Abstract：A loanword is generally borrowed, when a new concept does not have an existing representation in the target language. However, the Cantonese word tizi (teizi in Cantonese pronunciation) is borrowed into Mandarin despite that its equivalent putao (grape) already exists in Mandarin. After the Reform and Opening-up, imported grapes have brought the word tizi into Mandarin. Tizi was not used as a special term. As a written form appearing in texts published in the Yue speaking regions, tizi was considered to be a Cantonese equivalent to the Mandarin putao. Later, as used in the north, tizi and putao became a pair of distinctive words in Mandarin, with tizi possibly interpreted as the hyponym of putao. Putao in Mandarin thus possessed different interpretations, meaning that it can be interpreted as a general concept, or in its narrow sense, as a specific reference to native grapes growing in China, whereas tizi lost its general interpretation. This distinctive pair also resulted in the re-division of the grape category. Tizi indicates a different language borrowing mechanism compared with that of other loanwords. Firstly, northern people learnt the new words along with a new fruit type, which would easily lead to the misunderstanding of its original meaning in Cantonese. After the import of the Cantonese equivalent, Mandarin requires an adequate division of labor in the lexical structure, so as to allow a maximal utilization of resources and to avoid a waste of lexicon. The popularity of Cantonese in the early years of the Reform and Opening-up paved the way for the introduction of semantic equivalents. Additionally, the fresh loanwords sounded more attractive to the young people, stimulating the use of tizi as a tendency under different commercial situations. This eventually led to the semantic reinterpretation of a series of fruit names in Mandarin. Similar examples can also be found in other pairs of fruit names to which the inventorial effect reveals, with one of the pair being a loanword and the other a native one. Another example is the Mandarin yingtao and the loanword chelizi from Cantonese. The latter is translated from the English word cherry that denotes all the varieties of cherries all over the world. After getting into Mandarin, chelizibecomes the form specifically representing the varieties originated from Europe, acting as the hyponym of the native Mandarin cherries yingtao. Similarly, qiyiguo, loaned from the Cantonese translation of kiwi from New Zealand, is now regarded as a hyponym or an equivalent of the native Mandarin míhóutáo, of which the variety was originally grown locally in China. Bulin (bulam in Cantonese pronunciation) and bulangguo are calques in Cantonese and Mandarin respectively, both taken from plum in English. English plum contains a wider extension than the Mandarin lizi, including meizi, the Chinese plum as a variety distinctive from lizi. Yet, after entering Mandarin, bulin and bulangguo have become a subordinate to lizi, denoting varieties of plums originated from Europe. Sheguo comes from a shortened form of the Cantonese transliteration of red delicious apple which denotes a hyponym of apple in English and, strictly speaking, is not a counterpart of the Mandarin pingguo (apple). When borrowed into Mandarin, it becomes a word distinctive to pingguo at the same semantic level. The appealing point of fruit names like “tizi” is that the denoting form already exists in the borrowing language before a loanword enters, and the process always comes along with the introduction of new fruit varieties. The loan of a semantic equivalent often evokes the Inventorial Effect, changing the semantic distributive maps of both the loan and the native lexemes in the lexical inventory structure, sharing the well-acknowledged principle of “avoiding the synonymy” with “the non-monotonicity of the lexical system” as regards the “Economic Principle” of language. The borrowing side eventually obtains a finer categorical distinction differing from the general models in which the origin side is semantically more detailed. This indicates that fineness of semantic categories does not solely, or even not necessarily, rely on cultural richness and cognitive depth, as is assumed by some linguists. Additionally, the inventorial structure of a given language is proved to exert a significant “inventorial effect”, with the retroactive effect acting upon the semantic categorization but not vice versa.
刘丹青. 等义词借用的库藏效应：从“提子—葡萄”说起[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2022, 52(6): 102-111.
Liu Danqing. The Inventorial Effect on Synonymous Loanwords: The Case of Tizi-Putao（Grape） and Beyond. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2022, 52(6): 102-111.
2022, Vol. 52 
