‘사위’와 ‘주사위’에 대한 고찰

Abstract

In modern Korean, the word “Jusaui” means dice. Dice is a tool that adds a probabilistic factor through the throwing motion. In terms of adding coincidence through the throwing action, tools such as yut sticks and pencils used to roll pencils are broadly included in the category of dice. In the Joseon Dynasty literature, tools in the category of dice sometimes called as double syllables such as “쇄□”, “사□”, “□애”, “□□”, “□아”, “□외”, “사외”, “□위”(collectively referred to as “saui-type” words in this paper);at other times appeared as three syllables which the “ju” sound is added to the first syllable(collectively referred to as “jusaui-type” words in this paper). The saui-type words seem to have been borrowed from modern Chinese “色兒”. The saui-type words in the literature of relatively early period was realized at a phonetic value that was quite similar to the “色兒” of modern Chinese, but as time passed, various forms emerged. The saui-type words start to appear from the 16th century’s literature, while the jusaui-type words begin to appear from the documents of the 19th century, which is much later than saui-type words, so jusaui-type words seems to have been formed by adding a note called “ju” to the front part based on the saui-type words. This paper explores the phonological and semantic relations between the Saui-type words and “色兒” and Jusaui-type words, focusing on the materials found in Korean and Chinese literature.