Foreign-inspired Chinese terms : a cognitive semantic approach 9780773426207, 0773426205

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Foreign-inspired Chinese terms : a cognitive semantic approach
 9780773426207, 0773426205

Table of contents :
1. Foreign-Inspired Words Chinese Terms and other Borrowings
2. Terminology of Chinese Borrowings
3. Cognitive Semantic Approach
4. Categorization of Chinese Borrowings
5. Motivation and a Semantic Model
6. Sensory Perceptual Production
7. Metaphorical Production
8. Implications and Directions.

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FOREIGN-INSPIRED CHINESE TERMS

A Cognitive Selnantic Approach

Suogui Li

With a Foreword by

Leonard E. Doucette

The Edwin Mellen Press Le\\;stonoQueenstonoLampeter

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Li, Suogui. Foreign-inspired Chinese terms: a cognitive semantic approach / Suogui Li ; with a foreword by Leonard E. Doucette. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-2620-7 (hardcover) ISBN-10: 0-7734-2620-5 (hardcover) l. Chinese language--Foreign elements. 2. Chinese language--Foreign words and phrases. l. Title. PLl281.L519142012 495.1 '24--dc23 2011050534

lIors serie. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Front cover photo: [2011] VolsKinvols, Rainbaw Circles. Image from Bigstock.com Author photo by Image Master Photo Studio, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Copyright

©

2012

Suogui Li

All rights reserved. For information contact The Edwin Mellen Press Box 450 Lewiston, New York USA 14092-0450

The Edwin Mellen Press Box 67 Queenston, Ontario CANADA LOS 1LO

The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd. Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8LT Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to the memory of my parents, Defu Li *~:m (1919--2000)

Jiao Wang

.:Ei1Ji:

(1924-1999)

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD by Leonard E. Doucette .................................................................. .. AUTHOR'S PREFACE ..................................................................................... "iii ACKNOWLEDGEI\,ffiNTS ................................................................................... v

1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1 INTRODUCTION .. ··· ................................................................ 1 1. 2 .FOREIGN-INSPIRED CHINESE TERMS AND OTHER BORROWINGS .......... 2 1. 3 THE COGNITIVE ApPROACH···· .. ······· ......................................... 5 1. 4 DATA AND METHODOLOGy· .. ······ .............................................. 9

1. 5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDy····· .. ·· .. ·················· .. ··········· .. ···· .... 10 1. 6 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY'" ............................................... 11 2. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE 2.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................... ·13 2.2 TERMINOLOGY OF CHINESE BORROWiNGS··································· 13 2.3 MEANING OF CHINESE TERMINOLOGy···· .. ····· '" .......................... 15 2.3. 1 Intention and Extension .. · .............................................. ·15

2. 3. 2 The User and the Place of Usage" ...................................... 16 2. 3. 3 The Historical Evolution of Terminology···· .......................... 16 2.4 CLASSIFICATION OF CHINESE BORROWINGS ................................. 18 2.4.1 Native Scholars' Classification ......................................... ··19

2. 4. 2 Non-native Scholars' Classification····· .. ········· .. ·········· ........ 24 2. 4. 3 New Classifications······ .. · .. ······· ....................................... 27 2. 5 RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS ·· .. ····· .. ····· .. ·····································30 2.6 EARLY RESEARCH CLUE FOR FOREIGN-INSPIRED CHINESE TERMS ...... 36 2. 7 SOME DICTIONARIES OF LOAN WORDs·· .. ······· .. ······· ............... ·····38 3. THEORETICAL BASIS AND METHODOLOGY 3. 1 INTRODUCTION······ ................................... '" .. ············· .. ········41 3. 2 COGNITIVE SEMANTIC ApPROACH ............................................. 41 3.3 ASSUMPTIONS'" '" ......................................................... , ..... ··45 3.4 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION .............................................. 51

3. 4. 1 Observation .................................................................. 52 3. 4. 2 Secondary Data······· ....................................................... 54 3.5 METHODS OF DATA ANALySIS···· .. ·· .. ····· .. ··········· .... ··················· 57 3. 5. 1 Categorization··· .. · ......................................................... 57

3. 5. 2 Embodied Experiences······ ............................................. ··60

3. 5. 3 Image Schemas' ............................................................. ·61 3.5. 4 Mapping·······································································62 4. CATEGORIZATION OF CHINESE BORROWINGS 4.1 INTRODliCTION ................................................................... ·64 4. 2 CONCEPTliAL AND LINGlilSTIC CATEGORIES'" .............................. 64 4.3 PROTOTYPE THEORY'" ......................................................... ··69 4. 3. 1 Principles of Categorization .............................................. 73 4.3.2 Typicality of Categories of Chinese Borrowings····················· 74 4.3.3 Fuzziness of Categories of Chinese Borrowings······················ 75 4.3.4 Abstraction of Chinese Borrowings ................................... ··75 4. 3. 5 Prototype Structure of Chinese Borrowings .......................... 76 4. 3. 6 Prototype Effects" ........................................................ ··76 4. 3. 7 Encyclopedic View of Chinese Borrowings' .................. ·········78 4. 4 LEVELS OF CATEGORIZATION OF BORROWiNGS····· ....................... ·79 4. 5 BASIC CATEGORIES OF BORROWiNGS···· .. ···· .. ······ .. '" ................. ··82 4.5.1 Basic Category Vocabulary··· .. · ................................... · .. · .. 83 5. MOTIVATION AND A SEMANTIC MODEL OF FOREIGN-INSPIRED CHINESE TERMS 5. 1 INTRODliCTION .................................... " ............................. ··86 5.2 MOTIVATION OF BORROWINGS·· .... ·· ...... · .. ··· .. ···················· .... ···· 86 5.3 MORPHEME AND MODEL OF COMPOllNDS····· .. ···· .. ······ .. ··· .... · .. ······ 90 5.3.1 Indigenous and Foreign Morphemes'" ................................. 90 5.3.2 Simple Words and Compounds .. ·· .. ·················· .. ··· .. ······ .. ···92 5.3.3 Inner Form of Words ..................................................... ··95 5.4 COMPOliND MODEL··········· .... · .... ····· .. ········· .. ········· .. ······· .... ··· 97 5.5 MODEL OF FOREIGN-INSPIRED CHINESE TERMS··········· ................. ·99 5.6 CATEGORIZATION IN THE FICT MODEL ...... · .. · ............ · ............ ·· 102 5.6.1 Generic Category .. ·· .. · .... ··· .. ······ .. ··· .. ··········· .... ···· .. ········ 103 5. 6. 2 Perceptual Salience····· .................................................. 106 5.6.3 Family Resemblances···· .... ··· .. · ....................................... 107 5. 6. 4 Distinctive Properties .. ···· ............................................... 109 5.6.5 Categories of Foreign-inspired Chinese Terms .. · .... · .... · ........ III 6. SENSORY PERCEPTUAL PRODUCTJON 6. 1 INTRODliCTION ....... .. . . . .. . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ... 116 6.2 COGNITIVE VIEW ON LANGUAGE .......... · ...... · .... · .... · .. · .... · .......... 116 6.3 EMBODIMENT OF COGNITION·· .. ···· .. ·· ...................................... 117

6.4 PRINCIPLES OF COGNITIVE SE.~1ANTICS """ """"""'''''''''''''' ,",' 6.4.1 Cognitive Reproduction and Production""""""""""""""'" 6.4.2 Sensory Perceptual Production"'''''''''''''''''''''''' "" """.", 6.5 SENSORY-PERCEPTUAL SYSTEMS""" """, , .. ,' '"'''''''' """'," """.,' 6.5.1 Visual Foreign-inspired Chinese Terms ,-",,",,"" """'" '" "" 6.5.1. 1 Color''''''''""'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 6. 5. 1. 2 Shape" "" ....... " .. "'" ... "." .. , ..... ,.".". "., .. ' ..... "., .. ". 6.5.1.3 Shape-color' " .. """"." .... ",.,,, ............ ,,, ........ , ..... ".,.

118 120 123 125 127 127 129 131

5. 2 Haptic Foreign-inspired Chinese Terms"""'''''''''''''''""'''''' 5. 3 Auditory Foreign-inspired Chinese Terms""""""'""""""'" 5. 4 Olfactory Foreign-inspired Chinese Terms" ,., ..... ,', ... "., .. ,., 5. 5 Flavor Foreign-inspired Chinese Terms .' .. , .. ' .... , ....... ,., ...... 5. 6 Sensorimotor Foreign-inspired Chinese Terms····'·······,·,·,,··

132 134 136 137 138

6. 6. 6. 6. 6.

7. METAPHORICAL PRODUCTION

7.1 INTRODUCTION " ..... ".', ... ,' ........ ,' ... " .. " .... " .. , ... " ...... " .. ,'··,··141 7.2 RELEVANT CONCEPT OF METAPHORS FOR FOREIGN-INSPIRED CHINESE TERMS'" "., """ ..... , ... ,." ... ,.,' "."." ., .. ,."., " ...... '.,,' .. ,." .... ". 141 7.2. 1 Literal and Figurative Language"'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 141 7.2.2 Domains""···,··,·""·,······,,, .. ,,,···,,·····,······· .. ,,·,········,····,· 143 7.2.3 Mappings'" .,.,' ., .... , .... ,. ".,." " .. ,.,"" ." .. "., .. , , .. " .. , ,,·,·····145 7.2.4 Resemblanee""··'·,·····,· "., ..... " .. , ..... ' ... ,.,., ... ,' .... ,.,''' .. ", 147 7.2.5 Image Schemas""""'" ,'. , ... , ... " .. , .. ", .. ,., .. , ... ,."." ... ". " .. , 148 7.3 METAPHORICAL PRODl.lCTlON··'··'···,·,,, .. ····,,·,,· .. ·,··············,·,,· 149 7.3.1 OrientationalMetaphors ".""" .... "" .. ". " .... " .. "" .. ·"" .. ·149 7.3.2 Image Metaphors"""" " .. ," .,.,' , .. ,'" .... " ... ".,',., " .. , .... , · .. ·156 7.3.3 Conceptual Metaphor"'" " ... "." ... ", ... ,', ........ , ....... "., ".,. 159 8. CONCLUSION

8.1 INTRODl.lCTION ., ........ " ...... ", ....... , .. ' ...... ' ................ , .. " ....... 164 8. 2 CATEGORIZATION OF CHINESE BORROWINGS···"· .. ·· .. · , ,,, ...... " ..... 164 8.3 COGNITIVE TREATMENTS OF FIeT··"·······,·,,,·,· .. ··,,,,·, .. ,·,······ .. ·· 167 8.4 IMPLICATIONS AND DIRECTIONS .. ····,··" .... ··,,· .. ····,··,··,·,·,·········· 170 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................... 173 APPENDIX······ .. ·· ........ · .. · .. · ...... · .... · ...... ·· .. ·· ...... · .... ···· ...... ····· .. ·· 190 INDEX· ...... ·· ...... · ...... · .... · .. ········ .. ······ .. ······· .... · .... ··· .. ·· .. ··· .. ·· .. ···214

FOREWORD

After reading Li Suogui's study of foreign-inspired words in Chinese, I am decidedly impressed, first of ali by the originality of what the researcher has set out to do, and secondly by his success in achieving this goal. Although, as with virtually all such academic undertakings, It IS addressed primarily to specialists in the field, it amply rewards the effort required of non-specialists to understand his methodology, the corpus he has assembled, and the conclusions he draws from the two. His analysis is clear, careful, insightful and innovative, although somewhat demanding (at least for the non-specialized reader, which would include me). Mr. Li has wisely limited his corpus to foreign-inspired terms introduced into Chinese since the nineteenth century, for his approach is qualitative rather than quantitative. The primary methodology, upon which he relies, Cognitive Semantics, is a relatively recent development, at the cutting-edge of current socio-Iinguistic investigation. It is an eclectic approach, drawing upon data from psychology, biology, philosophy and other disciplines, leading to a much more profound understanding of the constituents of human communication. Associated initially with Scandinavian researchers, it here proves to be a very useful tool for providing productive insight into the field of Chinese linguistics. It is no mean achievement to be able to explain so clearly, and to demonstrate so convincingly, the validity and usefulness of this very demanding approach. Also very useful for the non-specialist is Li Suogui's review of previous research related to the topic of Chinese loan words. This enables the reader to situate the present study in that evolving context, and to understand the contribution Mr. Li seeks to make to the field. The examples he provides, using Chinese characters, pinyin transcription, and English translation, are very interesting in themselves and, at times, fascinating. At all times Mr. Li is concerned that his reader understands the relationships he seeks to establish, at the various levels in which they operate. He appears to be at ease in his use of teclmical terminology and its relevancy to the topics in question. Mr. Li expresses the hope that this study will encourage and enable other, similar, approaches to the investigation of Chinese loan words and foreign-inspired terms. As he also points out, studies like the present one should also provide resources for the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language. They may also be of

commercial interest, given the challenge of adequate translation, at productive semantic levels, of foreign terms and concepts into Chinese (and, one suspects, of Chinese temlS and concepts into other languages and marketplaces). Overall, reading this study has been a rewarding, enlightening, challenging - experience for me.

Leonard E. Douceue Emeritus Professor of French University of Toronto

ii

and sometimes

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

This book is focus on Chinese borrowings from foreign languages. I had been intently interested in this topic since 1992, and after suggesting in 2008 a scholar, thinking this an extremely interesting topic, gave me the impetlls to wTite this book. At that time, I was in China, preparing for study abroad, thinking about what subject I should take. Eventually, the topic of borrowed words, representing foreign culture and language, came into my mind. In checking the references of Chinese borrowings from foreign languages, I found there to be a weak field of scholarship. Reading the literature of loan words in Chinese, Russian and English, I fmilld there was little detailed, comprehensive research on Chinese loan words from concrete languages, other than from English. Even for those words from English, there was no COITect recol;,'l1ition of classification or categorization. Semantic loan words are excluded from the family of Chinese borrowed words; some words. imported indirectly from foreign languages into Chinese according to origin of etymology, culture and history, are seen as native words or semantic loans that are the same with Chinese indigenous words in sound, meaning and form. Therefore, semantic loan words and native words on the surface have been neglected in scholastic investigation. These words, either neglected or misunderstood, have garnered my attention and are discussed in this book. Chinese borrowed words are divided into five categories for this study. Phonic loans, semantic loans, graphic loans, and blend loans are discussed in previous scholarship, in ·which these four kinds of loans differ in classification and form of address. The fifth category of Chinese borrowings are foreign-inspired terms, a group of vocabulary items in Chinese as the recipient language, where its formation is motivated by foreign entities or concepts and designated by some foreign words, but no established foreign elements are in fact transferred from the donor language. This category, divided by the principles of cognitive semantics, vvhich is a study of mind and its relationship with embodied experience and culture, is the core of this book. The formulation of "foreign-inspired Chinese terms" as a hypothesis is a new attempt to investigate Chinese borrowings from foreign languages, not only concerning inner linguistic factors - sound, meaning, form in a word, but also extra linguistic factors _ .. process of formation or production of a word in human mind or thought. This process of word production iii

is revealed by the analyses of some foreign-inspired Chinese terms, and confirmed by reasoning in this book. J apologize for any inappropriate descriptions or omissions and for my less than

stellar grasp of the English language. Many thanks to all the scholars, who's published works in whole or in part, I have incorporated in the book.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Dr. Guo Wu, my principal supervisor, and my other supervisors, associate professor Paulin Djite, and assistant professor Kam-Yiu Pang, for their patience in discussing and exchanging ideas, and tor assisting me in developing a new line of thinking in relation to the theme of foreign-inspired Chinese telms in modern Chinese. I also thank them for their guidance in enlarging my understanding of the cognitive semantics approach. I would like to thank Dr. Richard Johnson for editing and proofreading the English text. I also thank Dr. Judith Snodgrass, Dr. Xiangdong Liu, Dr. Ruying Qi, Dr. Ping Yang, Dr. Dacheng Zhao, professors and teachers at University of Western Sydney, Australia; librarian Ms. Malika Xayasy, Ms. Yan Qian, and Dr. Marika Kalyuga, teachers at Macquarie University, Australia; and my friends Mr. Daqi Dai, Ms. Xiaoling Pan, Mr. Huisen Yang, Mrs. Wenyuan .lin, Dr. Jia Sun, Ms. Weihua Liu and my schoolmates Mr. Min Zhai, Dr. Jingsheng Wang, Dr. Qingjie Zhang, Mr. Xianwu Li for their inspiration and support. A very special thanks to my wife, Guiwei Xu for support in my family life. Finally I would like to thank the Student Support Branch at Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, under the Ontario provincial govemment, Canada, which provided partial student loan support during the study.

v

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1. 1 Introduction

This study addresses the production of foreign-inspired Chinese tenus through a cognitive semantics approach. Foreign-inspired Chinese tenus (FICT) are defined as those Chinese tenus that are motivated by entities or concepts that originate from other than Chinese sources. 'Chinese tenus' refers to words containing compound words, phrases or expressions in modem Chinese, from the 19th century to the present. 'Foreign-inspired' means that full or partial elements of a Chinese tenu derive from exotic entities or concepts. This tenu follows the phrase 'English-inspired vocabulary item' proposed by Stanlaw (2004: 19-20), who noted that 'new words are created within the Japanese language system by using English' (p. 20). The distinguishing factor is that foreign-inspired Chinese tenus, FICT, are produced through concrete entities or concepts, enabling perception and cognition in Chinese native speakers. The cognitive semantics approach involves a study of mind and its relationship with embodied experience and culture. The approach implies the use of language as a key methodological tool for uncovering conceptual organization and structure. This chapter provides an overview of foreign-inspired Chinese tenus, FICT, as a major issue in this study. Section 1.2 presents issues of FICT and other Chinese borrowings, that is, the words that come into a language through the process of bon'Owing. It will be shown that all Chinese borrov"ings are motivated by the sound, fonu and meaning of original foreign words, and also foreign entities or concepts with examples. This brings up the use of the tenu 'motivated'. Motivation refers to non-arbitrary links between a fonu and meaning of linguistic expression. The sound of foreign words refers to a phonic level concerning pronunciation, transliteration of sounds and phonetic notation. The fonu and meaning of foreign words denote in tum the letters of alphabetic writing system, word meaning and word explanation. In tenus of motivation for word production of Chinese borro\\Jt,

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