The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy

John DeFrancis

Published by University of Hawaii Press 1984

The Chinese Language

Fact and Fantasy

John DeFrancis

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824840303

Overview
Contents

Author / Editor information

DeFrancis John :

John DeFrancis (1911- 2009) John DeFrancis (1911–2009), Emeritus Professor of Chinese at the University of Hawai'i, graduated from Yale in 1933 and immediately departed for China to pursue his interests. In three years of study and travel, he covered over 4,000 miles in Northwest China and Mongolia, across the Gobi Desert, and down the Yellow River, immersing himself in grassroots contact with the language and people. Upon his return to the United States, DeFrancis earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. He taught at several institutions nationwide. Dr. DeFrancis is the author of dozens of articles and books on spoken and written Chinese, among them a widely used 12-volume set of educational materials and Visible Speech: The Diverse Oneness of Writing Systems (UH Press, 1989).John DeFrancis (1911- 2009) John DeFrancis (1911–2009), Emeritus Professor of Chinese at the University of Hawai'i, graduated from Yale in 1933 and immediately departed for China to pursue his interests. In three years of study and travel, he covered over 4,000 miles in Northwest China and Mongolia, across the Gobi Desert, and down the Yellow River, immersing himself in grassroots contact with the language and people. Upon his return to the United States, DeFrancis earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. He taught at several institutions nationwide. Dr. DeFrancis is the author of dozens of articles and books on spoken and written Chinese, among them a widely used 12-volume set of educational materials and Visible Speech: The Diverse Oneness of Writing Systems (UH Press, 1989).

Reviews

William S.Y. Wang, professor of linguistics, University of California at Berkeley:
Professor De Francis has produced a work of great effectiveness that should appeal to a wide-ranging audience. It is at once instructive and entertaining. While being delighted by the flair of his novel approach, the reader will also be led to ponder on some of the most fundamental problems concerning the relations between written languages and spoken languages. Specifically, he will be served a variety of information on the languages of East Asia, not as dry pedantic facts, but as appealing tidbits that whet the intellectual appetite. The expert will find much to reflect on in this book, for Professor DeFrancis takes nothing for granted.

Joshua A. Fishman, research professor of social sciences, Yeshiva University, New York:
DeFrancis's book is first rate. It entertains. It teaches. It demystifies. It counteracts popular ignorance as well as sophisticated (cocktail party) ignorance. Who could ask for anything more? There is no other book like it. ... It is one of a kind, a first, and I would not only buy it but I would recommend it to friends and colleagues, many of whom are visiting China now and are adding 'two-week-expert' ignorance to the two kinds that existed before. This is a book for everyone.

Delightfully engaging ... this book contains a wealth of hard facts about Chinese.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Illustrations and Tables Publicly Available Download PDF	VIII
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Introduction The Singlish Affair Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. Rethinking "The Chinese Language"
1. On Defining "Chinese"and "Language" Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
2. A Sketch of Spoken Chinese Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
3. Idiolects, Dialects, Regionalects, and Languages Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
Part II. Rethinking Chinese Characters
4. What's in a Name? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	69
5. From Pictographs to What? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	74
6. How Do Chinese Characters Represent Sounds? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
7. How Do Chinese Characters Convey Meaning? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
Part III. Demythifying Chinese Characters
8. The Ideographic Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	131
9. The Universality Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
10. The Emulatability Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
11. The Monosyllabic Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
12. The Indispensability Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
13. The Successfulness Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	204
Part IV. Chinese Language Reform
14. Speech Reform Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	221
15. Writing Reform Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	240
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	289
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	297
Suggested Reading Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	301
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	303
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	317
About the Author Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	331

Language: English
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Audience: ;
Pages
- Main content: 342

eBook

Published: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 9780824840303