本文区分了构字法研究常常混淆的两种概念:结构单位和功能单位。文章认为,汉字的结构单位是部件,而功能单位是字素,字素有形符、义符、音符和记号四类。与结构上的"独体字/合体字"相对应,功能上应当区分"单字素字/多字素字"。根据四种字素的组合方式,本文概括出汉字有四种基本构字法:象形构字、示义构字、记音构字和约定构字。文章还进一步支持和论证了汉字是语素文字的观点。
This article discusses the formation of Chinese characters, it makes a clear distinction between Component (the structural unit) and Grapheme (the functional unit), the two concepts that are often not distinguished. Grapheme contains four subcategories: the pictographic element, the phonetic element, the semantic element and the mark. In comparison to the traditional structural twin concepts " Simplex character/Compound character", their counterparts, the functional twin concepts "Mono-grapheme char- acter/Muhi-grapheme character" are proposed. Based on the usage and combination of the four types of grapheme, this article illustrates the four fundamental methods of character-formation: pictographic, se- mantic, phonetic and conventional formations.