Wilhelm von Humboldt on the Chinese Lanugage -- Interpretation and Reconstruction
威海姆‧冯‧洪堡特的汉语理论: 解释与重建
Tze-wan Kwan 关子尹

Abstract 摘要
Acclaimed as the father of general linguistics, Wilhelm von Humboldt’s scholarship on the Chinese language was also a remarkable one. For Humboldt, language universals are nothing but some general principles pertaining to the function of language as a major intellectual activity. These principles, however, have to be exemplified by individual languages with all their linguistic particularities. Humboldt considered languages to be like organic entities capable of consistent development over ages. Starting from specific linguistic idiosyncrasies, individual languages tend to follow their own consistent and self-adjusted line of development. In the Chinese language, initial linguistic features such as “phonic poverty”, “phonic isolation” (monosyllability) etc. prevented the Chinese from developing a grammatical system on the basis of inflection, as is the case in most Indo-European languages. In regard to grammar, the Chinese language seems to have found a way of its own. Instead of relying on externally precipitated sound forms, Chinese grammar has developed in such a way that the intellectual power tends to take direct control over the sentence. For this to function smoothly, a number of linguistic devices (such as tonality, the use of particles and idioms etc.) were also developed as compensation measures to offset the relative weakness of the Chinese sound system. For the same reason, in the development of the Chinese script, the graphical elements were allowed to share with the phonic elements the burden of meaning discrimination. With the measure of “analogy of script”, as highlighted by Humboldt, the hidden creativity of the Chinese mind is liberated to its greatest extent. Besides being an interpretation of Humboldt’s theory, this paper is also an attempt for reconstruction. In so doing, various works of modern scholarship on the Chinese language/script were cited, of which the works of two Chinese linguists, Hu Pu’an and Sun Yongchang were given special attention.

德国近代语言学家威海姆‧冯‧洪堡特除了是普通语言学的奠基者外，于汉语亦素有研究。对洪堡特来说，语言的共同性不外指语言作为一种心智活动所涉及的一般运作原则。在说明这些运作原则时，洪堡特强调应以各民族语言的个别特性为依据。洪堡特认为语言有如一有机体，在历史的演变过程中，会因应其本身已表现的特质而寻求独特的发展方向。就汉语而言，洪堡特首先指出了「语音匮乏」、「语音分离」(单音节)等特点，使汉语不像西方语言一般，能以屈折的「形态学(构词法)」去构成一强势的外在形式语法系统。然而，汉语却另辟蹊径，除了演变成一不重视语音外在形式，却重视精神内在驾驭的语法系统外，更发展出一系列的「补偿机制」，以确保语法的灵活运作。同样地，由于语音匮乏的根本限制，汉字的发展采取了语音和图像兼顾的途径，而且藉着洪堡特所谓「文字模拟」原则，使潜伏于人类思维深处的创造力得以充分发挥。本文除了是洪堡特汉语理论的解释外，亦尝试对其理论加以重建。本文除征引洪堡特的基本著作外，亦采纳了当代中外学者有关汉语和汉字的观点，其中对胡朴安和孙雍长二氏之理论，作了较详细的介绍。

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