Early Mandarin as Revealed in H̲P'ags-pa Transcription and Related Materials

Early Mandarin as Revealed in H̲P'ags-pa Transcription and Related Materials PDF Author: Tsai Fa Cheng
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chinese language
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description

Early Mandarin as Revealed in H̲P'ags-pa Transcription and Related Materials

Early Mandarin as Revealed in H̲P'ags-pa Transcription and Related Materials PDF Author: Tsai Fa Cheng
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chinese language
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description


Asia's Orthographic Dilemma

Asia's Orthographic Dilemma PDF Author: William C. Hannas
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 9780824818920
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
With the advent of computers and the rise of East Asian economies, the complicated character-based writing systems of East Asia have reached a stage of crisis that may be described as truly millennial in scope and implications. In what is perhaps the most wide-ranging critique of the sinographic script ever written, William C. Hannas assesses the usefulness of Chinese character-based writing in East Asia today.

The Writing on the Wall

The Writing on the Wall PDF Author: William C. Hannas
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812202163
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Students in Japan, China, and Korea are among the world's top performers on standardized math and science tests. The nations of East Asia are also leading manufacturers of consumer goods that incorporate scientific breakthroughs in telecommunications, optics, and transportation. Yet there is a startling phenomenon known throughout Asia as the "creativity problem." While East Asians are able to use science, they have not demonstrated the ability to invent radically new systems and paradigms that lead to new technologies. In fact, the legal and illegal transfer of technology from the West to the East is one of the most contentious international business issues. Yet Asians who study and work in the West and depend upon Western languages for their research are among the most creative and talented scientists, no less so than their Western counterparts. William C. Hannas contends that this paradox emerges from the nature of East Asian writing systems, which are character-based rather than alphabetic. Character-based orthographies, according to the author, lack the abstract features of alphabetic writing that model the thought processes necessary for scientific creativity. When first learning to read, children who are immersed in a character-based culture are at a huge disadvantage because such writing systems do not cultivate the ability for abstract thought. Despite the overwhelming body of evidence that points to the cognitive side-effects, the cultural importance of character-based writing makes the adoption of an alphabet unlikely in the near future.

The Handbook of Linguistics

The Handbook of Linguistics PDF Author: Mark Aronoff
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119302072
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 727

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Book Description
"The first edition of this Handbook is built on surveys by well-known figures from around the world and around the intellectual world, reflecting several different theoretical predilections, balancing coverage of enduring questions and important recent work. Those strengths are now enhanced by adding new chapters and thoroughly revising almost all other chapters, partly to reflect ways in which the field has changed in the intervening twenty years, in some places radically. The result is a magnificent volume that can be used for many purposes." David W. Lightfoot, Georgetown University "The Handbook of Linguistics, Second Edition is a stupendous achievement. Aronoff and Rees-Miller have provided overviews of 29 subfields of linguistics, each written by one of the leading researchers in that subfield and each impressively crafted in both style and content. I know of no finer resource for anyone who would wish to be better informed on recent developments in linguistics." Frederick J. Newmeyer, University of Washington, University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University "Linguists, their students, colleagues, family, and friends: anyone interested in the latest findings from a wide array of linguistic subfields will welcome this second updated and expanded edition of The Handbook of Linguistics. Leading scholars provide highly accessible yet substantive introductions to their fields: it's an even more valuable resource than its predecessor." Sally McConnell-Ginet, Cornell University "No handbook or text offers a more comprehensive, contemporary overview of the field of linguistics in the twenty-first century. New and thoroughly updated chapters by prominent scholars on each topic and subfield make this a unique, landmark publication."Walt Wolfram, North Carolina State University This second edition of The Handbook of Linguistics provides an updated and timely overview of the field of linguistics. The editor's broad definition of the field ensures that the book may be read by those seeking a comprehensive introduction to the subject, but with little or no prior knowledge of the area. Building on the popular first edition, The Handbook of Linguistics, Second Edition features new and revised content reflecting advances within the discipline. New chapters expand the already broad coverage of the Handbook to address and take account of key changes within the field in the intervening years. It explores: psycholinguistics, linguistic anthropology and ethnolinguistics, sociolinguistic theory, language variation and second language pedagogy. With contributions from a global team of leading linguists, this comprehensive and accessible volume is the ideal resource for those engaged in study and work within the dynamic field of linguistics.

The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation

The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation PDF Author: W. Y. Evans-Wentz
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199727236
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, which was unknown to the Western world until its first publication in 1954, speaks to the quintessence of the Supreme Path, or Mah=ay=ana, and fully reveals the yogic method of attaining Enlightenment. Such attainment can happen, as shown here, by means of knowing the One Mind, the cosmic All-Consciousness, without recourse to the postures, breathings, and other techniques associated with the lower yogas. The original text for this volume belongs to the Bardo Thödol series of treatises concerning various ways of achieving transcendence, a series that figures into the Tantric school of the Mah=ay=ana. Authorship of this particular volume is attributed to the legendary Padma-Sambhava, who journeyed from India to Tibet in the 8th century, as the story goes, at the invitation of a Tibetan king. Padma-Sambhava's text per se is preceded by an account of the great guru's own life and secret doctrines. It is followed by the testamentary teachings of the Guru Phadampa Sangay, which are meant to augment the thought of the other gurus discussed herein. Still more useful supplementary material will be found in the book's introductory remarks, by its editor Evans-Wentz and by the eminent psychoanalyst C. G. Jung. The former presents a 100-page General Introduction that explains several key names and notions (such as Nirv=ana, for starters) with the lucidity, ease, and sagacity that are this scholar's hallmark; the latter offers a Psychological Commentary that weighs the differences between Eastern and Western modes of thought before equating the "collective unconscious" with the Enlightened Mind of the Buddhist. As with the other three volumes in the late Evans-Wentz's critically acclaimed Tibetan series, all four of which are being published by Oxford in new editions, this book also features a new Foreword by Donald S. Lopez.

Esoteric Teachings Of The Tibetan Tantra (Annotated Edition)

Esoteric Teachings Of The Tibetan Tantra (Annotated Edition) PDF Author: C. A. Muses
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
ISBN: 3849621936
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
This is the extended and annotated edition including * an extensive annotation of more than 10.000 words about the history and basics of Buddhism, written by Thomas William Rhys Davids Contents: Part I: Seven Initiation Rituals Of The Tibetan Tantra Chapter One - The Initiation Ritual Of The Fierce Guru Chapter Two - The Initiation Ritual Of The Fierce Guru With Phurba Chapter Three - The Initiation Ritual Of The All-Merciful One Chapter Four - The Initiation Ritual Of Hayagriva Buddha. The Green Rta-Mgrin's Initiation Ceremony From The Treasury Of Percipience Chapter Five - The Initiation Ritual Of The Red Gshin-Rje Chapter Six - The Superb Initiation Ritual Of Ahm Gtsug Vajrapani Chapter Seven - A Compendium Of The Initiation Rituals Of Performance Or All-Accomplishing Wisdom Presided Over By Amoghasiddhi Part Ii - The Six Yogas Of Naropa [In Tsong-Kha-Pa's Commentary] Prologue Chapter One - Introduction Chapter Two - Special Preparations Chapter Three - The Arising And Perfecting Yoga Chapter Four - The Steps Of Practice In The Path Chapter Five - The Art Of Gtum-Mo Or Heat Yoga Chapter Six - The Practice Of The Illusory Body Or Dream Yoga, Depending On Foregoing Heat Yoga Chapter Seven - On The Bardo Realm Chapter Eight - The Yoga Of The Light Chapter Nine - The Transformation Yoga Chapter Ten - How To Improve The Practice In The Path Chapter Eleven - Tsong Khopa's Summary Of Sources Epilogue Appendix - The Vow Of Mahamudra Translator's Introduction Editor's Note The Vow Of Mahamudra

The Writing Revolution

The Writing Revolution PDF Author: Amalia E. Gnanadesikan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444359851
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
In a world of rapid technological advancements, it can be easy to forget that writing is the original Information Technology, created to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defy time and space. The Writing Revolution picks apart the development of this communication tool to show how it has conquered the world. Explores how writing has liberated the world, making possible everything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, to instruction manuals and love letters Draws on an engaging range of examples, from the first cuneiform clay tablet, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanese syllabaries, to the printing press and the text messaging Weaves together ideas from a number of fields, including history, cultural studies and archaeology, as well as linguistics and literature, to create an interdisciplinary volume Traces the origins of each of the world’s major written traditions, along with their applications, adaptations, and cultural influences

Handbook of Orthography and Literacy

Handbook of Orthography and Literacy PDF Author: R. Malatesha Joshi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113678134X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 1203

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Book Description
Until about two decades ago, the study of writing systems and their relationship to literacy acquisition was sparse and generally modeled after studies of English language learners. This situation is now changing. As the worldwide demand for literacy continues to grow, researchers from different countries with different language backgrounds have begun examining the connection between their writing systems and literacy acquisition. This text, which derives from a NATO sponsored conference on orthography and literacy, brings together the research of 70 scholars from across the world--the largest assemblage of such experts to date. Their findings are grouped into three parts, as follows: Part I, Literacy Acquisition in Different Writing Systems, describes the relationship between orthography and literacy in twenty-five orthographic systems. This section serves as a handy reference source for understanding the orthographies of languages as diverse as Arabic, Chinese, English, Icelandic, Kannada, and Kishwahili. Part II, Literacy Acquisition From a Cross-Linguistic Perspective, makes direct comparisons of literacy acquisition in English and other orthographic systems. The overall conclusion that emerges from these eight chapters is that the depth of an orthographic system does influence literacy acquisition primarily by slowing down the acquisition of reading skills. Even so, studies show that dyslexic readers can be found across all orthographic systems whether shallow or deep, which shows that dyslexia also has internal cognitive and biological components. Part III, Literacy Acquisition: Instructional Perspectives, explores literacy acquisition from developmental and instructional perspectives and ends with a look into the future of literacy research. This Handbook is appropriate for scholars, researchers, and graduate students in such diverse fields as cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, literacy education, English as a second language, and communication disorders.

The Origins of Writing

The Origins of Writing PDF Author: Wayne M. Senner
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803291676
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This collection of 12 essays outlines what is now known about the origins and development of writing. The topics discussed include such precursors to writing as the tokens used for record-keeping in the Middle East, as well as cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphics.The alphabet is treated from its invention to its use in Arabic, Greek and Latin. Also presented are the writing systems of China and Middle America and two European systems, runes and ogham, that have been superseded by the Latin alphabet. An introduction surveys the subject and explores myths and theories on the invention of writing.

Men and Gods in Mongolia

Men and Gods in Mongolia PDF Author: HENNING. HASLUND
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9780367139520
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
First published in 1935, Men & Gods in Mongolia is rare and unusual travel book that takes the reader into the virtually unknwon world of Mongolia, a country only now opening up to the West. Henning Haslund was a Swedish Explorer who accompanied Sven Hedin and other explorers into Mongolia and Central Asia in the 1920s and 30s. Haslund takes the reader to the lost city of Karakota in the Gobi desert, introduces the reader to the Bodgo Gegen, a God-king in Mongolia, and allows the reader to meet Dambin Jansang, the dreaded warlord of the 'Black Gobi'. Alongside the esoteric and mystical material, there is plenty of adventure; caravans across the Gobi desert; kidnapped and held for ransom; initation into shamanic societies; encounters with warlords; and the violent birth of a new nation.