Not offered 2007-2008
CHIN 431 Introduction to Chinese Linguistics (Same as Linguistics 403) *
Is Chinese-whose nouns "lack" number and whose verbs have no tense-a monosyllabic, "primitive" language? Are the Chinese characters a system of logical symbols or
"idiographs," 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 one-semester
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; language and politics in the Chinese-speaking countries;
and the teaching of Chinese as a foreign/second language. Readings in English and Chinese,
with class discussion primarily in Mandarin.
Evaluation will be based on classroom performance, homework, two short papers, and one
longer paper.
Prerequisites: Chinese 302 or permission of instructor.
KUBLER