A Study of Phonetic Loan Characters (Jiajiezi) in the Naxi Dongba Scripture Genesis (Chuangshiji)
This article studies phonetic loan characters (jiajiezi) in the Naxi Dongba scripture Genesis (Chuangshiji), a foundational Naxi creation epic and one of the "Three Great Classics" of Dongba religion, valuable for research on Naxi history, language, and script. Based on Li Lin-ts'an's transcribed version "The Moso Flood Story," the author exhaustively analyzed loan-character usage. Loan characters account for about 50% of total characters, with many becoming standardized as a fixed method of character formation. Borrowed characters (被借字) are typically monosyllabic, though sometimes one syllable of a disyllabic character is borrowed, or a disyllabic character represents a disyllabic word. Borrowed characters usually denote concrete meanings, while the resulting loan characters express abstract concepts. The article also quantifies loan-character frequency (e.g., "桶" appearing 111 times) and classifies character-word correspondence patterns between borrowed and loan characters into three types.
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