敦煌變文與「祖堂集」「甚」、「甚(什)摩」用法之比較

Abstract

一、有關「甚（什）麼」來源，歷來學者考證很多，文中共列出八種不同說法，並加以評論，其中以第八說「甚（什）麼」是由「是物」而來，「是物」為「是何物」的縮文，最為允當。二、由是物→甚（什）麼的演變過程，字形多樣，從音理和語義推之 ↗甚，為是物（勿）（沒）→甚物（沒）→什沒→什摩→什麼 ↘甚摩→甚麼→是麼（末）三、表示「甚（什）麼」這個詞彙的文字形式，變文比「祖堂集」富有變化，大抵變文以「甚」為主，占83.65%《祖堂集》以「什摩」為主，占 98.87%。四、「甚（什）麼」在「祖堂集」中出現的次數與使手情形都比變文頻繁及多樣化，現代漢語「甚（什）麼」用法，在「祖堂集」中大都已經出現。

I.In respect with the source of "甚（什）麼 (Shen-mo; sher-mo: literally translated to "What"), there are lots of texture researches. In this paper, I will list eight kinds of sources and comment on them respectively. Particularly, the 8th source states that "什（甚）麼" is originateds from "是物" ("This Matter") where "是物" is abbreviated from "是何物" ("What is matter") of which texture proof is most appropriate. II.In respect with the transformation from "是物" to "是何物", the character fonts vary diversely.According to their phonetics and semantics, the evolution should be as follows: 是物, with the similar pronumciation of "勿" and "沒", →甚物 (沒 ) →甚 →什沒→什摩→ 什麼 →甚摩→甚麼→是麼 ( 末) III. In respect with the form of terms for "甚（什）麼 ", those in 變文 are more flexible than in “祖堂集”. Generally, " 甚 "appears in 變文 most frequently, which accounts for 83.65%. "什麼" mostly presents in “祖堂集”, which accounts for 98.87%. IV. The frequency and the usage of "甚（什）麼" present in “祖堂集” are more diversified. The usage of "甚（什）麼" in modern mandarin has mostly similar to those in “祖堂集”.