The Languages of China

The Languages of China PDF

Author: S. Robert Ramsey

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2024-05-21

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 069126824X

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An incredible source of information about the Chinese language and China’s minority languages In this accessible and informative book, S. Robert Ramsey lucidly explains what the Chinese language is—its social and geographical situation, its history, its range of dialects, the structure of the modern standard language, and the writing system. He goes on to describe the languages of China’s national minorities, showing how they interrelate with each other and with Chinese. Readers learn about the peoples who speak the languages of China, what China is like linguistically, and the cultural and historical settings of the country’s languages. For those who want more linguistic detail, Ramsey provides lists, maps, charts, and descriptions along with technical references in notes at the end of the book. Invaluable to general linguists and Sinologists alike, The Languages of China is an excellent introduction to Chinese and East Asian linguistics.

The Languages of China

The Languages of China PDF

Author: S. Robert Ramsey

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 9780691014685

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The description for this book, The Languages of China, will be forthcoming.

The Chinese Language

The Chinese Language PDF

Author: John DeFrancis

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 1986-03-01

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780824810689

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"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

Language Policy in the People’s Republic of China

Language Policy in the People’s Republic of China PDF

Author: Minglang Zhou

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2004-08-27

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1402080387

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Language matters in China. It is about power, identity, opportunities, and, above all, passion and nationalism. During the past five decades China’s language engineering projects transformed its linguistic landscape, affecting over one billion people’s lives, including both the majority and minority populations. The Han majority have been juggling between their home vernaculars and the official speech, Putonghua – a speech of no native speakers – and reading their way through a labyrinth of the traditional, simplified, and Pinyin (Roman) scripts. Moreover, the various minority groups have been struggling between their native languages and Chinese, maintaining the former for their heritages and identities and learning the latter for quality education and socioeconomic advancement. The contributors of this volume provide the first comprehensive scrutiny of this sweeping linguistic revolution from three unique perspectives. First, outside scholars critically question the parities between constitutional rights and actual practices and between policies and outcomes. Second, inside policy practitioners review their own project involvements and inside politics, pondering over missteps, undergoing soul-searching, and theorizing their personal experiences. Third, scholars of minority origin give inside views of policy implementations and challenges in their home communities. The volume sheds light on the complexity of language policy making and implementing as well as on the politics and ideology of language in contemporary China.

Chinese Language(s)

Chinese Language(s) PDF

Author: Maria Kurpaska

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 311021914X

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"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.

The Languages of the World

The Languages of the World PDF

Author: Kenneth Katzner

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-09-11

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 1134532881

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This third edition of Kenneth Katzner's best-selling guide to languages is essential reading for language enthusiasts everywhere. Written with the non-specialist in mind, its user-friendly style and layout, delightful original passages, and exotic scripts, will continue to fascinate the reader. This new edition has been thoroughly revised to include more languages, more countries, and up-to-date data on populations. Features include: *information on nearly 600 languages *individual descriptions of 200 languages, with sample passages and English translations *concise notes on where each language is spoken, its history, alphabet and pronunciation *coverage of every country in the world, its main language and speaker numbers *an introduction to language families

Intermediate Spoken Chinese

Intermediate Spoken Chinese PDF

Author: Cornelius C. Kubler

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Published: 2016-02-03

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 1462915493

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Welcome to the world's most efficient method of learning Mandarin Chinese, whether you are striving to learn Chinese on your own, or studying in a classroom setting. Part of the widely-used and highly acclaimed Kubler series, Intermediate Spoken Chinese provides separate but integrated "tracks" to help you learn to read, write and speak Chinese efficiently, at your own pace. Some students and teachers wish to emphasize speaking ability first, whereas others want to focus on learning to read and write Chinese at the same time. These Chinese language study books allow you the flexibility to acquire the spoken language and the written language with the method that best fits your needs. Intermediate Spoken Chinese allows you to experience real-life situations in different Mandarin-speaking locales. (It also exposes you to the authentic range of Chinese accents; you're not limited only to learning an imaginary "textbook Beijing accent" as in other books). Each of the everyday situations explored here—from shopping at a market to playing unexpected phone tag—is one you're likely to encounter as you interact with Chinese language speakers. You can choose to use this book with its corresponding Intermediate Chinese Practice Essentials Workbook, available separately, that offers you a wide range of one-of-a-kind activities to help you practice the language skills you learn here. Key features of Intermediate Spoken Chinese: Clear and detailed explanations of natural, colloquial Chinese grammar, pronunciation and usage Recommended strategies to help you learn to speak Chinese more efficiently Experience the actual speaking styles of Chinese people in various parts of mainland China as well as Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia Notes on Chinese culture and society allow you to understand situational etiquette Discussions of challenges faced specifically by English speakers who are learning Chinese and how to overcome them Downloadable audio recordings by native speakers of all the vocabulary, dialogues, and other vital items A separate Teacher's Guide and a full character transcript (Simplified and Traditional) are both available electronically Accompanying digital content contains 56 videos shot on location, which allows you to view conversations involving Chinese speakers from different parts of China Feel confident traveling in the Mandarin-speaking world; with this language learning set you will be speaking Chinese gracefully and fluidly in no time.

A History of the Chinese Language

A History of the Chinese Language PDF

Author: Hongyuan Dong

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-04-16

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 1317743903

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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.

Kingdom of Characters (Pulitzer Prize Finalist)

Kingdom of Characters (Pulitzer Prize Finalist) PDF

Author: Jing Tsu

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2023-01-17

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0735214735

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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.