Title

A Comparison of Vocabulary Collected in 16th and 17th Century Domestic and Overseas Hokkien Zazi

Author

Cheng Ying, Lien Chinfa, Fabio Yuchung Lee

Genre

Article  

Pages

763-793

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

zazi 雜字, Ming Dynasty, Hokkien dialect, Spanish, Philippines

Abstract

Zazi 雜字refers to works compiled by categorizing and gathering words that share certain associations. Among such collections written in Hokkien, Xinke zengjiao qieyong zhengyin xiangtan zazi daquan 新刻增校切用正音鄉談雜字大全 (Newly Revised and Annotated Collection of Miscellaneous Characters in Mandarin and Hokkien) is the most representative. This book was compiled during the Ming Dynasty by people in the Hokkien-speaking regions to help them learn the official Mandarin of the time through a vocabulary collection contrasting Hokkien and Mandarin. In the 17th century, materials related to Hokkien from the Philippines included the Folangji huaren huabu 佛郎機化人話簿, a dictionary for Hokkien speakers learning Spanish, while the Dictionarium Sino-Hispanicum was compiled by a Spanish missionary to learn Hokkien. Although neither of these works bears the title “zazi,” they share common characteristics in their compilation method: categorized arrangement, word- focused, without forming coherent texts or rhymed verses. Although all three works included Hokkien and were intended for learning a second language, the vocabulary selection varied according to the authors’ respective goals. Some lexical items used at that time differ from modern Hokkien, indicating that these words have undergone semantic or grammatical changes over time.