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#2401. 音素と文字素[phonology][phoneme][grammatology][grapheme][writing][double_articulation][sign][semiotics][terminology]

2015-11-23

 ここしばらくの間,文字素 (grapheme) とは何かという問題を考えている.音韻論における音素 (phoneme) になぞらえて,文字論における文字素を想定するということは,ある程度の研究史がある.確かに両者には平行的に考えられる点も少なくないのだが,音声言語と書記言語は根本的に性質の異なるところがあり,比喩を進めていくと早い段階でつまずくのである.
 そのキモは,音声言語では2重分節 (double_articulation) が原則だが,書記言語では第1分節こそ常に認められるものの,第2分節は任意であるという点にあるだろうと考えている.第1分節でとどめれば表語文字(あるいは表形態素文字)となり,音声言語と平行的に第2分節まで進めば表音文字(単音文字)となる.
 この辺りの事情は今後じっくり考えていくとして,当面は音素と文字素について平行するところを整理してみたい.Pulgram が便利な一覧を作ってくれているので,それを再現したい.以下,P(honeme) と G(rapheme) の比較対照である.

P1The smallest distinctive audible units of a dialect are its phonemes.G1The smallest distinctive visual units of an alphabet are its graphemes.
P2A phoneme is a class of articulated speech sounds pertaining to one dialect.G2A grapheme is a class of written characters pertaining to one alphabet.
P3The hic et nunc spoken realization of a phoneme is an articulated speech sound or phone.G3The hic et nunc written realization of a grapheme is a written alphabet character or graph.
P4The number of phonemes in each dialect must be limited, the number of phones cannot be.G4The number of graphemes in each alphabet must be limited, the number graphs cannot be.
P5By definition, all phones identifiable as members of one phoneme are its allophones.G5By definition, all graphs identifiable as members of one grapheme are its allographs.
P6The phonetic shape of an allophone is dependent on its producer and on its phonetic surroundings.G6The graphic shape of an allograph is dependent on its producer and on its graphic surroundings.
P7Phones which are not immediately and correctly identifiable as belonging to a certain phoneme when occurring in isolation, may be identified through their meaning position in a context.G7Graphs which are not immediately and correctly identifiable as belonging to a certain grapheme when occurring in isolation, may be identified through their meaningful position in a context.
P8Dialects are subject to phonemic change and substitution.G8Alphabets are subject to graphemic change and substitution.
P9The number, kind, and distribution of phonemes varies from dialect to dialect.G9The number, kind, and distribution of graphemes varies from alphabet to alphabet.


 Pulgram の論文は音素と文字素の平行性を扱ったものである.私は,実はかえってその非平行性を示す点が明らかになるのではないかという期待をもって,この論文を読んでみたのだが,期待外れだった.唯一印象に残ったのは,p. 19 の次の1文のみである.

If today we distinguish between letter (or better grapheme) and speech sound (or better phoneme), the reason is that there has hardly ever existed in any language with some tradition of writing a strictly one to one ratio between the two.


 Pulgram は,音素と文字素の非平行性に気づいていながらも,それを真正面から扱うことを避けたのではないか,という気がしないでもない.

 ・ Pulgram, Ernst. "Phoneme and Grapheme: A Parallel." Word 7 (1951): 15--20.

Referrer (Inside): [2015-12-21-1] [2015-11-30-1]

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