信眾語言與宗教地景──桃竹保生大帝、媽祖藥籤的閩客書寫及區域流播

Faithful Language and Sacred Landscape: Minnan and Hakka Script Practices within Yaoqian Texts and Their Regional Circulation in Temples of the Taoyuan–Hsinchu Region

本研究以桃竹地區保生大帝與媽祖宮廟所流傳之藥籤為核心，探討信語言使用與方言書寫對民間醫療實踐與宗教地景形成之影響。藥籤內容中閩南語詞彙的轉寫尤為明顯，如燉補義的動詞tim33（燖），民間常以「沉」、「朕」、「沈」、「烪」、「㶩」等異體字呈現，映現閩南語於當地社群所具之語言優勢與文化表徵功能。相較之下，客語特徵詞彙在桃竹民間藥籤中出現頻率低，方言書寫現象不具系統性。本文援引聯合國教科文組織（UNESCO）所提出之語言活力九大指標，指出閩、客語在桃竹地區被地方社群積極使用，其語言實踐亦透過宮廟網絡與藥籤文本予以體現，從而形成帶有地域語言特色之信仰模式。藥籤譜的流傳並非完全取決於主祀神明，更傾向依據信眾所屬語言群體來選擇與承續特定的籤譜版本，方言分布遂於無形中建構出信仰地景之語言邊界。

The present study, focuses on yaoqian藥籤(medical divination slips) circulated in Baosheng Dadi and Mazu temples in the Taoyuan–Hsinchu region, examing how local language use and dialectal writing practices influence folk medical practices and the construction of religious landscapes. The transcription of Minnan lexical items is particularly prominent in the yaoqian texts. For instance, the verb tim33燖(meaning“to stew and nourish”) is frequently represented by various variant characters such as沉,朕,沈,烪, and㶩, which reflects the linguistic dominance and cultural symbolic function of Minnan in the local communities. In contrast, Hakka lexical items appear infrequently in these vernacular texts, with dialectal writing remaining largely unsystematic. Drawing upon the nine factors of language vitality established by UNESCO, this study argues that while Minnan is not an official lingua franca, it remains actively used by local communities in Taoyuan–Hsinchu. This linguistic practice is further expressed through temple networks and yaoqian texts, thereby forming a faith-based model imbued with regional linguistic features. The transmission of yaoqian is not determined solely by the enshrined deity, but is more closely aligned with the linguistic affiliation of the worshippers, who selectively inherit versions of these texts. Through such patterns, the distribution of dialects subtly delineates linguistic boundaries within the religious landscape.