My practice of adapting use of 本字

This page is my practice of using 本字. This page is intended for my personal reference, does not represent Cantonese Wikipedia position.

Definition

  • 本字:Wikipedia:粵語本字
  • 古字:以前用、而家唔用嘅中文字。
  • 造字:係近代造出嚟嘅粵字
  • 借字:而家用開嘅中文字,因為個音一樣,借嚟用嘅字。

Principle

  1. Characters specialize and evolve through time. Example: 申→ 眒、珅、伸、 胂、紳、呻、砷
  2. 文字係約定俗成。
  3. Communication can be one or two-way. One-way communication implies author and receiver(s) while their roles fixed. Two-way communication implies at least 2 individuals who send and receive data to each others. More, communication in everyday use implies comprehensions of data from the receiving end.
  4. Word and text are for communication. If no one understands the text, it is not communication.

Practice

會用:

  • 廣泛使用嘅(e.g. 攰、㗎、畀)。
  • 冇乜拗撬嘅(e.g. 打甂爐)。
  • 冇造字嘅古字(e.g. 噏(「up」))。

唔用:

  • 個本字不過已經有咗現代、廣泛接受嘅用法,而家個意思同本字好唔同(e.g. 渠(佢)、忌(嘅))。
  • 個本字有廣泛接受嘅用法而個意思同個字相似,不過個造字係廣泛使用(e.g. 無(冇)、來(嚟))。
  • 個本字冇人識,個借字人人用、比較常用(e.g. 誃(扯))。
  • 有拗撬嘅(e.g. 恁 →?咁?諗)。
  • 完全冇人知你寫乜,上文下理都估唔倒嘅。

睇情況,可用可唔用:

  • 個本字不過已經有好多個現代、廣泛接受嘅用法,用起嚟會令句嘢唔清楚嘅(e.g. 重)。
  • 冇造字嘅古字,不過好少人識(e.g. 頭耷耷 /tau4 daap7 daap7/)。
  • 冇造字嘅古字,上文下理可能估倒嘅(e.g. 撳制嘅、 亂噏嘅)。