Chinese Binomes: A Graphical or Phonological Construct?

In contemporary Chinese, disyllabic morphemes may consist of sinograms that lack independent meaning. Lianmian words, for example, receive considerable attention, while other structures with zero-meaning sinograms are often overlooked. These zero-meaning sinograms combine with typologically similar sinograms to form polysyllabic structures, presumably to compensate for their individual lack of meaning. The primary purpose of this article is to redirect the focus to disyllabic structures in general, i.e., binomes, regardless of whether they are also identified as lianmian words. The study conducts a corpus-driven analysis of binomes, detailing their graphical and phonetic composition and classifying them based on the degree of similarity of partial constituents. It contributes to understanding the role, structural typology, and aesthetic features of zero-meaning sinograms within binomes. Supporting Agencies The funding for the present publication was provided by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for specific research (IGA_FF_2023_058).