YIU Yuk-man Carine (Associate Professor of Humanities, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; HYI Visiting Scholar 2018-19)
Chair/discussant: C.-T. James Huang (Professor of Linguistics, Harvard University)
Co-sponsored with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
Despite that the Chinese language has a recorded history for more than three thousand years, the study of the history of different regional dialects is made possible in part by the discovery of texts mostly compiled by missionaries in the 19th and early 20th centuries. To facilitate their evangelical work, the missionaries learnt the local dialects. As a result, they published pedagogical material on the local dialects and translated the Bible into local dialects. Since the texts were excavated in the 1990s, efforts have been made to examine the development of the dialects in vocabulary, sound and grammar as exhibited in the texts. In this talk, the significance of the texts will be highlighted. Moreover, it will be shown how the scrutiny of the texts enlightens us on the changes undergone by the dialects and the internal as well as external factors that have triggered these changes.
Upcoming Events
Visiting Scholar Talks
From Serampore to Singapore: The Making of the Missionary Enterprise to China (1800-1840)Friday, April 5, 2024
Visiting Scholar Talks
Does the Sino-Tibetan Language Family Exist? — A Fresh Exploration of the Historical Relationship Between Tibetan, Chinese, and Surrounding LanguagesWednesday, April 10, 2024
Visiting Scholar Talks
Between Mundus and Tianxia: Chinese Cartographic Syncretism in the 17th and 18th CenturiesThursday, April 25, 2024