--- In qalam@yahoogroups.com, Stage Linguistique
<linguistique_stage@...> wrote:

> Suzanne,
>
> > If you had to pick a term or a phrase what would you
> > call Chinese writing? I thought that the Chinese
> > components couldn't really be 'logographic' because
> > they are not stand alone and the sound
> > connection seems to be quite important. It sounds
> > like a good term
> > but it could be missleading. What do you think?
>
> This is the kind of dangerous ground on which I
> daren't tread...
>
> Here's what Viviane Alleton writes in _L'Écriture
> chinoise_ (page 8):
>
> « Les linguistes ont proposé toutes sortes de
> solutions, en fonction de leurs analyses respectives.
> Bloomfield, admettant que le segment parlé auquel
> correspond le caractère est un mot, choisissait
> word-writing ou logographic-writing [Leonard
> Bloomfield, _Language_, New York, 1933, p.285].
> Marcel Cohen suggérait idéophonogrammes, pour rendre
> compte à la fois du niveau d'unité correspondant au
> caractère chinois (le mot ou le morphème) et au fait
> qu'un caractère n'a qu'une lecture dans un parler
> chinois donné [Marcel Cohen, _La grande invention de
> l'écriture et son évolution_, Paris, 1958]. Benveniste
> préférait écriture morphématique [Émile Benveniste,
> _Problèmes de linguistique générale_, Paris, 1966,
> p.24]. Ce terme répond à celui de morphosyllabique qui
> peut qualifier la langue chinoise elle-même.»

That is very interesting because it shows an much earlier use of the
word 'morphosyllabic' for the Chinese *language*. I notice that
this was published in 1970, but there are several following
editions. I think Wang used the word for Chinese writing in 1981.
Thank you. I agree now that it is too dangerous to chose one term or
word. Just wondering out loud at this point.

Back to Aksharas - here is Julia Kristeva in 'Language: the
Unknown'. 1989. "The terminology.. indicates that sound was
conceived of as matter that assured the reality of the vibration
that is the meaning of speech. Aksara, "syllable", comes from the
religious text naksarati, 'that which does not leak' or rather 'the
imperishable basis of discourse". The phoneme, varna, had in the
beginning the sense of 'coloration'". However, she mentions
that "Indian 'logic' also tackled the rules of linguistic
construction." An expanation for the term 'logical order' for
Chinese input?

Thanks,

Suzanne

> Regards,
>
> Gianni
>
>
>
>
>
>
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