“人”形构件字语义扩展中的隐喻转喻

Metaphor and Metonymy in the Semantic Extension of “Human-Shaped” Component Characters

摘要: 人形构件是现代汉字构形表意体系中最基础、使用频次较高的构件，汉字合体字的语义扩展大多依托构件之间的语义组合。本文以认知语言学隐喻与转喻理论为基础，以通用规范现代汉字为研究范围，聚焦“人”形构件在构意过程中的语义扩展路径，剖析其与其他构件组合表意时隐喻、转喻两种认知机制，厘清语义扩展过程中的隐喻与转喻类型。研究表明，人形构件语义扩展以人体认知原型为根基，转喻依靠认知邻近性实现域内语义指代，隐喻依靠认知相似性完成跨域语义映射；二者相互配合，共同推动汉字本义向引申义、抽象义逐层演化。立足构件认知规律，可为对外汉语汉字教学提供全新教学思路。

Abstract: Human-shaped components are among the most fundamental and frequently used components in the ideographic system of modern Chinese characters. The semantic extension of compound Chinese characters largely relies on the semantic combinations between their components. Based on the theories of metaphor and metonymy in cognitive linguistics, this study takes the standardized modern Chinese characters listed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters as its research scope and focuses on the semantic extension paths of human-shaped components in character formation. It analyzes the cognitive mechanisms of metaphor and metonymy involved in the semantic construction of human-shaped components when combined with other components, and clarifies the types of metaphorical and metonymic extensions in the process of semantic development. The study shows that the semantic extension of human-shaped components is rooted in the human cognitive prototype. Metonymy realizes intra-domain semantic reference through cognitive contiguity, while metaphor accomplishes cross-domain semantic mapping through cognitive similarity. The two mechanisms interact and jointly promote the gradual evolution of Chinese character meanings from original meanings to extended and abstract meanings. By exploring the cognitive principles of character components, this study provides new approaches for Chinese character teaching in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.