否의 기원과 용법 및 품사 연구

Abstract

This study investigates the time when 否 fŏu started to be used in place of [不+previous verb] by analyzing its occurrences in both excavated and transmitted Old Chinese texts. It aims to define the part of speech of 否 based on the data.<BR> 否 started to appear very scantily in the Bronze Inscriptions. It is used in its original meaning, i.e. ‘bad, wrong, blocked’ or as a loanword for a negative adverb 不 or an adjective 丕 ‘great.’ It is first used in place of [不+previous verb(or verb phrase)] in The Book Odes (Shījīng 詩經) and The Book of Documents (Shàngshū 尚書). It appears in the form [或+verb+或+否], [verb+否], or [verb+與+否]. Therefore, it is very obvious what previous verb 否 refers to. The reason that 否 was adopted for the loanword for [不+previous verb phrase] is that 否 and 不 are not only similar in terms of their shapes but also homophonous in Old Chinese. Both belong to 幫母(the voiceless unaspirated bilabial stop initial) and 之部 (The zhī rhyme group) in Old Chinese. Therefore, 否was chosen to indicate [不+previous verb phrase].<BR> During the time of Zuo’s Commentary (Zuŏzhuàn 左傳), The Record of Rites (Lǐjì 禮記), and Mencius (Mèngzǐ 孟子), the function of 否 referring to [不+previous verb phrase] was well-established. 否 was seldom used as its original meanings. Nor was it used as a loanword for 不 or 丕. 否 started to occur in more complex syntactic environments, such as [verb+(則)······,否則······], [···(則)+verb, ···則否], and so on. 否 not only refers to [不+previous verb phrase] but can also mean [不+previous sentence]. It is also used as an answer meaning ‘it is not so,’ or simply ‘no,’ which is opposite to 然‘it is so,’ or ‘yes.’<BR> Based on the data, this paper claims that 否 is a type of so-called “pro-form.” It replaces the previous verb, verb phrase, sentence, and even the entire statement. Therefore, 否 is a pro-verb and a pro-sentence as well.