LINGUIST List 12.392

Wed Feb 14 2001

Books: Chinese Linguistics

Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Kimberly Kahn, Chinese Ling: Mandarin Chinese by M. C. F. Gao
2. Kimberly Kahn, Chinese Ling: Sinitic Grammar by H. Chappell (ed.)

MANDARIN CHINESE: An Introduction
Mobo C. F. Gao, University of Tasmania

Mandarin Chinese: An Introduction provides a systematic overview of
Mandarin Chinese from the perspective of the English-speaking
learner. Using a comparative approach, it contrasts grammatical, and
other features of Mandarin Chinese language, with relevant issues in
English. The book opens with a chapter on the setting of the Chinese
language, giving a brief account of the historical, geographical,
social, and linguistic background of China. Included is a discussion
of how modern Chinese politics has played an important role in the
development of modern standard Chinese. Other topics include sounds
and tones, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse. Mandarin
Chinese brings a wide range of topics and issues together in one
volume, presenting a coherent, easy-to-follow picture of the language,
and a practical, efficient way to learn.

December 2000 240 pp.; 3 line illud
0-19-554002-6 paper $19.95
Oxford University Press
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kimberly Kahn
Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New
York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 726-6086 Fax: (212) 726-6442 E-mail: krkoup-usa.org

SINITIC GRAMMAR: Synchronic and Diachronic Perspectives
Edited by Hilary Chappell, La Trobe University, Melbourne

This is an anthology on topics in the grammar of Chinese (Sinitic)
languages. Its aim is to meld historical and typological approaches in
the examination of grammatical phenomena in order to show the extent
to which both earlier stages of Chinese, as well as the modern
dialects, differ from standard Mandarin. With this purpose in mind,
each author has provided important background information on the
Chinese language, dialect, or historical period under
investigation. The introduction provides an up-to-date description of
Sinitic languages in terms of history and geography, placing the goals
of the volume into perspective. A dialect map of China and a summary
of each chapter is also provided.

Contents: 

Part I: Introduction 
1. Synchrony and Diachrony of Sinitic Languages: A Brief History of
 Chinese Dialects, Hilary Chappell 

Part II: Typological and Comparative Grammar 
2. The Development of Locative Markers in the Xiang-Changsha Dialect,
 Yunji Wu 
3. A Typology of Evidential Markers in Sinitic Languages, Hilary Chappell 
4. Verb Complement Constructions in Chinese Dialects: Types and Markers, 
 Christine Lamarre 

Part III: Historical and Diachronic Grammar 
5. Vestiges of Archaic Chinese Derivational Affixes in Modern
 Chinese Dialects, Laurent Sagart 
6. Markers of Predication in Shang Bone Inscriptions, Redouane Djamouri 
7. On the Modal Auxiliaries of Volition in Classical Chinese, Alain Peyraube 

Part IV: Yue Grammar 
8. The Interrogative Construction: (Re)constructing Early Cantonese Grammar,
 Hung-Nin Samuel Cheung 
9. The Verb Complement Construction in Historical Perspective with Special
 Reference to Cantonese, Anne Yue 
10.Aspects of Contemporary Cantonese Grammar: The Structure
 and Stratification of Relative Clauses, Stephen Matthews and Virginia Yip 

Part V: Southern Min Grammar 
11.Semantics and Syntax of Verbal and Adjectival Reduplication in Mandarin and
 Taiwanese Southern Min, Tsao Feng-Fu 
12.Competing Morphological Changes in Taiwanese Southern Min, Chinfa Lien 
13.Aspects of Historical-Comparative Syntax: Functions of Prepositions in 
 Taiwanese and Mandarin, Ying-Che Li

January 2001 472 pp.; 6 b/w figs., 1 map, tables
0-19-829977-X $95.00
Oxford University Press
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kimberly Kahn
Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New
York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 726-6086 Fax: (212) 726-6442 E-mail: krkoup-usa.org