Original scientific paper
The Role and Description of Semantic Radicals in the Chinese Script
Mislav Peić
; Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Ivana Buljan
; University of Zagreb
Daniela Katunar
; University of Zagreb
Abstract
This paper examines the possibility of using semantic radicals for the purpose of lexicographic categorization of characters in the Chinese script. Since the early period of Chinese lexicography, characters have been classified according to semantic radicals, i.e., the non-phonetic component of the character. However, categorization according to radicals was not systematically carried out. Therefore, an analysis of the categorization system of Chinese characters with a focus on semantic radicals can provide novel insights into semantic regularities within categories of radicals as elements that connect different domains of human experience. The aim of this study is to review and evaluate such possibilities of classifying Chinese characters. After a brief overview of the history and development of the Chinese script and the structure of Chinese characters, the paper proposes a classification of Chinese characters marked by the semantic radical nü 女 'woman' and xin 心 'heart' in the Shuowen jiezi dictionary from the Han dynasty. The investigation of semantic features of lexemes marked by characters that contain the same semantic element in their composition confirms the possibility of using radicals as a possible principle of their systematization. Possible applications of the proposed classification can be explored in future studies, primarily in language teaching and the expansion of existing classifications of Chinese characters
Keywords
Chinese script; semantic radicals; radical nü 女 'woman' and radical xin 心 'heart'; the Shuowen jiezi dictionary
Hrčak ID:
322259
URI
Publication date:
11.11.2024.
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