香港粤语「扯」的语义演变及其与流行语「Chur」的关联探析

An Analysis of the Semantic Evolution of “Che” in Hong Kong Cantonese and Its Relation to the Slang “Chur”

摘要: 本文从语义、声韵及社会文化方面，探析香港粤语「扯」字的独有语义发展及其与香港流行语「Chur」之紧密关系。本文首先剖析「扯」字在隐喻、转喻及旧词新义等词义引申机制下的多维语义演变，继而详考多个香港独有「扯」义项，如猛烈抽吸、资源耗尽、起动、迅猛单向移动、持续疼痛及泛指兴奋等的语义发展过程。然后，本文借大量生活语料，系统考察并疏理出「Chur」的六个义项，揭示其与「扯」字诸义高度契合、密切相关。进而，本文再借大量粤词实例，论证粤语口语中韵母/œ/音化现象非常普遍，最后综合诸证，提出「Chur」应是由香港粤语「扯」字音变演化而成。

Abstract: This essay, from the perspectives of semantic, phonological, and sociocultural, examines the unique semantic development of the Cantonese term “Che” in Hong Kong and its intricate relationship with the local slang term “Chur”. The paper first analyzes the diverse semantic developments of “Che” under mechanisms including metaphor, metonymy, and neology. It then offers a thorough examination of the Hong Kong Cantonese-specific semantics of “Che”, such as intense breathing, exhaustion, activation, rapid unidirectional movement, chronic pain and generalized excitement. Moreover, through extensive everyday examples, this study systematically investigates and identifies six meanings of “Chur” and demonstrates their strong correspondence and close association with the various semantics of “Che”. Furthermore, this essay supports the argument by highlighting, with numerous examples, the prevalent vowel /œ/ modification in colloquial Cantonese. Finally, the findings are synthesized to propose that “Chur” is probably a result of the phonological evolution of the Cantonese term “Che”.