英语词汇“Look”、“See”和“Eye”的象似性研究
Iconicity Study of English Words “Look”, “See” and “Eye”

语言是对世界的映照，理据研究的实质问题是语言与世界、语言与人的关系问题，也是认知语言学和语言哲学尤为关心的问题。本研究通过探究英语词汇“see”，“eye”，“look”的来源、以及英文字母的产生与发展，并结合直接观察英语词汇拼写象似性，一定程度上展现了这些词汇产生以及演变的理据与规律，为英语词汇的形态象似性研究提供更丰富的实证数据。研究发现，1) 英语字母源于闪米特字母，其产生与象形文字相似，字母与其象征意义之间具有很大的关联性，其中字母“o”表示眼睛；2) 从形态象似性的角度分析，发现“see”，“eye”，“look”都从一定角度提示其象征意义，即“与看或眼睛相关”；3) 同时还发现，一部分类似于see的“*ee*”组合词汇(如seek)也在一定程度上与“眼睛或看”相关。
Language is the reflection of world, and the essential issue of language motivation is the relationship between language and world, language and human, which is also the particular concern in cognitive linguistics and linguistic philosophy. This study reveals the motivation and laws of word production and evolution to a certain degree, and provides some empirical data for morphological iconicity research of English vocabulary, by exploring the origin of “see”, “eye”, “look”, and the production and development of English alphabet. The findings are 1) English letters can derive from Semitic, which is similar to hieroglyph, that means there exists highly correlation between Semitic and its symbolic meaning, and “o” represents “eye”. 2) From the perspective of morphological iconicity, the words “see”, “eye”, “look” can indicate the symbolic meaning of “eye” or “by eye”. 3) Some words with the pattern of “*ee*”, like seek, relate to “eye” or “by eye” to certain degree.