Kurpaska Chinese Language(s)

A Look through the Prism of The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-3-11-021915-9
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 296 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 10 g

Reihe: ISSN

The major aim of the book is to trace the current structuring of the Chinese language(s) on the ground of Chinese linguistics. The research presented is based on the newest and most renowned sources, namely The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects, and the Language Atlas of China.The author discusses the role The Great Dictionary plays in analyzing the spectrum of linguistic differentiation in China and gives a detailed account of the kind of information the dictionary provides. As background, she sketches the development and current state of Chinese dialectology and dialect research. One of the author's aims is to show respect for the grand achievement the Dictionary undoubtedly is, but also to emphasize a critical distance to some of the views presented in it. Apart from being an analysis of this particular Dictionary, the book presents data about the state of modern Chinese dialectology. It provides information about different classifications of the dialects and explains on what basis the classifications are made. Looking at Chinese dialectology from a Western point of view, the author aims to understand and present the Chinese perspective. The book fills an important gap in the field of Western sinology. So far, despite lively discussions concerning the status of the varieties of Chinese and their taxonomy, full-scale studies on Chinese dialects have been almost non-existent in the Western World.

Zielgruppe

Sinologists (Students, Teachers), Linguists in general, Dialectol

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kurpaska, Maria

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Einzelne Sprachen & Sprachfamilien
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturen sonstiger Sprachräume Ost- & Südostasiatische Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgements;8
2;Preface;10
3;Contents;16
4;Abbreviations;19
5;List of tables, diagrams and illustrations;20
6;Chapter 1. Defining terminology;22
7;Chapter 2. Languages of China;25
8;Chapter 3. The language policy of the People’s Republic of China regarding the dialects of Chinese;31
9;Chapter 4. Chinese historical phonetics;36
10;Chapter 5. Classifications of Chinese dialects;46
11;Chapter 6. The classification of Chinese dialects according to The Language Atlas of China;84
12;Chapter 7. Guidelines for field research of Chinese dialects;112
13;Chapter 8. Analysis of The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects;149
14;Chapter 9. Information gathered from The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects;205
15;Chapter 10. Summary and conclusions;224
16;A brief chronology of Chinese history since the Qin Dynasty;231
17;China’s main administrative units;232
18;Notes;234
19;References;242
20;Chinese-English index-glossary of basic linguistic terminology;273
21;Index of personal names;287
22;Index of Chinese place names;292

Leseproben

Chapter 10 Summary and conclusions (p. 203-204)

The linguistic situation in China is much more complex than might seem at first to a viewer from the outside. The innumerable languages of national minorities, the many varieties of Chinese form a complicated pattern. Right now, the dialects are going through changes due to the economic, social and political transformations. In this light the study of dialects is a real challenge and the responsibility of Chinese dialectologists is great. The Great Dictionary... is an example of the work which scholars are trying to perform in order to record the current linguistic state of affairs.

1. Dialects or languages?

Although many of the speakers of Chinese cannot communicate with each other in their mother tongues, the varieties of language used by the Han nationality are still persistently called fangyán, or ‘dialects’. The question whether or not the lack of mutual intelligibility does determine the linguistic borders goes beyond the domain of linguistics and enters the area of politics, anthropology and history. The question touches also upon the feeling of ethnic identity and linguistic ideology, which may, as in many cases in for example Europe, dominate the controversies around linguistic diversification. This is why it is probably best to leave this question aside and concentrate on scientific research of the tongues spoken by the inhabitants of China.

The dictionary confirms that differences between Chinese dialects are enormous and that the various groups are in a great part mutually unintelligible. Even dialect localities which are geographically close can be very different, such as some of the example localities of the Wu dialect or Mandarin dialects neighbouring with Wu, etc. However, they are all treated as dialects of one language, a problem which is not questioned by The Great Dictionary.... There is obviously a need for a thorough study of the issue of mutual intelligibility between dialects of Chinese, a study which could reflect the extent of this problem.

2. The language of the majority

The language of the Han people dominates the numerous languages of ethnic minorities in China. The influence of Chinese on minority languages is overwhelming. Yet, the minority languages also do change the Chinese. This is highlighted in some of the volumes of The Great Dictionary... referring to regions, where the percentage of minorities is significant (e.g. Harbin, Liuzhou, Xining, Yinchuan, Ürümqi, Nanning; see Chapter 8.4.43).

Some of the ethnic minorities do not have their own language and speak only the local variety of Chinese. This is the case of Hui and Manchu nationalities. The She people also use a kind of language similar to the Hakka Chinese. However, these problems deserve a thorough investigation and they are not the object of this book.

Über Autor(innen)

Maria Kurpaska, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan, Poland.