Introduction to Chinese Linguistics


Is Chinese – whose nouns “lack” number and whose verbs apparently have no tense – a monosyllabic, “primitive” language? Are the Chinese characters a system of logical symbols or “ideographs,” which indicate meaning directly without regard to sound? Should (and could) the characters be done away with and alphabetized? Are Cantonese, Hakka, and Taiwanese dialects or languages? And what is the relationship between Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese? These are some of the questions we will be taking up in this introduction to the scientific study of the Chinese language. Topics to be covered include: the phonological, syntactical, and lexical structure of Modern Standard Chinese; the Chinese writing system; the modern Chinese dialects; the history of the Chinese language; sociolinguistic aspects of Chinese; and language and politics in the Chinese-speaking regions and countries. Readings in English and Chinese, with class discussion conducted primarily in Chinese.

Defrancis, John. Chinese Language, Fact and Fiction. University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 0-8248-1068-6, paperback.

Kubler, Cornelius C., ed. NFLC Guide for Basic Chinese Language Programs. National East Asian Languages Resource Center, The Ohio State University. ISBN 978-0-87415-071-1

Norman, Jerry. Chinese. Cambridge UP. ISBN 0-521-296-53-6,
paperback.

Zhou Youguang. Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts. National East Asian Languages Resource Center, The Ohio State University.ISBN 0-87415-349-2

A course pack will also be provided.