LINGUIST List 14.279

Mon Jan 27 2003

Books: Language Description: Lin

Editor for this issue: Marisa Ferrara <marisalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. LINCOM.EUROPA, A Grammar of Mandarin Chinese: Lin

		
Title: A Grammar of Mandarin Chinese
Series Title: Languages of the World/Materials 344
			
Publication Year: 2003
Publisher: Lincom Europa
 http://home.t-online.de/home/LINCOM.EUROPA/
			
Availability: Available
 
Author: Hua Lin, University of Victoria 

Hardback: ISBN: 3895866423., Pages: 160 pp., Price: USD 47.70 / EUR
	 51.90 / GBP 30
			
Abstract:
			
Mandarin Chinese is the official language in China, Taiwan and
Singapore, and the language with the largest number of native
speakers. In recent years, Mandarin usage has spread even further: it
is now taught in most schools in Hong Kong, and with the influx of
immigrants to the West from China and Taiwan, many parts of the world
including Canada, the United States, Australia, and Europe have seen a
steady increase in the number of speakers. Mandarin is not a
homogeneous language; any grammar that tries to describe it needs to
select one region as its focus. In this book, the focus will be on
Mandarin as is spoken in its motherland of Northern China, especially
the Chinese capital of Beijing.

The book will begin by an introduction to the geographic
characteristics, dialects and historical development of the
language. This will be followed by Mandarin phonetics and
phonology. Topics covered include the syllable, tones, the consonants,
the vowels, the glides and, more importantly, how these interact to
create the sound structure of the language. A description of the
morphology will follow, addressing special features of the language in
terms of compounding, reduplication, word stress, and disyllabicity.
The remainder of the book will be devoted to Mandarin syntax. It will
first outline the major parts of speech and the major types of
phrases; then it will focus on some salient syntactic features,
including the topic-comment structure, the serial-verb construction,
and the de- construction. The book will end with two sample texts,
each accompanied by interlinear translation and free translation.
			
Lingfield(s): Language Description
			 
Subject Language(s): Chinese, Mandarin (Language Code: CHN)

Written In: English (Language Code: ENG)