Abstract
This paper examines the word Gonbin. This word was used as a general term to refer to matters regarding pronunciation in Hokekyo-Ongi which was produced by Gigen in the middle of the Middle period. However, in the Late Middle period, it became used in the context of evaluating correct and incorrect pronunciation. In this period, the word Onbin as well as Gonbin was used for describing linguistic phenomena. This paper infers that these two words had different usages. Gonbin was used frequently in the form Gonbin zawayaca, which changed to Gonbi zawayaca in the Early Modern period. This change restrained the use of Gonbin and ultimately gave rise to a new usage of this word found in scholarly works in the Mid-Modern period. By investigating the usages of Onbin and Gonbin, this paper argues that the existence of Gonbin as a colloquial term assisted the establishment of Onbin as a technical term.
