Chinese Linguistics
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Abstract
Chinese linguistics, broadly understood as the scientific study of Sinitic languages and other languages of China, may be regarded both as an established and as an emerging subfield of linguistics and Chinese studies. The Chinese tradition of reflection on language and writing began even before the Imperial Age in China, and foreign scholars, often missionaries from the West, started writing grammars and treaties on Sinitic languages at least since the sixteenth century. On the other hand, the field has experienced momentous development in the past thirty years, and perhaps even more strongly since the beginning of the third millennium: the past decade has witnessed a steady growth of conferences, journals, courses, and publications specifically dedicated to Chinese, as well as a tremendous rise in the number of language students and teachers all over the world. However, an up-to-date introductory book on Chinese linguistics for a Western audience is not easy to find. The present volume aims at filling this gap, providing an accessible general introduction to key topics in Chinese linguistics both for China scholars and for linguists, including those with little or no previous knowledge of Chinese.