METHODS OF NAMING MEDICINAL HERBS IN SAN DIU ETHNIC LANGUAGE

Abstract

The ways of naming medical herbs have been studied for a long time. There are many different research objectives, which are to make a collection of  plants’ names, to categorize them, or to study the characteristics of the natives’ mind  in terms of naming plants. Among the plants’ names, the words that name medicinal herbs account for a large amount.

By making a semantic analysis of words which name medicinal herbs in San Diu ethnic language, the article identifies some methods of naming medicinal herbs in San Diu ethnic community. The results of the survey illustrate that San Diu people often name the herbs basing on outside characteristics of plants such as shapes, sizes and colors. Another method of naming medicinal herbs bases on their functions. As a consequence, this reveals the unique characteristics of the culture of San Diu people in the northern mountainous areas ofVietnam.