兩周金文「口」的功能及其分化

The Functions of Cuó and their Divergence in Bronze Vessel Inscriptions of the Western and Eastern Zhou

以往研究對西周金文「口」的功能持以不同意見，這些意見差異甚大。本文從「指示」的角度切入，詮釋「口」的功能，展示了其不同用法之間的異還有同，認為「口」有情境指示和篇章指示兩種用法，前者是「指示聽話人注意說話人」，後者則「指示以甲事為乙事的時間參照」。「口」同時有兩種固定用法，表明它在西周早期金文已開始分化，但其基本概念仍是「指示」。西周晚期前後這兩種用法又各自引申，進一步分化成不同的詞，前者引申為反應標記，註記「說話人受到外在現實刺激而歷經認知變化」，後者引申為遞進標記，註記「與此同時還有另一需要注意的事況」。先秦傳世典籍中它們分別寫作「嗟」和「且」，這是功能分化反映在字形分化上的一種現象。 There exists a wide gap in the positions found in studies on the functions of the character cuó 口 in bronze vessel inscriptions dating from the Western Zhou 西周 period. This article argues that cuó's functions are best explained by the concept of deixis, which shows not only the differences but also the similarities between its various uses. It further suggests that cuó is used to direct the listener to pay attention to the speaker, or to refer to the circumstances just mentioned as a point of consultation for the forthcoming situation. The former usage is situational deixis, while the latter is textual deixis. The article also points out that both types of usage underwent a functional shift during the late Western Zhou. As a result, the situational use of cuó became a response marker indicating that the speaker has undergone some kind of change in his current state of cognition due to external factors, while the textual use of cuó turned into an additive marker indicating that there is something following that requires more attention. This divergence caused the character to split into two forms in pre-Qin documents, with the situational use of cuó written as jiē 嗟 and the textual use of cuó written as qiě 且.

There exists a wide gap in the positions found in studies on the functions of the character cuó 口 in bronze vessel inscriptions dating from the Western Zhou 西周 period. This article argues that cuó's functions are best explained by the concept of deixis, which shows not only the differences but also the similarities between its various uses. It further suggests that cuó is used to direct the listener to pay attention to the speaker, or to refer to the circumstances just mentioned as a point of consultation for the forthcoming situation. The former usage is situational deixis, while the latter is textual deixis. The article also points out that both types of usage underwent a functional shift during the late Western Zhou. As a result, the situational use of cuó became a response marker indicating that the speaker has undergone some kind of change in his current state of cognition due to external factors, while the textual use of cuó turned into an additive marker indicating that there is something following that requires more attention. This divergence caused the character to split into two forms in pre-Qin documents, with the situational use of cuó written as jiē 嗟 and the textual use of cuó written as qiě 且.