An explanation of issues related to modern Chinese heteromorphic words and homophone synonyms

Huanxian No. 1 Middle School? Liu Xuzhou

In the chapters on glyphs and synonyms reviewed in the high school Chinese system, many teachers may have encountered this problem: although some words have simple meanings, But there are many ways to write them; some words have the same pronunciation and similar shapes, but their meanings are different. Coupled with the inconsistency in the writing and annotation of these words in various versions of dictionaries, it makes people feel that the knowledge system of these two chapters is relatively confusing. If some of these issues cannot be clearly explained, it will not only affect students' cognition, but also Influence students' learning emotions. In view of this, the author attempts to explain some of these issues.

1. What are heteromorphic words

The general definition of "heteromorphic words" is words that coexist and are used in society, have the same pronunciation and synonyms but different writing forms. Most academics agree with this definition, but some scholars object to it. The main reasons are: first, using the same meaning as the criterion for classifying heteromorphic words will confuse heteromorphic words with synonyms; second, some heteromorphic words have different pronunciations, and whether the pronunciation is the same cannot be used as the criterion for classifying heteromorphic words. Based on the above suggestions, I think the following definition can be given for heteromorphic words: words that coexist and are used in society, with the same meaning but messy and different writing forms. This not only distinguishes it from synonyms, but also makes the same pronunciation no longer a condition for determining whether it is a heteromorphic word.

2. Reasons for the emergence of heteromorphic words

Alien words have existed since ancient times. The reasons for the emergence of heteromorphic words are relatively complex. In summary, there are mainly the following reasons: 1. Synonyms Common, such as "talent/talent" (talent and talent have similar meanings, both are common); second, radical assimilation, such as "horse bee/ant bee" (horse is influenced by bee, written as ant); third, synonymous and false, Such as "delay/carry" (爈, Dantongjia, both are common); 4. Random continuous, such as "confused/confused"; 5. Interference from different bodies, such as "mortar/mortar"; 6. Different reasons, such as "pupil/ "pupil person" (the writer's understanding of things is different, resulting in different writing).

3. The significance and current situation of the arrangement of heteromorphic words

From the examples of heteromorphic words listed above, we can see that the large number of heteromorphic words has caused the confusion in Chinese usage. One of the main reasons why characters are confusing is that if they cannot be sorted out, it will not only cause difficulties in our Chinese research, but also make us lose the basis for using characters in our daily lives. Throughout history, from King Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty to the "Shi Zhou Pian" to Qin Shihuang's adoption of "writing with the same text", from the Han Dynasty's "Shuowen Jiezi" to the Tang Dynasty's Zhengzi stele, governments and literary workers in different periods have worked for the creation of Chinese characters. We have made unremitting efforts in the standardization work. After the founding of New China, the party and the country also attached great importance to the standardization of Chinese characters, formulated a series of guidelines and policies, and promulgated various regulations. On December 19, 2001, the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission jointly released the "First Batch of Alien Words Collection List". Based on the three principles of "universality, rationale, and systematicity", this table organizes 338 groups of heteromorphic words that are frequently used in written Mandarin and have obvious public choices, and provides the recommended word forms for each group of heterogeneous words. . Although this compilation is only a recommended trial specification, it has aroused good response in the society since its announcement. The arrangement of these special-shaped words gives everyone a basis for the use of related words, facilitates the people's language life, and to a certain extent ends the phenomenon of relatively confusing use of some words. In view of this response, on August 15, 2003, the Proofreading Research Committee of the China Publishing Association, the Chinese Language Newspapers and Periodicals Association, the Research Group on Irregular Words of the State Language Commission, and the Editorial Board of "Yi Wen Che Zi" compiled and released the "Second Batch of Collection of Irregular Words" Table" (draft), this time there are 264 groups of heteromorphic words compiled. However, the recommended word forms of this batch of heteromorphic words have not yet been formally established, and are currently in the stage of soliciting public opinions.

4. How to deal with heteromorphic words in teaching

Since the large number of heteromorphic words is a main reason for confusion in Chinese word usage, then, in daily teaching, we should Students are called upon to use recommended word forms of heteromorphic words as much as possible and to use less non-recommended word forms. However, in terms of specific implementation, the "First Batch of Different-Shaped Words Collection List" and the "Second Batch of Different-Shaped Words Collection List" must also be treated differently. The "First Batch of Different-Shaped Words Collection List" has been released by the country's highest language and writing agency, and we should implement it to the letter.

The "Second Batch of Alien Words Collection List" has not yet been released by the relevant national authoritative departments. We should actively participate in the discussion, but we do not need to resolutely implement it. Moreover, during the compilation process of this table, there are still considerable disputes over the establishment of recommended word forms for some words, and some involve some principled issues. For example, the table recommends the word form of the idiom "a dark crossing of Chencang" as "a dark crossing of Chencang" based on the main difference in meaning between "du" and "du" in modern Chinese. Although this sorting strictly reflects the "justification" principle of sorting out heteromorphic words, it is a kind of tampering with historical documents. How we should organize this type of words still needs further discussion. Different writing methods can be allowed in teaching.

5. The difference between homophone synonyms and heteromorphic words

Synonyms are a very common concept used in Chinese language learning. As the name suggests, words with similar meanings are synonyms. Some synonyms have the same pronunciation, which we call "homophone synonyms". Most homophones and heteromorphic words have the same pronunciation and similar word forms. In linguistic research, the two are easily confused with each other, but if you look carefully, the difference between them is quite obvious. "Homophone synonyms" have the same sound but different meanings, and "different-shaped words" presuppose that they have exactly the same meaning; "homophone synonyms" bear different linguistic meanings and functions and are irreplaceable for each other, while "different-shaped words" can replace each other. For example, "engagement/engagement" is a heteromorphic word, while "formulation/formulation" is a synonym. Of course, due to the complexity of the Chinese vocabulary system, some synonyms and heteromorphic words may overlap. For example, "commemoration/commemoration", for a long time, they can be used to express the meaning of "remembering". In this sense, they are heteromorphic words. The "First Batch of Alien Words Collection List" analyzes them in this sense. After sorting it out, the recommended word form giving this meaning is "memorial". But on the other hand, the word "remembrance" can be used to mean not only "missing", but also "thinking about, thinking about". Therefore, the word "remembrance" in the sense of "remembering" is a group of heteromorphic words with "commemoration", while in the sense of "thinking about, caring about", it is a synonym with "commemoration". Although this compilation of heteromorphic words recommends the standard word form in the sense of "missing", it does not end the fact that they continue to be synonyms. (See page 617 of "Standardized Dictionary of Modern Chinese")

6. How to help students review homophone synonyms in teaching

Among synonyms, the proportion of homophone synonyms is not very high, but this Because synonyms have the same pronunciation, they are easily confused in daily language use. In college entrance examination questions, such words are tested more frequently. In teaching, we must pay enough attention to them. In order to help students better master these synonyms, in the past review of senior high school students, we usually sorted out and summarized the differences between these synonyms from different angles, and then asked students to memorize them. For example, we summarize the main differences between the synonyms of "outbreak/outbreak" based on the focus of the word meaning and the applicable objects: "Outbreak" focuses on the suddenness of the occurrence, and is mostly used for floods, infectious diseases, etc.; "outbreak" focuses on the occurrence of Violent, mostly used in volcanoes, major social events, etc.; the main differences between the synonyms of "communication/collusion" are summarized based on the emotional color: "communication" is an open exchange, a neutral word; "collusion" is a secret collusion, which contains derogatory. Based on the grammatical function, the differences between the synonyms of "must/necessary" are summarized: "must" is an adverb and "necessary" is a verb. I think this kind of detailed sorting not only maximizes the exploration and amplification of the differences between word meanings, making the meaning characteristics of each synonym more prominent, but also reflects the increasingly rigorous characteristics of modern linguistics, which is conducive to students' memorization and language comprehension. Standard, the use of this method is both effective and necessary, and we can continue to use it.

7. Is it possible to sort out the meanings of homonymous synonyms?

When summarizing the meaning and usage of synonyms, we noticed a phenomenon: some synonyms exist in some senses There are big differences, but some meanings overlap with each other. This phenomenon should attract our attention, because to a certain extent, this phenomenon is also a cause of confusion in language use. Regarding this chaotic situation, can we also organize them in the same way as we organize heteromorphic words? I dare not draw any inferences about this, but we can definitely put forward some situations for everyone to discuss. Here I will list two situations:

The first situation is that the same group of synonyms covers some meanings.

For example, in the groups of words "dialectical/dialectical", "vigor/exerting", "shady/cool", "wretched/shrinking" and "be a guest/be a guest", the first word has one meaning, and the second word has two meanings. But both meanings have a meaning that overlaps with the meaning of the first word. For example, the annotation of "to be a guest" is: to visit relatives and friends; while the annotation of "to be a guest" is ① the same as "to be a guest", and ② to live in a different place.

The second case is that each word in the same group contains multiple meanings, but it also contains a ***meaning. For example, in the words "spread/spread/many", the meaning of "spread" mainly refers to plants such as vines extending and spreading around; the meaning of "spread" mainly refers to the water filling and spreading in all directions; the meaning of "many" mainly means Refers to the extension of mountains, rivers, principles, etc. into the distance. In these senses, the difference between them is clear, but if it is used to express the extension or expansion of other things, we don’t know which word is better to use, so we have to choose it at will according to our personal preferences. As a result, these three words represent six things. Three of the meanings are repeated.

For the first case, I think it is completely possible to cancel the meaning of the second word that has exactly the same meaning as the first word, so that the two words can each assume a relatively concentrated meaning, thus This makes the ideographic functions of the two words more reasonable and the pragmatic characteristics of the two words more obvious. But I really can't think of a more feasible solution on how to deal with the second situation. Colleagues may wish to provide valuable suggestions.

2012/8/13