A Synchronic and Diachronic Study of the Grammar of the Chinese Xiang Dialects

A Synchronic and Diachronic Study of the Grammar of the Chinese Xiang Dialects PDF Author: Yunji Wu
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110927489
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 461

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Book Description
This is the first book in Chinese linguistics which discusses the grammar of a dialect group, in this case the Xiang dialect spoken in Hunan, from both a synchronic and diachronic prespective. The author uses new data and new frameworks to present her analysis. The synchronic part covers contemporary grammar across localities within the Xiang-speaking area by using the methods and theories of comparative and typological linguistics. The diachronic analysis reconstructs earlier grammatical systems based mainly on modern data but also on historical written records, and analyses the development of the syntactic systems of the Xiang dialects, adopting the methods and theories of historical linguistics and grammaticalization. The discussions in this book raise new issues on dialect research which have not yet been fully acknowledged by Chinese dialectologists. The author shows, for example, how the earlier layers of grammar may be reconstructed on the basis of modern data, and how the path of grammaticalization of functional words may be traced. The discussions reveal that the Xiang dialect group forms a transitional zone between northern and southern dialects. The syntactic constructions in these two areas often co-exist or are mingled in Xiang. Thus, the grammatical constructions in different localities of the Xiang dialect group often provide a bridge connecting the constructions of northern and southern Chinese, or Modern Chinese and Chinese of earlier periods. This book is of interest to scholars and students who are working on grammar, dialectology, historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, typological linguistics, and grammaticalization, as well as those researchers focusing on language policy, language acquisition, and education.

A Synchronic and Diachronic Study of the Grammar of the Chinese Xiang Dialects

A Synchronic and Diachronic Study of the Grammar of the Chinese Xiang Dialects PDF Author: Yunji Wu
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110927489
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 461

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is the first book in Chinese linguistics which discusses the grammar of a dialect group, in this case the Xiang dialect spoken in Hunan, from both a synchronic and diachronic prespective. The author uses new data and new frameworks to present her analysis. The synchronic part covers contemporary grammar across localities within the Xiang-speaking area by using the methods and theories of comparative and typological linguistics. The diachronic analysis reconstructs earlier grammatical systems based mainly on modern data but also on historical written records, and analyses the development of the syntactic systems of the Xiang dialects, adopting the methods and theories of historical linguistics and grammaticalization. The discussions in this book raise new issues on dialect research which have not yet been fully acknowledged by Chinese dialectologists. The author shows, for example, how the earlier layers of grammar may be reconstructed on the basis of modern data, and how the path of grammaticalization of functional words may be traced. The discussions reveal that the Xiang dialect group forms a transitional zone between northern and southern dialects. The syntactic constructions in these two areas often co-exist or are mingled in Xiang. Thus, the grammatical constructions in different localities of the Xiang dialect group often provide a bridge connecting the constructions of northern and southern Chinese, or Modern Chinese and Chinese of earlier periods. This book is of interest to scholars and students who are working on grammar, dialectology, historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, typological linguistics, and grammaticalization, as well as those researchers focusing on language policy, language acquisition, and education.

Chinese Grammar

Chinese Grammar PDF Author: Hilary Chappell
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 9780199272136
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
This book presents pioneering accounts by leading scholars of twelve central aspects of the grammar of Chinese languages. Deploying a combination of historical and typological approaches it shows the variety and diversity of Chinese languages as well as the extent to which these and their dialects differ from Mandarin. Each author provides full background information on the language or dialect under consideration including its historical and contemporary context. In her introduction Dr Chappell describes the history and geography of Chinese languages. "A must-read... a vital reassessment of the field which shows there is much to be learned by integrating historical study with dialectal investigation." Journal of Linguistics "Chappell combines typological observations of Sinitic and non-Sinitic languages with general linguistic theory in a most satisfying fashion... A very welcome, refeshing and exciting contribution." Cahiers de Linguistique Hilary Chappell is senior lecturer in linguistics at La Trobe University. Her published work includes The Grammar of Inalienability (with William McGregor, Amsterdam, 1995). She is currently writing a book on the typology of Chinese languages,

A Grammar of Shaowu

A Grammar of Shaowu PDF Author: Sing Sing Ngai
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 150151248X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 733

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Book Description
This is the first comprehensive grammar of Shaowu, a Min language spoken in Shaowu city and its environs in northwestern Fujian province, China. The book offers first-hand linguistic data collected over four years in the field, now placed at the disposal of researchers and students working in language documentation, comparative linguistics and Sinitic typology. It can serve as a reference grammar for those interested in learning the Shaowu language, thereby helping to preserve it. In addition, the book provides insights into Shaowu's classification which has been widely debated, thus elucidating its genetic affiliation. The book first presents Shaowu's geography, demography and history. It then profiles the language's phonology and lexicon, before providing a detailed description of its syntax, notably on its nominal, predicate, clausal and complex sentence structures, which are the focus of the book. The typological profile of Shaowu is also treated with the conclusion that the language has Gan, Hakka, Mandarin and even some Wu overlays on its Min base. The Shaowu language serves an excellent example to illustrate the degree of hybridity a language can attain due to intensive language contact over time.

Jin Chinese Grammar II

Jin Chinese Grammar II PDF Author: Xing Xiangdong
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000733742
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
This book is the second volume of a two-volume set that synchronically and diachronically studies the Jin dialect of Northern Shaanxi Province in China, with a focus on six grammatical features of the dialect. The Jin dialect of Northern Shaanxi is one of the most ancient, complicated, and representative dialects of the Yellow River region and figures prominently in our understanding of the Jin dialect and northern Chinese dialects as a whole. The book looks into the following six aspects of the dialect: subjunctive mood, expressions of complex sentence relationships, embedded sentence patterns, complex interrogative sentences, the formation of imperative modal particle “zhe”, and the phonetic variation of grammatical constituents. In the final chapter, the author discusses the significance of diachronic comparison as the research method for studying Chinese dialectal grammar. The book will be a useful reference for scholars and students interested in Jin dialects, Chinese dialects, and Chinese linguistics.

The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Discourse Analysis

The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Discourse Analysis PDF Author: Chris Shei
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351819399
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 674

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Book Description
Chinese is a discourse-oriented language and the underlying mechanisms of the language involve encoding and decoding so the language can be correctly delivered and understood. To date, there has been a lack of consolidation at the discourse level such that a reference framework for understanding the language in a top-down fashion is still underdeveloped. The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Discourse Analysis is the first to showcase the latest research in the field of Chinese discourse analysis to consolidate existing findings, put the language in both theoretical and socio-functional perspectives, offer guidance and insights for further research and inspire innovative ideas for exploring the Chinese language in the discourse domain. The book is aimed at both students and scholars researching in the areas of Chinese linguistics and discourse analysis.

A Grammar of Gan Chinese

A Grammar of Gan Chinese PDF Author: Xuping Li
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 1501507265
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
China is very rich in language resources, and Mandarin is undoubtedly its most prestigious and well-known representative. Unfortunately, most of these languages remain understudied or even unstudied. Such is the case of Yichun Gan. Written in the style of a reference grammar, this book sets out to give a comprehensive and systematic description of Yichun grammar, with the aim of increasing readers' knowledge about Chinese languages other than Mandarin. In addition to common categories like nouns, verbs, adjectives and prepositions, the volume attempts to cover as many grammatical categories and constructions as possible, including the Sinitic-specific categories such as classifiers, the aspect system, postpositions and the object-marking BA constructions. To highlight its uniqueness, the book adopts a comparative perspective to contrast many features of Yichun Gan with Mandarin and other Sinitic languages. Our study shows that Yichun Gan possesses both Northern and Southern Chinese traits in many constructions, which supports its status as a transitional language. It will be of interest to linguists who wish to learn more about East Asian languages, and more specifically Sinitic languages.

Cantonese GIVE and Double-Object Construction

Cantonese GIVE and Double-Object Construction PDF Author: Andy Chi-on Chin
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027257809
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
GIVE is a versatile morpheme in many languages. While there have been extensive studies on the interplay between the syntax and semantics of GIVE in many languages, not much has been done in a similar manner on Cantonese, a member of the Yue dialect group of the Chinese language family. This monograph reports on the study of GIVE and its associated functions and syntactic constructions in Cantonese from diachronic, synchronic, and typological perspectives. Drawing on cross-linguistic data, and 19th century Cantonese dialect materials, this study first traces the chronological development of the various functions played by GIVE in Cantonese. It then examines the double-object construction. Besides the typological features of this construction in Cantonese, this study investigates the use of the northern pattern in Cantonese as a result of the increasing influence of Putonghua and Modern Standard Chinese by means of a sociolinguistic survey with 40 native speakers of Cantonese.

Chinese Linguistics

Chinese Linguistics PDF Author: Giorgio Francesco Arcodia
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198847831
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
Presents a directory of WWW resources on Chinese linguistics, compiled by the East Asian Libraries Cooperative. Links to resources on phonetics, grammar, and dialects. Provides access to online courses, journals, and academic organizations.

World Lexicon of Grammaticalization

World Lexicon of Grammaticalization PDF Author: Tania Kouteva
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107136245
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 647

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Book Description
Based on analysis of more than 1,000 languages, this volume reconstructs more than 500 processes of grammatical change in the languages of the world.

The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language

The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language PDF Author: Chan Sin-Wai
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317382498
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 829

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Book Description
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.