Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Mental Growth and Human Resilience (MGHR 2025)

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Preservation and Innovation of Archaic Words in Traditional Chinese Character Systems: A Case Study of the Common Cantonese Archaisms “Haang” (行), “Sik” (食), and “Tai” (睇) in Hong Kong

Authors
Xiaotong Duan1, *
1College of Culture and Communication, Henan Finance University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450000, China
*Corresponding author. Email: 20222511210231@stu.hafu.edu.cn
Corresponding Author
Xiaotong Duan
Available Online 15 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_51How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Traditional Chinese Character Environment; Archaisms; preservation and innovation; Hong Kong cantonese; form-meaning
Abstract

Cantonese, which is a major Chinese dialect, has long drawn scholarly attention for the preservation and innovation of its archaisms. However, the role of the Traditional Chinese character system in shaping this process remains underexplored. This study examines the dual mechanisms of preservation and innovation for the common Hong Kong Cantonese archaisms “haang” (行), “sik” (食), and “tai” (睇) within this system. Findings reveal that Hong Kong’s biliterate-triliterate environment supports archaism preservation through: semantic-form association stabilization, institutional empowerment via education, and reinforced cultural identity. Simultaneously, innovation occurs through: cognitively driven semantic extension, media/education-facilitated grammatical simplification, and digital ecology-adapted dissemination. Comparing Guangzhou (simplified characters) and Taiwan (multilingual competition) shows that the morphological unity of traditional characters is the key to the resilience of language transmission. The study unveils a “traditional script-regional culture” symbiosis model, offering theoretical insights for Chinese dialectology and regional cultural transformation amid globalization.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Mental Growth and Human Resilience (MGHR 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
15 December 2025
ISBN
978-2-38476-509-6
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_51How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Xiaotong Duan
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/15
TI  - Preservation and Innovation of Archaic Words in Traditional Chinese Character Systems: A Case Study of the Common Cantonese Archaisms “Haang” (行), “Sik” (食), and “Tai” (睇) in Hong Kong
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Mental Growth and Human Resilience (MGHR 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 470
EP  - 478
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_51
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_51
ID  - Duan2025
ER  -