Welcome to class!

Formalities

• Please check your syllabus for this course

  ...and contact me for any questions

• Teaching philosophy 

  • A seminar course: set-up & purpose

  • Cooperation; and a rationale for preparation in writing

  • Rhythm & timing; assignments & assessments during term

References

• Handbooks

• Toolboxes

   

Texts

 

• Chao (1980)

  趙元任 Yuen Ren Chao, 序 "Xù" [Preface]

  In: 趙元任 Yuen Ren Chao, 中國話的文法 Zhōngguóhuà de wénfǎ [A grammar of spoken Chinese].

  香港 Hong Kong: 中文大學出版社 Chinese University Press, 1980, frontispiece.

  Translation of Yuen Ren Chao, A grammar of spoken Chinese.

  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968. Translated by 丁邦新 Pang-Hsin Ting.

  Chao's 序 will be handed out and introduced in class. For this text, no preparation is needed.
  

• Norman (1988)

  "The Chinese script"

  In: Jerry Norman, Chinese.

  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, Chapter 3 = pp. 58-82.

  Availability at Leiden:

  • from the Asian Library, on the linguistics handbooks shelves;
  • as an e-book, through the University Library catalogue

  Highly recommended intro to sinolinguistics – get your own copy, and read it!
  

  
  

Assignments

Please make sure you prepare your answers to all questions & assignments in writing.

1.  Read the assigned chapter from Jerry Norman's Chinese.

In preparing this text, please check that you are familiar with

• technical terms in English and in Mandarin (including the corresponding Chinese characters);

• names and dates for dynasties, historical periods and historical figures;

• geographical designations.

Note down any difficulties you may have in reading the text, and bring your notes to class.

2.  On p. 58, the origins of Chinese characters are outlined.

a.  In English, do you know a term for the study of writing systems? And in Mandarin?

b.  Can you name (at least) three families of scripts, i.e. writing systems of the world which (as far as we know) developed independently?

c.  Is the oracle bone script the undisputed precursor of the modern Chinese character script?

d.  Can you name (at least) seven different Sinitic languages?

Please give the English and in Mandarin names for each of these, as well as the Chinese characters (简体 & 繁體) for each name.

e.  What is the oldest Sinitic phase which has been reconstructed in phonological detail? Please give (approximate) dates.

f.  Is the language encoded by the oracle bone script the undisputed precursor of the modern Sinitic languages?

3.  The ideographic notion, i.e. the notion "that Chinese characters in some platonic fashion directly represent ideas rather than specific Chinese words" may be "patently absurd" (pp. 60-61), but it is immensely popular nonetheless.

Find a reference (in print or online) which clearly demonstrates, or is clearly based on, the ideographic notion.

a.  From this source, note down one specific statement or claim demonstrating this notion.

b.  Formulate a counter-argument against this specific statement or claim, basing yourself (at least in part) on the information in section 3.1.

4.  Pages 67-69 introduce the 說文解字.

In one or two sentences, summarize the significance of this work

• for the study of the Chinese script; and

• for Chinese lexicography.

5.  On p. 76, please study Table 3.6 carefully, including the notes on p. 77.

a.  Can you read all characters listed in the Table?

For your reference: see e.g.

• 國際電腦漢字及異體字知識庫 / International Encoded Han Character and Variants Database.
• 汉字全息资源应用系统
• Chinese Etymology / 字源
• 小學堂文字學資料庫
• 康熙字典網上版
• ...or: find your own, and bring your suggestions to class!

b.  Can you give more recent examples of individual characters created in order to "adapt[...] the traditional script to the modern language" (p. 75)?

6.  In note 8 of p. 81, please define the term homophonous in your own words.

7.  In note 10 of p. 82, it is noted that "the alternation of words beginning with sh and r in a single phonetic series is unusual".

The note discusses the simplified character 让, but the remark on "phonetic series" is strongly rooted in tradition – in other words, in the traditional script.

a.  In your own terms, what is a "phonetic series"?

b.  Can you find an instance of alternation between Mandarin sh- and r- within the traditional character script?

8.  In the same note 10, consider the example of ràng 'to allow' again.

Note that "ràng" is italicized, but " 'to allow' " is placed within single quotation marks.

a.  In your own words, formulate the difference between these typographical conventions.

Which linguistic units do they represent?

b.  Can you list other typographical conventions, representing other linguistic units?

For each unit, give English and Mandarin names, as well as the Chinese characters (简体 & 繁體).

c.  Is there also a typographical convention which represents items as orthographic units, i.e. as the written forms of a script?

...and an encore

Congratulations, eighty years on

Image source:   
抗日戰爭凤凰新媒体 / Phoenix Media, 3 Sep 25   

9.  On 3 September last year, Phoenix Media published a news item commemorating the end of the 抗日戰爭 / Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).

First, check out last September's original article.

As you see, it reproduces a page from the celebratory issue of the 新華日報 Xīnhuá Daily, which includes the calligraphic work shown here (click to enlarge).

a.  The article provides a full transcription of the artwork's calligraphy. Now check and see if you agree with this transcription.

b.  In one short sentence, formulate a typographical comment on this work.

c.  In one short sentence, formulate a calligraphical comment on this work.

d.  In one short sentence, formulate a linguistic comment on this work.

You do not necessarily have to agree with any of the comments you formulate; but you do need to be able to defend them.

Texts

• IPA Charts

  from the International Phonetic Association:

• All official charts are on the IPA website

• Pat Keating has an IPA Chart with sound & video

   

• "An introduction to linguistic transcription"

• Wiedenhof (2015)

"§ 2.8  Phonology"

In: Jeroen Wiedenhof, A grammar of Mandarin.

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015.

§ 2.8, pp. 53-55: see this week's Brightspace announcement

Assignments

Individual items:

10.  For Jasmijn, Jimmy, Renate, Rosalie, Vasilis and Virginia:

• Please contact your classmates, ask them to share their class notes with you, and check these carefully
• Check the format requirements below
• Send me your answers to assignments 1 through 8 as a PDF file, attached to an email to
• Please use the following filename: <sgfx-week01-Surname.pdf>
• Deadline: Friday 6 February, 1:00pm

Format requirements

For all hand-ins:

• use double line spacing throughout
• identify your work (e.g. date, name, student number)
• PDF format only

During term, do feel free to come and discuss your work at all times

The assignments for this week's session are below.

A friendly reminder: make sure to prepare all your answers in writing, in English!

 

Phonetics 101 (and/or Recap):

11.  A short overview will be presented in class.

Please prepare yourself by consulting some relevant materials:

• the IPA chart, especially the three sections labelled
  • "Consonants (pulmonic)",
  • "Vowels", and
  • "Tones and word accents"
• (if time permits: formants)

In all cases, please try to see if you can figure out the general structure and design of the IPA system.

Make sure to note down any problems you encounter, and bring these to class.

 

Linguistic transcription:

12.  Read Sections 1-3 of the "Introduction to linguistic transcription"

a.  Note down any questions or difficulties in this text.

b.  Test yourself by writing out the ten sentences under Section 4, "Exercises". We will check these in class.

13.  Read the three pages from Wiedenhof (2015).

Note down any questions or difficulties you run into, and bring your notes to class.

We will discuss your questions and remarks on a page-by-page basis.

14.  Now formulate in your own words what constitutes the division of labor between phonetics and phonology.

Two or three sentences will suffice, but you need to use at least two original examples in a language (or languages) of your choice.

Please pay special attention to the way your transcribe these examples.

...and an encore

Negatives in the news

Jeroen Wollaars, 5 Feb 25

Image & video source:
NOS Nieuwsuur

In our first session, we saw that our first task is to distinguish language and script.

This is not an easy task, so here is an extra opportunity to train this.

15.  Check out the 19-second clip being played here (or in the original newscast from last year, which is still online at the NOS site: the short section from 1:02 to 1:21).

In this clip, the news anchor first greets his viewers with Goedenavond 'Good evening', then reads out a list of translations of Dutch nee in several languages.

a.  In how many languages, and can you name these languages?

b.  Identify the Sinitic sample in the clip, and tell us which language it represents.

c.  Does the clip also contain samples from scripts? How many scripts, and can you name these scripts?

d.  Now, for the language identified in b, see if you can note down in two or three sentences how in this particular case, a script influences the way in which a language is approached.

e.  Can the (allegedly) Sinitic syllable heard in this clip be written in Pinyin? If so: how? And if not: why not?

Texts

• Wiedenhof (2015)

Jeroen Wiedenhof, "The transcription of Mandarin"

In: A grammar of Mandarin.

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015, pp. 414-428.

Availability:

• in the Asian Library at Leiden University, on the linguistics handbooks shelves;
• as an e-book, through the University Library catalogue
• for Dutch readers: pp. 372-386 of Grammatica van het Mandarijn (PDF)

• Wiedenhof (2005)

Jeroen Wiedenhof, "Purpose and effect in the transcription of Mandarin"

In:. 李哲賢 / Lee Jer-shiarn (ed. in chief), 2004 漢學研究國際學術研討會文集 [Proceedings of the International Conference on Chinese Studies 2004].

斗六 / Touliu: 雲林科技大學 / National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, pp. 387-402.

Assignments

Group efforts:

16.  First, a heads-up: as announced, we will be reading a Chinese text next week, in Session 4.

For now, if you cannot read modern written Chinese — or if you expect you might benefit from a classmate's command of Mandarin:

• Prepare to buddy up!
• Make sure to contact classmates now, and to set a date & time to prepare Session 4 together.
• As agreed within this group, I have shared a list of email addresses.

Image source:
Cliparts PUB

As discussed, this buddy-up request is more general. Please try to share and join forces in the spirit of this multidisciplinary seminar.

Last week's round-up:

17.  For Vasilis:

• After class last week, you were asking about item (16e)
• At the beginning of this week's session, could you repeat the question, and/or argue your solution?

The assignments for this week's session are below.

A friendly reminder: make sure to prepare all your answers in writing, in English!

"The transcription of Mandarin":

18.  Read the text and bring your notes.

We will discuss your questions and remarks in class.

The mode of instruction demonstrated for assignment 13 applies to each of the assigned texts in this course.

In other words, we will discuss your questions and remarks in class, on a page-by-page basis.

Please have your questions ready as we page through each text.

19.  In your own words, describe the difference between Character Pinyin and Linguistic Pinyin.

20.  The transcription dilemma mentioned at the bottom of p. 419 is also addressed in the "Purpose and effect" text, in Section 2.2.

Please summarize this dilemma in your own words, clearly distinguishing phonetic, phonological and transcription issues.

"Purpose and effect":

21.  Read the text and bring your notes.

Again: we will discuss your questions and remarks in class.

22.  Section 2.1 mentions a modern (20th-century) instance of linguistic change in Mandarin that is frequently overlooked.

We discussed this particular instance in Session 1, in response to Yi-Wen's question; please consult your classnotes.

Now, in one or two sentences, describe how such an obvious development in the language turned into a linguistic blindspot.

23.  In defining our domain of script against the linguistic background of the Sinosphere, we need to have an idea of the scope of our materials first.

So let's do some stock taking: please have a careful look at the images below.

For as many of these images as you can, formulate two short observations:

•  about (an aspect of) language; and

•  about (an aspect of) script

Note that extra clues & hints are offered for some images.

Hovering over these images with your cursor will reveal any clickable links.

If you cannot cover all images this week, please don't worry: we will be coming back to these materials again.

For now, just make sure to start from the top (i.e. from image #1) ▼ and work your way down.

We will be discussing the methodological virtues of your observations later.

	Interactive scans: Hi Res / Low Res Cambridge University Library Oracle bone CUL.52 Interactive scan by Sketchfab (2015)

Texts

• Wiedenhof (2018)

"Writing on language"

Leiden: LIAS/LUCL, 2018

 

• Wiedenhof (2022)

"Observation: An historical example"

Leiden: LUCL, 2022

 

Assignments

Individual items

35.  For Valeria:

• Please contact your classmates, ask them to share their class notes with you, and check these carefully
• Check the format requirements
• Prepare a one-page informative text on last week's oracle bone inscription, according to the specifications below
• Please use the following filename: <sgfx-week04-Surname.pdf>
• Deadline: Friday 27 February, 1:00pm

Text specifications:

Imagine that the five fragments pieced together to form last week's oracle bone were shown in a museum exhibition, and you were asked to write the accompanying object label, intended for an English-speaking museum audience.

On the basis of your work for last week's assignments, prepare a text which could serve as that object label. Your text should not exceed one page, and minimally include:

• some information about the age and the provenance of the object
• brief remarks on the script and on the language of the inscription
• a full translation of the "月㞢食" text.

Text reading

36.  Read this introduction: Writing on language.

Note down any questions about or comments on the text.

We will discuss your notes in class.

37.  Read this text: Observation: An historical example.

Note down any questions about or comments on the text.

We will discuss your notes in class.

Documenting your own observations

38.  In session 3, we checked a number of examples which might be of sinographic interest.

This week, we will cover six more items: #4 to #9.

As before, please write down two short observations for each of these six items:

•  one about (an aspect of) language; and

•  and one about (an aspect of) script

Small is beautiful: use one sentence per observation.

Finding your own sample

39.  Please bring your own illustration of sinographic interest to class – again, accompanied by your observations: one on language, and one on script.

You can find your own sample anywhere you like. Please bring a photo!

For inspiration, have another look at the photos numbered 3, 7, 8, 9, 15, 17, 21, 22 and 26 above.

...and an encore

Memory challenge 😎

Can you learn the Ten Stems and Twelve Branches by heart?

On memorization

In session 4, our discussion of the cyclical calendar system led us to consider the role of memorization from cognitive and didactic perspectives. From prehistoric times, cultural transmission has depended on memory skills.

Perhaps ironically, a number of historical revolutions in recording techniques have jeopardized the survival of basic mnemonic skills. For example:

• The very art of writing was an early case in point:

  "For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory."

  – in Socrates' words, as recorded in writing, ironically...  (Plato, Phaedrus 275a)

• In the 15^th century, mechanized printing heralded an age where "memory became less critical to knowledge".

• 

  And in our own times, the extensive use of smartphones is taking its unparalleled toll in the form of digital amnesia.

Still, memory techniques are easily trainable with a few simple tips and tricks.

For an introduction in the art of memorization, consider the trailer of this revealing documentary by Janet Tobias and Claus Wehlisch:

Memory games (2018)

Starring memory athletes Nelson Dellis, Yanjaa Wintersoul, Johannes Mallow and Simon Reinhard

Texts

• Galambos (2006)

Chapter Two, "The Qin and Han creation of the standard"

In: Imre Galambos, Orthography of early Chinese writing: Evidence from newly excavated manuscripts, pp. 31-63.

Budapest: Eötvös Loránd University, Department of East Asian Studies, 2006.

A PDF of this book is available online.


 

• "Shuowen Jiezi"

From Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia

Image source: Archive.org

• 許 Xǔ (100)

許慎 Xǔ Shèn, 說文解字 Shuō wén jiě zì

说文解字: 附检字 Shuō wén jiě zì: Fù jiǎn zì [Discussion of simple characters and analysis of complex characters: With a character index], 北京 Peking: 中華書局 Zhōnghuá Shūjú, 1963. Asian Library number: SINOL. 5093

• Online edition: 《說文解字》 at the website of 北京师范大学 / Beijing Normal University

• Paper edition: Asian Library number: SINOL. 5093. Available in the Leiden Asian Library: see the dedicated Course Reserve Shelf for this course.

Assignments

Individual items:

40.  For Naomi:

• Please contact your classmates, ask them to share their class notes with you, and check these carefully
• Check the format requirements
• Write down your answers to assignments 36 through 39 (for #39: you have supplied a photo, so only your two short observations are required)
• Please send me your answers as a PDF file, attached to an email to
• Please use the following filename: <sgfx-week05-Surname.pdf>
• Deadline: Friday 6 March, 1:00pm

41.  For Isabelle:

• Re-run for Assignment #39
• Note the "sinographic interest", in other words, the relevance for this course
• Please combine your photo and your two observations into one PDF file, and send it attached to an email to
• Deadline: Friday 6 March, 1:00pm

Last week's round-up:

42.  How are you faring with our memory challenge? – just a quick check.

This week's centerpiece:

43.  Read the first two texts:

• Galambos' Chapter Two, "The Qin and Han creation of the standard" and
• the Wikipedia article "Shuowen Jiezi".

Note down any difficulties you may encounter in these two texts, and bring your notes to class.

As before, we will discuss your questions and remarks in this session.

44.  The third title is a modern reprint of the 說文解字 Shuō wén jiě zì.

(a) Have a good look at this book, either online or on the Course Reserve Shelf in the Leiden Asian Library.

(b) Check that you understand how the work is organised.

(c) Find the characters , , and in this dictionary.

If you use the online resource for this assignment: please
make sure to select the 大徐本 edition!

You can view the scanned pages by hitting the 查看 button:

For each of these four characters, write down

• the page number for the entry in this modern edition
• the Shuō wén jiě zì radical
• the dictionary's definition of the characters, and
• your own English translation of this definition

Looking ahead:

Assignments heads-up

• ⚠️ In your Semester overview, the deadline for your Hand-in Assignment #2 has been postponed to Monday 30 March.

  For this assignment, a first contours draft of your term paper will be expected. You will be asked to

  • state your observations on a sinographic phenomenon: concrete and specific
  • Give your succinct formulation of one (or more) research questions about this same observation
  • add any further material, preferably including some methodology (i.e. how will you tackle your RQ)

  We will be practicing the formulation of RQs in our next session (16 May).

• On Monday, 13 April (Block 4, Session 2), you will be expected to deliver a (very short!) oral report on your term paper project.

  This report will be assessed as your Oral presentation.

As discussed in class, you can prepare draft versions of your term paper at any time during the teaching semester:

• I will return your work with my comments
• This list of proofreaders' marks may assist you in reading my comments
• In case you wish to discuss my comments, please make an appointment

Please allow two days between handing in any draft and your appointment.

Bottom line: the preparations in Block 3 and the assignments of Block 4 are designed to turn the option of handing in your term paper by the last session in May (i.e. before the actual deadline) into a realistic possibility – hopefully freeing up time for you to devote to other matters in the exam period.

FYI

Another perspective on the intricate interplay between languages (plural ;-) and script:

"Interpreters’ note-taking: An international writing system?"

Image source:   
Middlebury Institute, 4 Mar 26   

Speaker:	Luisa Bonvecchio (University of Macerata, Italy)
Organizer:	Leiden Translation Talks (LTT)
Day & Time:	Thursday 19 March, 1:15pm - 2:00pm
Venue:	Huizinga building, room 0.09 (Digital Lab)
Details:	See the LTT website for the abstract of this talk

Materials

This week, you provide your own!

Assignments

Individual items:

45.  For Jasmijn and Lorenzo

• Please contact your classmates, ask them to share their class notes with you, and check these carefully
• Check the format requirements
• Write down your answers to assignments 43 and 44(c)
• Please send me your answers as a PDF file, attached to an email to
• Please use the following filename: <sgfx-week06-Surname.pdf>
• Deadline: Friday 13 March, 1:00pm

Last week's round-up:

46.  In the humanities, as we saw, the development of phenomena has evolutionary characteristics, defying a natural status quo — just as with living organisms.

The Kinsey film quote shown in Session 6 puts it this way:

"If every single living thing is different from every other living thing, then diversity becomes life's one irreducible fact. Only variations are real. And to see them, you simply have to open your eyes."

Liam Neeson als Alfred Kinsey in Bill Condons film Kinsey (2004), 12':29" - 12':42"

In class, we checked the IMDB trailer, but these lines turned out to be missing.

To make up for this omission, you can watch a fragment with the quote being played here:

This week's centerpiece:

47.  We have collected observations about script; and you may continue to collect them, if you wish.

Now, we need to document some details about their occurrence.

• Please write down where you spotted your materials: time, date, context?

• For online resources, please document URL, date of access and any relevant context.

48.  Now for your research questions:

Formulate one (or more) research questions about your observation.

Small is beautiful: succinct & clear, please!

Remember that your research question is the statement of a problem, i.e. a matter that you raise for discussion and analysis (see Writing on language).

If you find this hard, just start by checking back: what struck you, when you made your observation?

A simple "What is happening here?" may work fine as a first-draft research question.

You can always go back later, and refine or revise you research question.

Please try to avoid hidden assumptions.

A hidden assumption is when you take things for granted. For instance, if I ask: Why are ants black?, I am assuming that ants are black.

An assumption is called hidden when we don't recognize it, or think we need not check it.

In research questions, a hidden assumption can be risky business. If the assumption is wrong, the results of your research may be void.

In class, we will practice spotting hidden assumptions.

Texts

Kraus (1991)

"The failed assault on Chinese characters"

In: Richard Kurt Kraus, Brushes with power.

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991, pp. 75-82.

Wiedenhof (2015)

"Features of the Chinese script"

In: Jeroen Wiedenhof, A grammar of Mandarin.

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015,

§ 12.3 (including § 12.3.1 through § 12.3.4), pp. 365-384.

Availability at Leiden:

• from the Asian Library, on the reserve shelf for this course;
• as a downloadable PDF, through the University Library catalogue

Assignments

49.  Read the two new texts and bring your notes.

We will discuss your questions and remarks in class.

 

"The failed assault on Chinese characters"

50.  On p. 75 of Kraus' text, he notes the Korean use of "a more clearly phonetic" script instead of characters.

In the last session of Block 3, we briefly discussed this script in class, in connection with Image #6 of our collection.

a.  Check your notes from that session (historical setting, "clearly phonetic" nature, etcetera), and see if there are any questions left.

b.  Can you find variant English spellings for the name of this script?

c.  If the Chinese script is not "clearly phonetic", then how could it best be characterized?

d.  The phonetic nature of the native Korean script have engendered some enthousiasm about its qualities among linguists and educators.

For an example, see "In praise of: The world's best writing system, which states:

"it turns out that different writing systems are not all equally well equipped to capture the full range of a language’s grammar".

Give a concrete example of one grammatical feature, in a language of your choice, plus a writing system unequipped to capture that feature.

51.  Kraus' chapter repeatedly mentions John DeFrancis' work.

a.  If you are not familiar with John DeFrancis' name:

do look up some details about his life and work.

b.  On p. 78, Kraus states that "DeFrancis points out that..." without quoting a source.

Can you trace this citation?

c.  Kraus paraphrases DeFrancis' statement that in the 1950s, "no one in China was willing to appear to challenge Stalin on this point".

On what point, exactly?

52.  P. 81 shows a woodcut from a 1958 issue of the journal 中国妇女 Zhōngguó Fùnǚ "Women of China".

a.  Can you identify the characters in this illustration?

b.  Can you translate them?

53.  On p. 82, Kraus mentions a childhood memory from Chinese opera singer 新凤霞 Xīn Fèngxiá (1927-1998) featuring a "discarded cap of a fountain pen".

a.  When and where were fountain pens invented? What writing tool(s) where they meant to replace or supplement?

b.  When were they first used in China? What writing tool(s) did they replace, or supplement?

 

"Features of the Chinese script"

54.  For each of the stroke-order principles in Table 12.5, try to find at least one exception.

55.  For native speakers of Mandarin:

in Table 12.10, compare these letter names with your own pronunciation, and note down any differences.

56.  In Table 12.11, can you think of punctuation marks which are missing?

57.  For "the sound /s/" at the bottom of page 371, check that you remember what the slashes transcribe.

Can you write these three examples – cent, sent and scent – using the same mode of transcription?

58.  At the bottom of p. 372, please formulate a (sinographically) critical note on the English translation "A book from the sky".

59.  The small text of p. 375, mentions a "danger of circularity".

Please formulate this danger in two or three sentences of your own.

60.  Some historical aspects of the character 年 are mentioned on p. 377.

What is the linguistic term for the relationship between 'millet', 'harvest' and 'year' discussed here?

61.  Table 12.14 illustrates the large propertion of infrequent characters.

Can you identify one or more social factors which have contributed to the survival of infrequent characters?

 

...and an encore

Cool loanwords

62.  Check out the description of sushi as an English word in "Cool Japanese loanwords we all use in English", under "Food and drink", #4.

In three or four sentences, write a sinographical assessment of the paragraph starting in "Kanji meaning".

–Thanks to Milan van Berlo for materials and suggestions

Image source: 懒设计 / Fotor 

No class today

Easter Monday

 

Looking ahead:

63.  As announced, in order to help you plan ahead, you can prepare draft versions of your term paper at any time:

• I will return your work with my comments
• This list of proofreaders' marks may assist you in reading my comments
• In case you wish to discuss my comments, please make an appointment

Please allow two days between handing in any draft and your appointment.

64.   Presentation heads-up:

On Monday 13 April, a short oral presentation will be expected of you about your term-paper project.

Requirements:

• Your presentation will be in English
• You will minimally present your materials, research question(s) and methodology
• Your target audience is intelligent and interested, but not necessarily trained in linguistics or in Chinese (fellow students from other departments may be invited to listen in)

Logistics:

• Maximum duration is four minutes – please time yourself in preparation!
• A short handout for the audience will come in handy, because it will save you time writing on the blackboard: please bring twelve printed copies
• Your handout shows only:
• your name, the date and the name of the course;
• your sinographic materials; and
• your research questions

The hand-out should not include any arguments or description, as you need to present those orally.

• Powerpoints are allowed, but only after prior consulation (over email). Note that setting up your system will cut into your four minutes!

Oral presentation

On 13 April, as announced, a short oral presentation will be expected of you about the subject of your term paper.

Requirements:

See the Heads-up under #64

Assignments

65.  Character styles:

a.  First, review the description which we briefly covered last week, in Section 12.2 of A grammar of Mandarin (especially Figure 12.4)

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015, pp. 360-364.

Availability:

• in the Asian Library at Leiden University, on the linguistics handbooks shelves;
• as an e-book, through the University Library catalogue
• for Dutch readers: § 12.3.1 of Grammatica van het Mandarijn (PDF)

Please bring your notes; we will discuss your questions and remarks in class.

b.  Last week, we already identified variations in scripts and writing styles for numbers 10 through 18 in our sinographic image pool.

So now, please identify names — English and Mandarin! — for the Chinese script styles found in the remaining images: i.e., for numbers 1–9 & 19–27.

Or, if the image does not correspond to any of the script styles mentioned there:

then please identify a Mandarin and/or English name based on the materials covered in class.

Texts

DeFrancis (1984)

DeFrancis, John, "The ideographic myth"

In: John DeFrancis, The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy, pp. 133-148.

Honolulu: University of Hawai`i Press, 1984.

A revised version of this chapter appears in Erbaugh (2002), pp. 1-20.

 

Wiedenhof (2015)

"Characters, syllables and morphemes"

In: Jeroen Wiedenhof, A grammar of Mandarin.

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015, § 10.1.3, pp. 293-297.

Availability at Leiden:

• from the Asian Library, on the reserve shelf for this course;
• as a downloadable PDF, through the University Library catalogue
• for Dutch readers: §10.1.3 (pp. 260-264) of Grammatica van het Mandarijn (PDF)

 

Assignments

Backlog

66.  Left over from last week:

Character styles: to be discussed at the end of today's session (time permitting ;-)

Myths

67.  Check the image in the header for this week.

a.  How many (types of? styles of?) script do you see? And what are their names?

b.  In one sentence, write down how this image captures this week's theme.

68.  For a quick scan of present-day misconceptions about Chinese languages and scripts,

(a)  consider the examples shown at the "Typisch Chinees" webpage

Expats: when in doubt, please check with classmates

(b)  check out the list of Bronnen ('Sources') at the bottom of that page.

Note down any comments or questions, and bring your notes to class.

69.  Read DeFrancis' "Ideographic myth", note down any questions or suggestions, and bring your notes.

70.  Read Wiedenhof's "Characters, syllables and morphemes", note down any questions or suggestions, and bring your notes.

71.  Inventorize this week's progress on your term paper and note down your planning for the final weeks.

Please bring your notes to class.

We will compare notes and do a quick round of any outstanding issues.

 

No class today

King's Day

 

 

Assignments

Skills session

72.  Please charge your laptop and bring it to class.

73.  Bring your draft version(s), my comments, your notes, and any literature to work with in class.

We will be reviewing your writing process, progress, and any problems on the way.

Hand-in postponed

...and an encore

生僻字 Shēngpì zì

• In Chinese: 陈柯宇《生僻字》 at Youtube
• In Japanese: 日文版《四字熟語》 at Youtube

Assignments

Skills session

75.  Please charge your laptop and bring it to class.

76.  Bring your draft version(s), my comments, your notes, and any literature to work with in class.

We will be reviewing your writing process, progress, and any problems on the way.

Hand-in assignment #3