Chinese
By: Jerry Norman.
Series: Cambridge language surveys
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1988
Place of publication: Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 292
Subjects: Chinese language -- History.; Chinese language -- Dialects.; Chinese language -- Writing.
Description: This general introduction to the study of Chinese traces the language's history from its beginnings in the second millennium B.C. to the present, and provides a clear picture of the contemporary language and its sociolinguistic status. Chinese, in its numerous dialects, has more speakers than any other language in the modern world, and this vast extension in time and space brings to its study an exceptional complexity. Nevertheless, Norman's crisp organization and lucid elegance make this extraordinary range of material easily accessible even to those with an elementary understanding of linguistics. Chinese includes information on the genetic and typological connections of the language, the writing system, the classical and early vernacular tongues, the modern language and non-standard dialects, and the history of linguistic reform in China.
Notes: Bibliography: p. 274-282.
Includes index.