The Chinese Language

Author : Chris Shei
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 394 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2014-10-03
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9781317662808

Get Book

Understanding the Chinese Language by Chris Shei Pdf

Understanding the Chinese Language provides a vibrant and comprehensive introduction to contemporary Chinese linguistics. Combining an accessible style with an in-depth treatment of the topics at hand, it uses clear, full descriptions and vivid, modern examples to systematically take students through the phonology, vocabulary, grammar, discourse structures and pragmatics of modern Chinese. No prior knowledge of Chinese or linguistics is required. Features include: Six detailed chapters covering the core linguistic aspects of the modern Chinese language, such as words, content units, sentences, speech acts, sentence-final particles and neologisms User-friendly comparisons and contrasts between English and Chinese throughout the text, helping to clearly explain important complexities and nuances of the Chinese language Clear, accessible explanations and insightful analysis of topics and linguistic devices, supported by many helpful examples, diagrams and tables Vivid and relevant examples drawn from real-life contemporary sources such as internet news reports, social networks like Sino Weibo, online forums and TV reality shows, offering fascinating perspectives on modern Chinese media, culture and society Pioneering coverage of Chinese new words and the social phenomena they reveal Additional exercises and four supplementary chapters covering Chinese syllables, idioms, discourse and culture available for free download at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415634885/ Written by a highly experienced instructor, researcher and linguist, Understanding the Chinese Language will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses in Chinese linguistics. It will also be of interest to anyone interested in learning more about Chinese language and culture.

Author : Hongyuan Dong
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 219 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2014-04-16
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781317743903

Get Book

A History of the Chinese Language by Hongyuan Dong Pdf

A History of the Chinese Language provides a comprehensive introduction to the historical development of the Chinese language from its proto Sino-Tibetan roots in prehistoric times to Modern Standard Chinese. Taking a highly accessible and balanced approach, it presents a chronological survey of the various stages of Chinese language development, covering crucial aspects such as phonology, syntax and semantics. Features include: Coverage of the key historical stages in Chinese language development, such as Old Chinese, Middle Chinese, Early Modern Chinese, Classical Chinese and Modern Standard Chinese Treatment of core linguistic aspects of the Chinese language including phonological changes, grammatical development, lexical evolution, vernacular writing, Chinese characters and Modern Chinese dialects Inclusion of many authentic Chinese legends and texts throughout the book, presented through a rigorous framework of linguistic analysis to help students to build up strong critical and evaluative skills and acquire valuable cultural knowledge Integration of materials from different disciplines, such as archaeology, anthropology, history and sociolinguistics, to highlight the cultural and social background of each period of the language Helpful appendices to aid students with no prior knowledge of linguistics or the Chinese language Companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/dong offering a wealth of supplementary resources such as additional exercises, answer keys and audio recordings of the sounds of Middle and Old Chinese. Written by a highly experienced instructor, A History of the Chinese Language will be an essential resource for beginning students of Chinese Language and Linguistics and for anyone interested in the history and culture of China.

Author : John DeFrancis
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
Page : 348 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 1986-03-01
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 0824810686

Get Book

The Chinese Language by John DeFrancis Pdf

"DeFrancis's book is first rate. It entertains. It teaches. It demystifies. It counteracts popular ignorance as well as sophisticated (cocktail party) ignorance. Who could ask for anything more? There is no other book like it. ... It is one of a kind, a first, and I would not only buy it but I would recommend it to friends and colleagues, many of whom are visiting China now and are adding 'two-week-expert' ignorance to the two kinds that existed before. This is a book for everyone." --Joshua A. Fishman, research professor of social sciences, Yeshiva University, New York "Professor De Francis has produced a work of great effectiveness that should appeal to a wide-ranging audience. It is at once instructive and entertaining. While being delighted by the flair of his novel approach, the reader will also be led to ponder on some of the most fundamental problems concerning the relations between written languages and spoken languages. Specifically, he will be served a variety of information on the languages of East Asia, not as dry pedantic facts, but as appealing tidbits that whet the intellectual appetite. The expert will find much to reflect on in this book, for Professor DeFrancis takes nothing for granted." --William S.Y. Wang, professor of linguistics, University of California at Berkeley

Author : Sharron Gu
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2011-12-22
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780786488278

Get Book

A Cultural History of the Chinese Language by Sharron Gu Pdf

Chinese, one of the oldest active languages, evolved over 5,000 years. As such, it makes for a fascinating case study in the development of language. This cultural history of Chinese demonstrates that the language grew and responded to its music and visual expression in a manner very similar to contemporary English and other Western languages. Within Chinese cultural history lie the answers to numerous questions that have haunted scholars for decades: How does language relate to worldview? What would happen to law after its language loses absolute binding power? How do music, visual, and theatrical images influence literature? By presenting Chinese not as a system of signs but as the history of a community, this study shows how language has expanded the scope of Chinese imagination and offers a glimpse into the future of younger languages throughout the world.

Author : Weijia Huang,Qun Ao
Publisher : The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
Page : 282 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2020-03-15
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9789882370609

Get Book

Learning Chinese Language and Culture by Weijia Huang,Qun Ao Pdf

Learning Chinese Language and Culture is an intermediate level textbook, which was intended to be used throughout the entire school year and designed mainly for students who have completed introductory courses of Chinese as a foreign language. Written in English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, this book illustrates Chinese language knowledge and introduces Chinese culture in twentytwo lessons, covering a variety of cultural content, including customs and manners, holidays and festivals, poems and idioms, calligraphy and couplets, myths and legends, feng shui and superstitions, and historical relics and sceneries and many others. In every lesson, the authors have strived to maintain a clear topic and a coherent structure. They have also endeavored to keep the contents lively and achieve a fluent writing style while closely controlling the structure and grammar of every lesson.

Author : Zhengming Du
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 185 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2015-10-13
Category : History
ISBN : 9781443884952

Get Book

The Chinese Language Demystified by Zhengming Du Pdf

The Chinese Language Demystified offers a detailed exploration of the features that have made Mandarin Chinese so unique among the major languages of the world, particularly English and other European linguistic forms of communication. While discussing the aspects that contribute to the perception of the language as somewhat ‘mysterious,’ the book also investigates how it is comprehended and used by the Chinese people despite its lack of formal grammatical structure in the conventional terms of understanding.

Author : Jing Tsu
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 337 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2022-01-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9780735214743

Get Book

Kingdom of Characters (Pulitzer Prize Finalist) by Jing Tsu Pdf

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 What does it take to reinvent a language? After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to leave them behind. In Kingdom of Characters, Jing Tsu argues that China’s most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: the century-long fight to make the formidable Chinese language accessible to the modern world of global trade and digital technology. Kingdom of Characters follows the bold innovators who reinvented the Chinese language, among them an exiled reformer who risked a death sentence to advocate for Mandarin as a national language, a Chinese-Muslim poet who laid the groundwork for Chairman Mao's phonetic writing system, and a computer engineer who devised input codes for Chinese characters on the lid of a teacup from the floor of a jail cell. Without their advances, China might never have become the dominating force we know today. With larger-than-life characters and an unexpected perspective on the major events of China’s tumultuous twentieth century, Tsu reveals how language is both a technology to be perfected and a subtle, yet potent, power to be exercised and expanded.

Author : Daniel Kane
Publisher : Tuttle Publishing
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2006-09-15
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 0804838534

Get Book

The Chinese Language by Daniel Kane Pdf

This is an introductory book about the history and contemporary usage of the Chinese language. Chinese is generally considered a difficult language. It is also a fascinating and important language that cannot be ignored. A growing number of English speakers are learning the Chinese language to the enrichment of their lives and the admiration of their friends. Chinese does, however, present a number of challenges. Written Chinese looks like a random set of stroke, dots and dashes. In its handwritten form, it looks like a series of undifferentiated squiggles. Spoken Chinese sounds like a rapid series of almost identical monosyllables with rising and falling intonations. This book is a contemporary introduction to the modern Chinese language as it is used in China during the first few years of the twenty-first century. China has changed so much and so dramatically over the past century, and indeed over the past twenty years, and these changes are reflected in the language. Textbooks written only twenty years ago are now quite quaint. Much information on the actual use of putonghua (Mandarin Chinese), the use of dialects or various romanization systems is now out of date. The aim of this book is to present current realities. China is a country with a long history, and to understand modern China we must know something of its past. The same applies to the language. Earlier stages of Chinese still have a deep influence on the current language, and we should at least be aware of such influences. This book is not a language textbook for those wishing to learn Chinese. It does not try to teach the Chinese language. It is a book about Chinese. It has been written for people who are thinking of taking up Chinese and would like some insights into what they are letting themselves in for. As the Chinese strategist, Sunzi said, "zhi ji zhi bi, bai zhan bai sheng."—"Know yourself and know the other: a hundred battles, a hundred victories." The same applies to learning Chinese.

Author : Maria Kurpaska
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 297 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9783110219142

Get Book

Chinese Language(s) by Maria Kurpaska Pdf

"The book uncovers the role The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects plays in analyzing the spectrum of linguistic differentiation in China. The author starts by sketching the development and current state of Chinese dialectology and dialectal research. She then provides an analysis of the Dictionary and of the kind of information it provides. Looking at Chinese dialectology from a Western point of view, the author aims to understand and present the Chinese perspective"--Provided by publisher.

Author : Raymond Chang,Margaret Scrogin Chang
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 212 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 0393321878

Get Book

Speaking of Chinese by Raymond Chang,Margaret Scrogin Chang Pdf

"This pleasant, unpretentious account [is] a small stream leading to the ocean of the culture of China."--Scientific American

Author : Jiening Ruan,Jie Zhang,Cynthia B. Leung
Publisher : Springer
Page : 250 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2015-11-10
Category : Education
ISBN : 9783319213088

Get Book

Chinese Language Education in the United States by Jiening Ruan,Jie Zhang,Cynthia B. Leung Pdf

This book offers historical, philosophical, and sociocultural perspectives on Chinese language education for speakers of other languages with a special focus on Chinese language education in the United States. It provides a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary look at changes in CFL/CSL education over time in China and the U.S. and the philosophical, political and sociocultural influences that led to these changes. The essays address a wide array of topics related to Chinese language education, including: A historical overview of the field Theories that apply to CFL/CSL learning Policies and initiatives for CFL/CSL by the Chinese and U.S. governments Medium of instruction Curriculum and instruction for CFL/CSL learners at K-12 and college levels Technology for CFL/CSL education Chinese language learning for heritage learners CFL in study abroad contexts CFL teacher education and training This work is essential reading for scholars and students interested in gaining a greater understanding of Chinese language education in the two countries and around the world.

Author : Sin-Wai Chan
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 790 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2016-04-14
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9781317382492

Get Book

The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language by Sin-Wai Chan Pdf

The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language is an invaluable resource for language learners and linguists of Chinese worldwide, those interested readers of Chinese literature and cultures, and scholars in Chinese studies. Featuring the research on the changing landscape of the Chinese language by a number of eminent academics in the field, this volume will meet the academic, linguistic and pedagogical needs of anyone interested in the Chinese language: from Sinologists to Chinese linguists, as well as teachers and learners of Chinese as a second language. The encyclopedia explores a range of topics: from research on oracle bone and bronze inscriptions, to Chinese language acquisition, to the language of the mass media. This reference offers a guide to shifts over time in thinking about the Chinese language as well as providing an overview of contemporary themes, debates and research interests. The editors and contributors are assisted by an editorial board comprised of the best and most experienced sinologists world-wide. The reference includes an introduction, written by the editor, which places the assembled texts in their historical and intellectual context. The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language is destined to be valued by scholars and students as a vital research resource.

Author : Robert Morrison
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 300 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 1815
Category : Chinese language
ISBN : ONB:+Z157779201

Get Book

A Grammar of the Chinese Language by Robert Morrison Pdf

Author : Allyssa McCabe,Chien-ju Chang
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 223 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2013-11-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027271099

Get Book

Chinese Language Narration by Allyssa McCabe,Chien-ju Chang Pdf

Chinese Language Narration: Culture, cognition, and emotion is a collection of papers presenting original research on narration in Mandarin, especially as it contrasts to what is known regarding narration in English. One chapter addresses dinner table conversation between Chinese immigrant parents and children in the United States compared to non-immigrant peers. Other chapters consider evaluation patterns in Mandarin versus English, referencing strategies, coherence patterns, socioeconomic differences among Taiwanese Mandarin-speaking children, and differences in narration due to Specific Language Impairment and schizophrenia. Several chapters address developmental concerns. Distinctive aspects of narration in Mandarin are linked to larger issues of autobiographical memory. Mandarin is spoken by far more people than any other language, yet narration in this language has received notably less attention than narration in Western languages. This collective effort is a critical addition to our understanding of cross-cultural similarities and differences in how people make sense of experiences through narrative.

Author : Hongyin Tao
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 239 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2016-10-03
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027266354

Get Book

Integrating Chinese Linguistic Research and Language Teaching and Learning by Hongyin Tao Pdf

Linguistic research and language teaching have generally been viewed as two separate types of academic endeavor. While linguists have been preoccupied with pattern finding and theory building, language teachers often encounter issues that are not readily addressed by theoretical linguistic research. This collection, with eleven papers touching upon a wide range of issues, stands out as one of the rare concerted efforts toward a meaningful integration of the two endeavors. Subject matters include tone, stress, word structure, grammatical categories (e.g. classifiers), syntactic structures (including argument structure), discourse particles, implicit and explicit knowledge, conversational repair, and learner corpus. With a diverse range of theoretical orientations, this collection serves to showcase some of the productive ways to create synergy between Chinese linguistic research and language education.