attribute of the Chinese writing system is often pointed out, even when referring to the composition of the graphemes used in modern Chinese signary. A careful look, however, at the individual characters suggests that, in view of the current meaning or sound of the characters, the relationship between the graphic and linguistic structure might be partly or entirely missing. This means, in other words, that apart from semantically and phonetically motivated components, unmotivated constituents can be identified in the composition of modern Chinese characters as well. Although the phenomenon of unmotivated constituents has been discussed in a number of grammatological studies, it is often viewed as a peripheral issue. This paper argues that these units deserve much more attention than they have so far received. Based on a new model of the classification system for Chinese characters, it demonstrates that there are two different types of unmotivated constituents to be distinguished, and thus it provides deeper insight into the characteristic features of the modern Chinese writing system.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

C - Chapter in a specialist book

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60202 - Specific languages

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2019

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Book/collection name

Graphemics in the 21st Century

ISBN

978-2-9570549-0-9

Number of pages of the result

18

Pages from-to

209-226

Number of pages of the book

398

Publisher name

Fluxus Editions

Place of publication

Brest

UT code for WoS chapter

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