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The Nature of Variation in Tone Sandhi Patterns of Shanghai and Wuxi Wu (Frontiers in Chinese Linguistics #4)
by Hanbo YanThis book conducts a thorough investigation of the variation in tone sandhi patterns of Shanghai and Wuxi Wu using quantitative rating experiments. Although Shanghai Wu has been well documented, to date there has never been any quantitative study that systematically investigates the factors that influence variability – a research gap this book fills. Further, Wuxi Wu is investigated as an additional case that demonstrates the unique phonological nature of tone sandhi, and how it changes how speakers learn and internalize the variable tone sandhi pattern. The findings presented here will shed new light on important issues of wordhood, the interface of morphosyntax and phonology, and the formal model of variability in phonology.
Japanese Language and Soft Power in Asia
by Kayoko HashimotoThis cutting edge collection considers how the Japanese language functions as a key element of Japanese soft power in Asia. Within Japanese culture itself, the promotion of language has been an area of ambivalence. This interdisciplinary book looks across the fields of language policy, language teaching, socio-linguistics, cultural studies and history to identify the links between Japan’s language policies and broader social, economic and political processes. It examines the challenges that undermine Japan’s potential soft power by identifying a gap between the “official Japan” portrayed by the Japanese government and the “cultural Japan” that foreigners perceive. It also reveals historical continuity in the way Japanese language is perceived and promoted by policy makers and how the current practices of Japanese language teaching in Asian countries have been shaped within the framework of “international exchange”, which has been a key concept in Japanese foreign policies since the 1970s. It particularly considers the concept of ‘Cool Japan’ as a symbol of Japan’s interpretation of its cultural power and offers a thoughtful assessment of the future of Japanese as a form of soft power in Asia as the country prepares for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lin Yutang and China’s Search for Modern Rebirth
by Suoqiao QianThis book provides a comprehensive examination of the socio-cultural and political context of modern China in terms of its interaction with America and the West, focusing on the influence of the well-known Chinese writer and intellectual Lin Yutang (1895-1976). Offering a unique study of the life and works of Lin Yutang, it highlights his intellectual legacy in modern China and considers how his cross-cultural life and ideas embodied the modern Chinese cultural experience. It notably focuses on Lin’s reputation as an outspoken critic of the infringement of human rights during the rise of the Communist regime in China, but also on his rediscovery of Chinese cultural resources. At a time when China’s cultural contributions are increasingly relevant worldwide, this book contributes to ongoing critical reflections of Chinese modernity, particularly in terms of its intellectual legacies, but also to a renewed understanding of the cross-cultural interactions between China and America and a re-opening the dialogue and search for a new cultural understanding.
Lin Yutang and China’s Search for Modern Rebirth
by Suoqiao QianThis book provides a comprehensive examination of the socio-cultural and political context of modern China in terms of its interaction with America and the West, focusing on the influence of the well-known Chinese writer and intellectual Lin Yutang (1895-1976). Offering a unique study of the life and works of Lin Yutang, it highlights his intellectual legacy in modern China and considers how his cross-cultural life and ideas embodied the modern Chinese cultural experience. It notably focuses on Lin’s reputation as an outspoken critic of the infringement of human rights during the rise of the Communist regime in China, but also on his rediscovery of Chinese cultural resources. At a time when China’s cultural contributions are increasingly relevant worldwide, this book contributes to ongoing critical reflections of Chinese modernity, particularly in terms of its intellectual legacies, but also to a renewed understanding of the cross-cultural interactions between China and America and a re-opening the dialogue and search for a new cultural understanding.
Languages and Genes in Northwestern China and Adjacent Regions
by Dan Xu Hui LiThis book presents an investigation of language contact, focusing on Northwestern China. It breaks down the barrier between human sciences and natural sciences in order to reconsider the diversity of languages on the basis of the latest research findings from genetics, linguistics, and other domains, offering valuable insights into when and how the divergence of languages and genes began and language and gene admixture and replacement occurred. The book focuses on language evolution between the border of Gansu and Qinghai Province in China, but the research doesn’t neglect the area beyond China’s northern borders. Manchu, a dying language belonging to the Tungusic group, is also studied to enhance our understanding of language replacement. This work is the result of a four-year collaboration between teams of geneticists and linguists in France and China.
Chinese as a Second Language Assessment (Chinese Language Learning Sciences)
by Dongbo Zhang Chin-Hsi LinThis book brings together 13 original research papers that address emerging issues in the assessment of Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) in five major areas, including standards in CSL assessment; development of CSL tests; assessment of diverse knowledge and skills; computer-supported assessment; and CSL assessment in relation to instruction and teachers’ assessment competence. It goes beyond the psychometric testing of Chinese and provides cutting-edge examinations of the interfaces of assessment with sociology of language, acquisition, pedagogy, and modern technologies, as well as teacher education. Given its unique features and broad range of topics, the book offers an intriguing and valuable resource, not only for scholars and researchers but also teacher educators and assessment practitioners who are directly or indirectly involved in CSL assessment.
Embassies to China: Diplomacy and Cultural Encounters Before the Opium Wars
by Michael KeevakThis text is a timely and wide-ranging study providing essential background to the development of global modernity through the European encounter with China. Considering differing notions of peace, empire, trade, religion, and diplomacy as touchstones in the relations between China and Europe on mutuality, the book examines five encounters with France, Portugal, Holland, the pope, and Russia between 1248 and 1720, and reflects on concepts that the West took for granted but which did not successfully cross over into the Chinese world. This cutting edge text provides key insights into the cultural and political conflict which lay at the heart of early Chinese-European relations, as the West's understanding of the truth and appropriateness of its cultural norms was confronted by China's norms and beliefs.
Embassies to China: Diplomacy and Cultural Encounters Before the Opium Wars
by Michael KeevakThis text is a timely and wide-ranging study providing essential background to the development of global modernity through the European encounter with China. Considering differing notions of peace, empire, trade, religion, and diplomacy as touchstones in the relations between China and Europe on mutuality, the book examines five encounters with France, Portugal, Holland, the pope, and Russia between 1248 and 1720, and reflects on concepts that the West took for granted but which did not successfully cross over into the Chinese world. This cutting edge text provides key insights into the cultural and political conflict which lay at the heart of early Chinese-European relations, as the West's understanding of the truth and appropriateness of its cultural norms was confronted by China's norms and beliefs.
A Study of Attitudes of Dialect Speakers Towards the Speak Mandarin Campaign in Singapore (SpringerBriefs in Linguistics)
by Patrick Chin NgThis book makes an original contribution to the fields of sociolinguistics, language planning policy and Chinese language studies. It examines the effectiveness of the Singapore’s Speak Mandarin Campaign in changing the language use of dialect speakers towards Mandarin.Singapore may be only “a small red dot” and barely visible on the world’s map. However, its complex and dynamic linguistic diversity and its quadrilingual educational system make it a unique and fascinating research site for examining deliberate language planning on the part of governmental authorities. 2017 marks the 38th anniversary of the Speak Mandarin Campaign, a focused language-planning policy aimed at changing the deeply entrenched sociolinguistic habits of Chinese Singaporeans who are used to speaking Chinese dialects. This book provides a revealing update on dialect speakers’ attitudes towards the campaign by including discussions and other related issues such as the recent call for the revitalisation of Chinese dialects by younger dialect speakers, Chinese students’ attitude towards learning Mandarin in schools, the encroachment of English in the home environment, the spread and dominance of English in the local linguistic landscape, and the challenges of maintaining Mandarin as a language of use and preference.
The Humanities in Contemporary Chinese Contexts (The Humanities in Asia #2)
by Evelyn T. Y. Chan Michael O'SullivanThis book brings together the perspectives of eminent and emerging scholars on contemporary issues relevant to the practice, pedagogy and institutionalization of the humanities in the three Chinese contexts of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China. It addresses the need to investigate how humanities discussions, often exclusively drawn from, and grounded in, western contexts, are today being played out in these three places. The humanities in contemporary Chinese contexts may have different social and pedagogical roles, and a consideration of them will enable people to moderate, and perhaps even refute, claims made in the recent (re)readings of the humanities. As Asian universities rise in the global rankings and as east-west university collaborations and partnerships become more common, it is important that the nature, practice and institutionalization of the humanities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China are explored and described for English readers. Exploring new perspectives arising from an examination of the humanities in these places, this volume aims neither to establish a position of polarity, which would pit western sites against Chinese ones, nor to argue for universal sameness. Rather, the goal is to find nuanced correspondences and differences between these various backgrounds, so that there is a greater understanding of the specificities of Chinese contexts. This will help shed light not only on the contexts in question, but also potentially on how to rearticulate the importance of the humanities in general, creating an intercultural dialogue focused on the humanities. As the global university strives to move the different traditions of learning closer together through international rankings, rubrics, and shared research agendas, it is important that we explore these locations of potential cultural exchange.
A Grammar of Kam Revealed in Its Narrative Discourse
by Tongyin YangThe Kam language of China possesses fifteen tones – more than any other language. Yet it has long been neglected as an area of research, especially from the perspective of discourse analysis. This study initiates the exploration of the interface between grammar and discourse by examining various aspects of Kam narrative discourse, and using a functional approach to reveal its structural properties. It also introduces the mechanism for phonological and syntactic variations, as well as classifier variants and sentence-final particles (SFPs) in discourse and word order variations. Finally, it discusses the influence of social setting on narrative structure and offers the most up-to-date ethnological and social information about the community.
Mandarin Competence of Chinese-English Bilingual Preschoolers: A Corpus-based Analysis of Singaporean Children’s Speech
by Hock Huan GohThis book provides readers with a detailed sketch of the Mandarin competence of Chinese children in Singapore from different home language backgrounds. Their Mandarin competence is defined in terms of lexical diversity, syntactic complexity and code-switching tendency. The findings presented show that there are statistical differences in lexical diversity and syntactic complexity among the compared groups of children, and these differences in linguistic competence were found to be positively correlated to increased Mandarin exposure at home. They also demonstrate that there are statistical differences in code-switching tendency among the groups of children compared, which were found to be negatively correlated to increased exposure to Mandarin at home. A general relationship between home language exposure and Mandarin competence was established, although this relationship was found to be volatile, especially among children who are more bilingually exposed. This book shares these findings with linguists, language educators, and language policymakers, both local and international.
Pedagogies for Internationalising Research Education: Intellectual equality, theoretic-linguistic diversity and knowledge chuàngxīn
by Michael Singh Jinghe HanThis book explores pedagogical concepts, metaphors and images of non-white, non-western researchers and research students on the inter/nationalization of education. Specifically, this book draws on the intellectual resources of China and India to explore the pedagogical dynamics and dimensions of the localization/globalization of education with non-Western characteristics. It introduces theoretic-linguistic non-Western concepts from the Tamil, Sanskrit and Chinese languages for use in Western, English-only education and redefines the intellectual basis for internationalising education. Debating whether ‘international education’ is Western-centric in terms of its privileging and promotion of Euro-American theoretical knowledge, this book contends that the internationalisation of Western-centric education can benefit from the intellectual power and powerfully relevant theorising performed by non-Western international students. It formulates a democratic vision for the internationalisation of education, with the potential to create transnational solidarity and constitute a forum for mobilising debates about global knowledge and power structures. It also provides key tools to use non-Western theoretic-linguistic tools and modes of critique in research undertaken in Anglophone Western universities.
Pedagogies for Internationalising Research Education: Intellectual equality, theoretic-linguistic diversity and knowledge chuàngxīn
by Michael Singh Jinghe HanThis book explores pedagogical concepts, metaphors and images of non-white, non-western researchers and research students on the inter/nationalization of education. Specifically, this book draws on the intellectual resources of China and India to explore the pedagogical dynamics and dimensions of the localization/globalization of education with non-Western characteristics. It introduces theoretic-linguistic non-Western concepts from the Tamil, Sanskrit and Chinese languages for use in Western, English-only education and redefines the intellectual basis for internationalising education. Debating whether ‘international education’ is Western-centric in terms of its privileging and promotion of Euro-American theoretical knowledge, this book contends that the internationalisation of Western-centric education can benefit from the intellectual power and powerfully relevant theorising performed by non-Western international students. It formulates a democratic vision for the internationalisation of education, with the potential to create transnational solidarity and constitute a forum for mobilising debates about global knowledge and power structures. It also provides key tools to use non-Western theoretic-linguistic tools and modes of critique in research undertaken in Anglophone Western universities.
The WordNet in Indian Languages
by Niladri Sekhar Dash Pushpak Bhattacharyya Jyoti D. PawarThis contributed volume discusses in detail the process of construction of a WordNet of 18 Indian languages, called “Indradhanush” (rainbow) in Hindi. It delves into the major challenges involved in developing a WordNet in a multilingual country like India, where the information spread across the languages needs utmost care in processing, synchronization and representation. The project has emerged from the need of millions of people to have access to relevant content in their native languages, and it provides a common interface for information sharing and reuse across the Indian languages. The chapters discuss important methods and strategies of language computation, language data processing, lexical selection and management, and language-specific synset collection and representation, which are of utmost value for the development of a WordNet in any language. The volume overall gives a clear picture of how WordNet is developed in Indian languages and how this can be utilized in similar projects for other languages. It includes illustrations, tables, flowcharts, and diagrams for easy comprehension. This volume is of interest to researchers working in the areas of language processing, machine translation, word sense disambiguation, culture studies, language corpus generation, language teaching, dictionary compilation, lexicographic queries, cross-lingual knowledge sharing, e-governance, and many other areas of linguistics and language technology.
Mandarin Development of Indonesian Immigrants’ Children: A Longitudinal Study in Taiwan
by Jenny Yi-chun KuoThis book summarizes the results a three-year longitudinal project on Mandarin development among children of Indonesian mothers, the second largest non-Mandarin speaking immigrant group in Taiwan. These children were acquiring their first language while interacting primarily with a non-native learner of the language. The book discusses phonological, lexical and syntactic development to provide a better understanding of the language development of the children of immigrants and has important implications for language education policy and language acquisition theories.
The Use and Status of Language in Brunei Darussalam: A Kingdom of Unexpected Linguistic Diversity
by Noor Azam Haji-Othman James McLellan David DeterdingThis book provides an overview of the linguistic situation in Brunei, including a historical overview and a synopsis of the current education system. It investigates pronunciation, particularly the intelligibility of Brunei English and the vowels of Brunei Mandarin, and it also describes the acquisition of Malay grammar, Malay politeness strategies, the use of language online, language in the courts, a comparison of Malay and English newspapers, the language of shop signs, the status of Dusun, and lastly, English literature in Brunei.
A Guide to English–Russian and Russian–English Non-literary Translation
by Alexandr ZaytsevLying at the intersection of translatology, cognitive science and linguistics, this brief provides a comprehensive framework for studying, investigating and teaching English-Russian/Russian-English non-literary translation. It provides a holistic perspective on the process of non-literary translation, illustrating each of its steps with carefully analyzed real-life examples. Readers will learn how to choose and process multidimensional attention units in original texts by activating different types of knowledge, as well as how to effectively devise target-language matches for them using various translation techniques. It is rounded out with handy and feasible recommendations on the structure and content of an undergraduate course in translation. The abundance of examples makes it suitable not only for use in the classroom, but also for independent study.
Parts of Speech in Mandarin: The State of the Art (Springerbriefs In Linguistics Ser. #0)
by Candice Chi-Hang CheungThis book offers a comprehensive survey of the major parts of speech in Mandarin. Seeking to identify the sets of universal and language-specific categories, it compares the range of categories available in Mandarin and the Indo-European languages and establishes six universal categories – nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions – and three language-specific ones, namely classifiers, localizers and sentence-final particles. Incorporating insights from recent research findings and the diachronic development of the language, the book sheds new light on the factors that contribute to the long-standing debate on the categorical status of adjectives, prepositions and localizers in the extant literature. Bringing together the earlier general descriptions and the latest advances, it is broadly accessible to non-native and native speakers of the language and offers an ideal reference source for all students and scholars who are interested in studying the parts of speech in Mandarin.
Dicionário Académico Inglês-Português/Português-Inglês (Dicionários Académicos)
by Porto EditoraImperative dictionary for Portuguese and English learning. - Near 131.000 translations - Over 70.000 entries, examples, and idiomatic expressions
Dicionário Inglês-Português/Português-Inglês (Dicionários Académicos)
by Porto EditoraImperative dictionary for Portuguese and English learning. - Near 131.000 translations - Over 70.000 entries, examples, and idiomatic expressions
El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo
by Senel Paz[Wikipedia] Senel Paz (born 1950) is a Cuban author and screenwriter. He was born in Fomento, Sancti Spíritus. He is best known for his short story The Wolf, the Forest and the New Man, for which he was awarded the Juan Rulfo Prize and which he subsequently adapted into the screenplay for Tomas Gutierrez Alea's celebrated movie Strawberry and Chocolate (1994).
Handbook of Arabic Literacy: Insights and Perspectives (Literacy Studies #9)
by Elinor Saiegh-Haddad R. Malatesha JoshiThis book provides a synopsis of recently published empirical research into the acquisition of reading and writing in Arabic. Its particular focus is on the interplay between the linguistic and orthographic structure of Arabic and the development of reading and writing/spelling. In addition, the book addresses the socio-cultural, political and educational milieu in which Arabic literacy is embedded. It enables readers to appreciate both the implications of empirical research to literacy enhancement and the challenges and limitations to the applicability of such insights in the Arabic language and literacy context. The book will advance the understanding of the full context of literacy acquisition in Arabic with the very many factors (religious, historical, linguistic etc.) that interact and will hence contribute to weakening the anglocentricity that dominates discussions of this topic.
