History of the Chinese Language

<p><em>A History of the Chinese Language</em> provides a comprehensive introduction to the historical development of the Chinese language from its Proto-Sino-Tibetan roots in prehistoric times to Modern Standard Chinese. Taking a highly accessible and balanced approach it presents a chronological survey of the various stages of the Chinese language covering key aspects such as phonology syntax and semantics.</p><p>The second edition presents a revised and updated version that reflects recent scholarship in Chinese historical linguistics and new developments in related disciplines. </p><p>Features include:</p><ul> <p> </p> <li>Coverage of the major historical stages in Chinese language development such as Old Chinese Middle Chinese Early Modern Chinese and Modern Standard Chinese.</li> <p> </p> <li>Treatment of core linguistic aspects of the Chinese language including phonological changes grammatical development lexical evolution vernacular writing the Chinese writing system and Chinese dialects.</li> <p> </p> <li>Inclusion of authentic Chinese texts throughout the book presented within a rigorous framework of linguistic analysis to help students to build up critical and evaluative skills and acquire valuable cultural knowledge.</li> <p> </p> <li>Integration of materials from different disciplines such as archaeology genetics history and sociolinguistics to highlight the cultural and social background of each period of the language.</li> </ul><p>Written by a highly experienced instructor <em>A History of the Chinese Language</em> will be an essential resource for students of Chinese language and linguistics and for anyone interested in the history and culture of China.</p>