한어 오노마토페의 일본어 수용에 관한 일고찰 ‒二葉亭四迷의 작품에 나타난 첩어형을 중심으로‒

Abstract

This research has investigated original sources which demonstrate the way of having reduplicated (or ricochet) words used in modern Japanese literature during the Meiji period and the gradual changes in their meanings, by drawing on grand dictionaries containing their examples used in classical Japanese and Chinese literature. Firstly, Chinese onomatope in Japanese has been hitherto given less attention in the study of linguistics, not to mention that Japanese native speakers have yet to realize the fact that it was originally borrowed from Chinese. Secondly, given that its original sources are listed in both the Great Han-Japanese Dictionary (大漢和辞典) and the Encyclopedia of Japanese Language (日本国語大辞典), it can be concluded that most Chinese onomatopoeic words have already been adopted and then started being used prior to the Meiji period. Especially, the fact that some of them could also be found in Shih-ching (詩経: the Book of Songs/Odes), the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, further supports the assumption that Chinese onomatopoeic words have long been used before the Meiji period. This research discovered that, of Chinese onomatopoeic words thought to be adopted in the Meiji period, “煢々” derived from Ukigumo (浮雲). Thirdly, this research also confirmed that the only Chinese onomatope, which is listed in the Great Han-Japanese Dictionary, but not in the Encyclopedia of Japanese Language, was “活々”. Fourthly, there is such a word as “唁々” which is listed in neither of them. Nevertheless, “唁々” functions as a perfect onomatopoetic word given its modification of a verb in a sentence, and takes the form of reduplicated word. Hence, it is likely that “唁々” might be a kanji-onomatopoeic word which Futabatei Shimei (二葉亭四迷) invented based on the Chinese-onomatopoetic word formation. Lastly, it can be assumed that, at the beginning of its gradual absorption into Japanese, Chinese onomatope might have affected proper onomatopoeic words with similar meanings and the period of their inflow into Japanese, the characteristics of literature where their usage was first detected, and furigana’s involvement in the change in their meanings.