Portal:Linguistics/Featured article/April 2009
Chinese Radicals
[edit]While the term radical is nowadays most commonly used to refer to the section headers of a Chinese dictionary (部首 bùshǒu), also known as index keys or classifiers, under which characters are indexed in dictionaries from Shuōwén Jiézì down to modern ones, the term radical has been strenuously objected to by some[1], due to widespread confusion over the implications of its coinage[2] as well as misunderstandings[3][4] stemming from contradictions between its various historical uses, which for disambiguation purposes are listed as follows…
- ^ E.g., Prof. Boltz 1994 & 2003
- ^ Due to another, earlier usage meaning semantic component, and because most (but definitely not all) of the dictionary section headers play semantic roles in the characters listed under them, there is a widespread misperception that these section headers are by definition semantic in role in all the characters listed under them.
- ^ For instance, some have misunderstood radical to mean any component of a character, which is inconsistent with all of its various historical uses; Wieger 1927, pp.14-15 complains of inconsistent and incorrect usage of the term radical as early as the early 20th century, with some saying “the radical 木 is phonetic in 沐”, whereas as Wieger points out, clearly 木 is not a radical in this instance, but a phonetic element; and the confusion continues today.
- ^ Boltz 1994 & 2003, pp.67-8 complains of incorrect usage, insisting on the first meaning given below