也谈“饭盒”和“盒饭”

王希杰先生在《新加坡语文随笔》的《饭盒和盒饭》中把新加坡人的“吃饭盒”同南京人的“吃冰棒”的说法相类比,认为“冰棒是棒棒儿”,“饭盒是装饭的盒子”,既然“吃冰棒”(吃棒棒儿)可以说,那么“吃饭盒”当然也可以说。可是,考之于两个词限定成分的性质、同中心成分的语义关系及整个词语的命名角度和表义功能,就会发现两个词在这几个方面都是完全不同的。“冰棒”是以冰为原料做成的棒,其原料具有可食性,故可以说“吃冰棒”,“饭盒”是装饭的盒子,其制造原料是不可食的,不能说“吃饭盒”。

The Analyzing of "Dinner Pail" and "Pail-dinner"

Mr.Wang Xijie compares Singaporeans' "having dinner pail" with Nanjing people' "having Ice-stick" in his Dinner Pail and Pail-dinner from Singaporean Chinese Essay.He holds the understanding of that "Ice-stick is a stick" and "Dinner pail is a box of containing food".Since that the expression of having ice-stick is available,the expression of having dinner pail certainly shares the same right.But,we would find completely differences between them on natures of determinants,semantic relationship with the central components,naming aspects of phrases and expressive functions.Ice-stick is made of ice,because of the eatable original material,so it is fine to be called "having ice-stick".On the contrary,dinner pail is the box of containing food,we can not say that "having diner pail" for the raw material is not eatable.