シトゥ『三十頌註』研究：チベット語の文字体系

The purpose of this study is to reveal the Tibetans’ own understanding of the Tibetan script (yi ge) based on a reading of Si tu’s commentary on the Sum cu pa, entitled Mkhas pa’i mgul rgyan mu tig phreng mdzes, one of the leading treatises in classical Tibetan grammar.
Si tu uses the term yi ge (Skt. akṣara) in two senses: “syllable” (e.g., /a/, /i/, /ka/, /kha/, etc.) and “script” (e.g.,ཀ ཁ etc.). In reading Si tu’s commentary, one must always be aware of the ambiguity of yi ge.
Then, yi ge is divided into two categories: āli (“a-series”) and kāli (“ka-series”). In Si tu’s understanding, Thon mi discusses only four ālis: /i/, /u/, /e/, and /o/. This means that, according to Si tu, āli does not include /a/. The four vowel signs for -i, -u, -e, and -o are also called āli.
The thirty syllables from /ka/ to /a/ are called kāli. Also, the thirty basic letters (ming gzhi) from ཀ to ཨ which represent these syllables, are called kāli. It should be noted that the Tibetan kāli is not necessarily an element containing a consonant; for within the thirty kālis is included /a/, which is represented by either ༢ or ཨ.
The present article contains an annotated Japanese translation of the beginning section of Si tu’s commentary. What a close reading of the text reveals is Si tu’s unique idea of the ambiguity of yi ge, which emerges as he goes back and forth between discussions about written language and spoken language.