Sawndip
Sawndip Old Zhuang script | |
---|---|
Script type | |
Time period | 7th century – present |
Languages | Zhuang, Bouyei, Tay, Nung |
Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Oracle bone script
|
Zhuang characters or Sawndip (Sawndip: 𭨡𮄫;[a] Zhuang pronunciation: [
Names[edit]
The name old Zhuang script is usually used to distinguish it from the Latin-based Standard Zhuang. In Standard Chinese, the old Zhuang script is called Gǔ Zhuàngzì (Chinese:
Sawndip and its synonyms can be used with a spectrum of narrow to broad meanings. The narrowest meaning confines its use just to characters created by Zhuang to write Zhuang and excludes existing Chinese characters. At its broadest, it includes all the "square" characters used to write Zhuang regardless of whether they are of Chinese or Zhuang origin. However, it is not always possible to determine the origin of a character. In this article the inclusive broader meaning is usually used.
In Chinese, while usually old Zhuang script (
Characteristics[edit]
Sawndip is made up of a combination of Chinese characters, Chinese-like characters, and other symbols. Like Chinese it can be written horizontally from left to right, or vertically from top to bottom. The script has never been standardized; some morphosyllables have more than a dozen associated variant glyphs.[3] According to Zhang Yuansheng (张元
Classification[edit]
Different scholars categorize Sawndip in slightly different ways. Displayed below is the estimated frequency of different types of characters by Holm:[5]
Mode of reading | Number | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Phonetic | 2303 | 71.3% |
Semantic | 78 | 2.4% |
Phono-semantic | 40 | 1.2% |
Chinese loan | 708 | 21.9% |
Zhuang | 97 | 3.0% |
Dubious | 5 | 0.2% |
Total | 3231 | 100% |
According to Bauer, Sawndip characters can be categorized using a more complex system than the six traditional classification principles:[6]
- Symbols that do not resemble Chinese characters, and are borrowed from non-Chinese writing systems such as the Latin alphabet[7] and (possibly) Burmese
- Non-standard Chinese-like characters created via ideogrammatic compounds
- Non-standard Chinese-like characters created via phono-semantic compounds
- Example: bya "mountain" is often written as ⟨岜⟩, containing the ideographic
山 "mountain" in conjunction with phonetic巴 ba. - Example: vunz "person" is often written as ⟨
伝 ⟩, containing the ideographic radical 亻 "person" in conjunction with phonetic云 yún.
- Example: bya "mountain" is often written as ⟨岜⟩, containing the ideographic
- Standard Chinese characters borrowed solely for their pronunciations, and do not share the same original meaning in Chinese (in accordance with the phonetic loan principle)
- Example: miz "to have" is often written as ⟨
眉 ⟩, a character that is pronounced in Mandarin Chinese as méi, but which means "eyebrow".
- Example: miz "to have" is often written as ⟨
- Non-standard Chinese-like characters created specifically for Zhuang to indicate the meaning of certain morphosyllables (in accordance with indicative ideograms)
- Standard Chinese characters representing loanwords or etymologically related morphosyllables from Chinese
- Example: boi "cup" is written as ⟨
盃 ⟩, a variant character of杯 bēi, meaning "cup" in Chinese.
- Example: boi "cup" is written as ⟨
- Standard Chinese characters borrowed solely for their meanings and do not have a matching reading in Zhuang with Chinese
- New characters made by juxtaposing a pair of Chinese characters that "spell out" the pronunciation of the Zhuang word as in the traditional Chinese fǎnqiè system, with one character representing the initial consonant and the other the rest of the syllable.
History[edit]
The script has been used for centuries, mainly by Zhuang singers and shamans, to record poems, scriptures, folktales, myths, songs, play scripts, medical prescriptions, family genealogies and contracts, but exactly when it came into being is not known. It is usually reckoned that Sawndip started to be used over one thousand years ago in the Tang dynasty or earlier.[8][9][10] However a study comparing Sawndip with the similar but different neighbouring chữ Nôm script of Vietnam suggested that the script started at latest in the 12th century at about the same time as chữ Nôm.[11]
Early vernacular characters[edit]
Even before the Tang dynasty, Zhuang or closely related languages were written down using characters that were either Chinese or made up of Chinese components. Whether these are viewed as Sawndip, or as some sort of precursor to Sanwdip, depends not only the evidence itself, but also differing views of what counts as Sawndip and from what era the term Zhuang can be applied.
Some scholars say Sawndip started in the Han dynasty and note the occurrence on words of Zhuang origin in ancient Chinese dictionaries such as 犩 which is Sawndip for the Zhuang vaiz (water buffalo) and in section 19 of Erya is given as having similar pronunciation and means
There are some similarities in the poetical style of "The Song of the Yue boatman" (Chinese:
Tang dynasty (7th–9th centuries)[edit]
The fact that Zhuang readings of borrowed Chinese characters often match Early Middle Chinese suggests a Sui–Tang date, however it has been noted these could also be explained as later borrowings from conservative Pinghua varieties.[14][15] Chinese characters were already in use in the Zhuang area, as illustrated by two Tang dynasty steles entitled Liù hé jiāngù dà zhái sòng (六合坚固大宅颂 "Eulogy of the six-sides courtyard", 682) and Zhì chéng bēi (
Song dynasty (10th–13th centuries)[edit]
Several Song dynasty Han Chinese authors give examples of "vernacular characters" (Tǔsú zì'
Sawndip | 𨱥 | 䦟 | 𡘫 | 仦 | 𡚻 |
Zhuang | daemq,[20] gaenq[21] |
onj,[22] vaenj[23] |
onj,[22] vaenj[23] |
neux[24] | dah[25] |
English | short | steady | steady | weak | used addressing a lady |
Table of characters noted in the Song dynasty Guìhǎi yúhéng zhì and also in 1986 Sawndip dictionary.
Ming dynasty (14th–17th centuries)[edit]
Whilst no manuscripts from the Ming dynasty have been found, dozens of classic Sawndip works that survive to this day were first written during this dynasty or earlier. Some consider this to be the most abundant period of Sawndip literature.[26] Exact dating is difficult in part because some songs were composed and transmitted orally before being written down, such as Fwen Ciengzyeingz ("Song to tell others"), which Liang Tingwang (
Some songs were both created and written down during the Ming dynasty. Fwen Caeg "Songs of War" (Chinese: 贼歌 Zéi gē) from Pingguo which is considered to be such despite some lines which are later additions.[28][29]"Fwen nganx" "欢𭪤" (The Dragon Eye Fruit [龙眼] Song) a love story is also from the Ming Era.[30]
A number of songs written in Sawndip are stories which are originally of Han origin but for hundreds of years have been part of the Zhuang tradition, such as "𠯘
Qing dynasty (mid-17th–19th centuries)[edit]
Thousands of Sawndip manuscripts from the Qing period survive to this day. One well known old surviving text is the Yuèfēng (粵風) book of folksongs from Guiping, published in the 18th century.[32] A book entitled Taiping Spring (
Another source is the Huáyí yìyǔ (
Modern era (20th–21st centuries)[edit]
Whilst after the introduction of an official alphabet-based script in 1957, Sawndip have seldom been used in some formal domains such as newspapers, laws and official documents, they continue to be used in less formal domains such as writing songs, and personal notes and messages.
After the Chinese Revolution in 1949, even communist revolutionary propaganda was written using sawndip. In 1957 an official romanized Zhuang script was introduced. However, there are major phonetic and lexical differences between Zhuang dialects, and the Latin-based system is based on the Wuming dialect. Because of this and other reasons, there still are many Zhuang speakers that prefer to write Zhuang using sawndip.[35][36] Even though it is not the official script at grassroots level various departments have continued to use Sawndip on occasions to get their message across. Coming into the 21st century, Sawndip understanding and usage of Sawndip remains significant: of those surveyed in two dialect areas, just over one third said that they understood Sawndip, and about one in ten that they use Sawndip in most domains.[37] These rates are approximately twice those for the romanized script: with only one-sixth saying they understood it, and only one in twenty saying they used it in most domains.[38]
After five years in preparation, the Sawndip Sawdenj (Sawndip Dictionary; Chinese:
Unicode[edit]
Unicode versions 1 to 8 included some Sawndip characters that are frequently used in the Chinese names for places in Guangxi, such as 岜 bya (Chinese: bā) meaning 'mountain' or 崬 ndoeng (Chinese: dōng) meaning 'forest', and are therefore included in Chinese dictionaries, and hence also in Chinese character sets and also some that are from other non-Zhuang character sets. Over one thousand Sawndip characters were included in the CJK Unified Ideographs Extension F block that was added to Unicode 10.0 in June 2017, and a further batch of Sawndip characters are under consideration for inclusion in a future version of the Unicode Standard.
Literature[edit]
For over one thousand years the Zhuang have used Sawndip to write a wide variety of literature, including folk songs, operas, poems, scriptures, letters, contract, and court documents.[41] Sawndip literature is often though not always in verse. Only a small percentage of Sawndip literature has been published. Traditional songs, or stories, are often adapted over time, and new works continue to be written to this day.
Regional differences[edit]
With regional differences, as with other aspects of Sawndip scholars express a number of differing ideas.
One of the first systematic studies of Sawndip that covered more than one location was Zhang Yuansheng's 1984 examination of 1114 Sawndip, mainly from Wuming but also including some characters from 37 other locations. Zhang found substantial variation between dialect areas, and even within locales.[42]
In 2013, David Holm reported a geographical survey of the script, comparing characters used for 60 words in texts from 45 locations in Guangxi and neighbouring areas. He found that regional variations in the script often did not correlate with dialect groups, which he attributes to importation of characters from other regions, as well as subsequent sound change.[43] However, he claims to have found a clear geographical division in terms of the branch of Chinese that provided the pronunciation of borrowed characters. In Guizhou and northern Guangxi, character readings correspond to Southwest Mandarin, which was brought to the area by the armies of the Ming dynasty. In central and southwest Guangxi, they closely match Pinghua, which is derived from the speech of Han dynasty immigrants. Holm states that while both Pinghua and Zhuang have changed over this period, this has generally been in parallel, making it difficult to date the readings.[44] Scholars studying the script used in Guizhou associate its origins with the introduction of Chinese officials in the early Qing dynasty.[45]
Example text[edit]
From Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Northern Zhuang:
- Latin transcription (1982 orthography): Boux boux ma daengz lajmbwn couh miz cwyouz, cinhyenz caeuq genzli bouxboux bingzdaengj. Gyoengq vunz miz lijsing caeuq liengzsim, wngdang daih gyoengq de lumj beixnuengx ityiengh.
- Latin transcription (1957 orthography): Bouч bouч ma dəŋƨ laзƃɯn couƅ miƨ cɯyouƨ, cinƅyenƨ cəuƽ genƨli bouчbouч biŋƨdəŋз. Gyɵŋƽ vunƨ miƨ liзsiŋ cəuƽ lieŋƨsim, ɯŋdaŋ daiƅ gyɵngƽ de lumз beiчnueŋч ityieŋƅ.
- Unicode characters (with currently unencoded characters represented as Ideographic Description Sequences in brackets): 佈佈𲃖[⿰
丁 刂]𨑜[⿰云 天 ]就𠷯自由 ,尊 严𪝈权利佈佈平等 。𬾀伝 𠷯理性 𪝈良心 ,应当待 𬾀𬿇㑣[⿰彳比][⿰彳农]一 样。
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ The character for saw meaning either book or written character, 𭨡, has a
書 radical on the left and a史 radical on the right. Similarly, ndip which means raw, uncooked or unripe, 𮄫, is made up of立 and生 radicals. At present, there are limitations in displaying Zhuang logograms as many have only recently been encoded in Unicode and are only supported by a few fonts. Sawndip characters have not been standardised, and different writers use different characters for the same word; the examples here are from Sawndip Sawdenj.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Sū (1989).
- ^ Holm (2013), p. 1.
- ^ Bauer, Robert S. (2005), "Written Representation of Zhuang and Cantonese" Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Workshop on Zhuang Language, Department of Linguistics, University of Hong Kong.
- ^ Zhāng (1984), p. 456.
- ^ Holm, David. (2009). A typology of readings of Chinese characters in traditional Zhuang manuscripts [Les lectures des caractères chinois dans les manuscripts Zhuang traditionnels et leur classification]. Cahiers de Linguistique – Asie Orientale, 38(2), 245–292.
- ^ Bauer (2000), pp. 229–240.
- ^ Noted in page 43 of 《
右 江 流域 方 块壮字 文献 的 用字 研究 》 thesis by 韦玉防 2010 "豆 丁 网系统升级中-- docin.com豆 丁 网". Archived from the original on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2012-04-17.. Example, "k" is used on page 1031 of平 果 嘹歌:长歌集 published by 广西民族 出版 社 in 2004, ISBN 7-5363-4820-7. - ^ Zhāng (1984), p. 455.
- ^ a b Qín (2010), p. 33.
- ^ a b Sū (1989), pp. 5–6.
- ^ "
方 块壮字 与 喃字比 较研究 ","Comparative Research into Sawndip and Chu Nom" by李 乐毅 in "民族 语文"1987年 第 4期 - ^ Sū (1989), pp. 482.
- ^ Qín (2010), p. 6-8.
- ^ Holm (2003), pp. 46.
- ^ Holm (2004), p. 424.
- ^ Tai (2005), p. 80.
- ^ Sū (1989), pp. 5.
- ^ a b Holm (2003), pp. 45.
- ^ Sū (1989), pp. 348.
- ^ Sū (1989), pp. 97.
- ^ Sū (1989), pp. 169.
- ^ a b Sū (1989), pp. 402.
- ^ a b Sū (1989), pp. 480.
- ^ Sū (1989), pp. 368.
- ^ Sū (1989), pp. 105.
- ^ Qín (2010), p. 39.
- ^ Liao Songs of Pingguo Zhuang Songs of March pages 60ff ISBN 978-7-5495-1097-9
- ^ Liao Songs of Pingguo Zhuang Songs of March page 60 ISBN 978-7-5495-1097-9
- ^
壮 族 嘹歌研究 editor 覃乃昌 广西民族 出版 社 2008 ISBN 978-7-5363-5069-4 page 48-52 - ^
壮 族 民 歌 古 籍 集成 情歌 (二 )欢𭪤 (田 阳情歌 ),广西民族 出版 社 1997 Chief Editor 张声震 page 2 of introduction - ^
壮 族 长诗《唱文龙》源流 及其变异 The origin and variations of the Zhuang long poem "Song of Wenlong by 罗汉田 Luo Hantian published in 《民族 文学 研究 》 Ethnic Literature Research 1984 Volume 2 pages 123–133 - ^ Holm (2013), p. 21.
- ^
清 代 戏曲抄本 叙 录 List of Qing dynasty Opera Manuscripts by朱 恒夫 - ^ Holm (2013), pp. 26–27.
- ^ Bauer (2000), p. 228.
- ^ Zhèng (1996).
- ^ 《
壮 族 民 间群体 古 壮 字 使用 状 况的调查与分析 》"Survey of analysis of the situation of old Zhuang script(Sawndip) usage among Zhuang people" by黄 南 津 Huang Nanjian and唐 未 平 Tang Weiping 《暨南学 报(哲学 社会 科学 版 )》 Jinan Journal – Philosophy and Sociology 2008 Volume 1 - ^ 《广西
壮 族 人文字 使用 现状及文字 社会 声望 调查研究 》 "Research into survey of the scripts used by Zhuang in Guangxi"唐 未 平 Tang Weiping http://www.doc88.com/p-644582398739.html - ^ Bauer (2000), pp. 226–227.
- ^ "《
中 华古壮 字 大 字典 》开始编纂" Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Guangxi Ethnic Affairs Commission, 16 September 2008. - ^
壮 文 论集 Anthology of Written Zhuang by梁 庭 望 Liang Tingwang 2007 Published by中央 民族 大学 出版 社 Central Minorities University Press pages 153–158 ISBN 9787811084368 - ^ Zhāng (1984), p. 465.
- ^ Holm (2013), p. 744.
- ^ Holm (2013), pp. 744–745.
- ^ Holm (2003), pp. 45–46.
Works cited
- Bauer, Robert S. (2000), "The Chinese-based writing system of the Zhuang language", Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale, 29 (2): 223–253, doi:10.3406/clao.2000.1573.
- Holm, David (2003), Killing a buffalo for the ancestors: a Zhuang cosmological text from Southwest China, Northern Illinois University, ISBN 978-1-891134-25-8.
- —— (2004), "The Old Zhuang script", in Diller, Anthony; Edmondson, Jerry; Luo, Yongxian (eds.), The Tai-Kadai languages, Routledge, pp. 415–428, ISBN 978-0-203-64187-3.
- —— (2013), Mapping the Old Zhuang Character Script: A Vernacular Writing System from Southern China, BRILL, ISBN 978-90-04-22369-1.
- Sū, Yǒngqín 苏永
勤 , ed. (1989), Sawndip Sawdenj / Gǔ Zhuàngzì zìdiǎn古 壮 字 字典 [Dictionary of old Zhuang characters], Nanning: Guǎngxī mínzú chūbǎnshè 广西民族 出版 社 , ISBN 978-7-5363-0614-1. - Qín, Xiǎoháng 覃晓
航 (2010), Fāngkuài zhuàng zì yánjiū方 块壮字 研究 [Research on Zhuang square characters],民族 出版 社 , ISBN 978-7-105-11041-4. - Tai, Chung-pui (2005), Literacy practices and functions of the Zhuang character writing system (MPhil Thesis), University of Hong Kong, doi:10.5353/th_b3073066 (inactive 2024-04-12), hdl:10722/31897.
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2024 (link) - Zhāng, Yuánshēng 张元
生 (1984), "Zhuàngzú rénmín de wénhuà yíchǎn – fāngkuài Zhuàngzì壮 族 人民 的 文化 遗产——方 块壮字 " [The cultural legacy of the Zhuang nationality: the Zhuang square characters], Zhōngguó mínzú gǔ wénzì yánjiū中国 民族 古 文字 研究 [Research on the ancient scripts of China's nationalities], Beijing: Zhōngguó shèhuì kēxué chūbǎnshè中国 社会 科学 出版 社 , pp. 455–521. - Zhèng, Yíqīng
鄭 貽青 (1996), Jìngxī Zhuàngyǔ yánjiū靖 西 壮語 研究 [Research on Jingxi Zhuang],中国 社会 科学 院 民族 研究所 .
Further reading[edit]
- Holm, David (2020). "The Tày and Zhuang vernacular scripts: Preliminary comparisons". Journal of Chinese Writing Systems. 4 (3): 197–213. doi:10.1177/2513850220940044. S2CID 222315681.
- Liáng Tíngwàng
梁 庭 望 (ed.): Gǔ Zhuàngzì wénxiàn xuǎnzhù古 壮 字 文献 选注 (Tiānjīn gǔjí chūbǎnshè天津 古 籍 出版 社 1992). - Lín Yì
林 亦 : Tán lìyòng gǔ Zhuàngzì yánjiū Guǎngxī Yuèyǔ fāngyán 谈利用 古 壮 字 研究 广西粤语方言 . In: Mínzú yǔwén民族 语文 2004.3:16–26. - 覃暁
航 :「方 塊 壮 字 経久 不 絶 却難成 通行 文字 的 原因 」『広西 民族 研究 』,2008年 3期 。
External links[edit]
- Asian Character Tables, Free (GPL) Sawndip data.
- "Proposal to add kZhuang to Unihan (IRG N2677)" at the Unicode website