上古漢語“也”“殹”“旃 ”的地理分佈及其演變補論

Abstract

In Old Chinese, “也 yě” is a frequent particle and normally appears in sentences as a predicate marker or after phrases and clauses as a topic marker. Particles “殹 yì” and “旃 shā” are dialect variations of “也 yě.” “殹 yì” is used in 秦 Qin. Ohnishi (1998) researched excavated documents from Warring States period to Western Han Dynasty and revealed that in the unification of Chinese writing systems by 秦 Qin, “殹 yì” and “也 yě” had a complex process of replacement. 秦 Qin forced conquered regions to use “殹 yì” and stop using “也 yě” first, but later “也 yě” became an official word before the era of 二世皇帝 (秦二世 Qin Er Shi). “旃 shā” appears in excavated documents which are closely related to 三晉 San Jin (or 中原 Zhong Yuan). It might have been originally used in this area; “也 ye” is used in 楚 Chu, 齊 Qi, and 燕 Yan. “旃 shā” also appears in excavated documents of 吳 Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period. We consider that 吳 Wu borrowed the particle from 晉 Jin in spite of the geographical distance, because 晉 Jin and 吳 Wu had a close relationship to compete against 楚 Chu at that time. During the Warring States Period, “也 ye” was assumed to replace “旃 shā” in the countries of 三晉 San Jin, that is, another particle replacement in eastern regions before the replacement of “殹 yì” and “也 yě” by 秦 Qin. Particles “也 yě, ” “旃 shā, ” and “殹 yì” represent regional diversity and interaction among regions in Old Chinese, including a dynamic process of change and its complex motivation.