The Primitive Attributes of Phono-Semantic Characters in Dongba Script
This article examines the primitive characteristics of phono-semantic (xingsheng) characters in the Dongba script, an early Naxi pictographic writing system predating oracle bone script. The author argues that early writing systems primarily conveyed meaning through form rather than sound, and that Dongba script represents a transitional stage between purely ideographic writing and phonetic-semantic (yinyi) writing. Analyzing Dongba phono-semantic characters, the study finds immaturity in both their external graphic form and the internal functions of their semantic and phonetic components. Specifically, the layout of these characters still follows real-world spatial arrangements (e.g., sky elements placed above, earth/water below) and inherits structural conventions from pictographic, indicative, and associative compound characters. These findings reveal that Dongba phono-semantic characters retain strong traces of earlier ideographic writing, illustrating the developmental influence of early ideographic scripts on the emergence and formation of phono-semantic characters.
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