Pinyin news

Sino-Platonic Papers has rereleased for free its fifth volume of reviews, mainly of books about China and its history and languages (11.6 MB PDF).

Even if you have no particular interest in the specific works reviewed, I recommend at least browsing through this and all of the other volumes of reviews from Sino-Platonic Papers, as they often feature Victor Mair at his most direct and entertaining about a wide range of subjects.

Table of Contents:

• Review Article: The Present State and Future Prospects of Pre-Han Text Studies. A review of Michael Loewe, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Reviewed by E. Bruce Brooks, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

N.B.: The following 29 reviews are by the editor of Sino-Platonic Papers.

• Roger T. Ames, Chan Sin-wai, and Mau-sang Ng, eds. Interpreting Culture through Translation: A Festschrift for D. C. Lau.
• Sau Y. Chan. Improvisation in a Ritual Context: The Music of Cantonese Opera.
• CHANG Xizhen. Beijing Tuhua [Pekingese Colloquial].
• CHANG/AIXINJUELUO Yingsheng [AISINGIORO *Yingsheng]. Beijing Tuhua zhong de Manyu [Manchurian in Pekingese Colloquial].
• BAI Gong and JIN Shan. Jing Wei’er: Toushi Beijingren de Yuyan ["Capital Flavor": A Perspective on the Language of the Pekingese].
• JIA Caizhu, comp. Beijinghua Erhua Cidian [Dictionary of Retroflex Final-r in Pekingese].
• Julia Ching and R. W .L. Guisso, eds. Sages and Sons: Mythology and Archaeology in Ancient China.
• FENG Zhiwei. Xiandai Hanzi he Jisuanji (Modern Chinese Characters and Electronic Computers).
• FENG Zhiwei. Zhongwen Xinxi Chuli yu Hanyu Yanjiu [Chinese Information Processing and Research on Sinitic].
• Andre Gunder Frank. The Centrality of Central Asia.
• HUANG Jungui. Hanzi yu Hanzi Paijian Fangfa [Sinographs and Methods for Ordering and Looking up Sinographs].
• W. J. F. Jenner. The Tyranny of History: The Roots of China’s Crisis.
• Adam T. Kessler. Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan.
• David R. McCraw. Du Fu’s Laments from the South.
• Michael Nylan, tr. and comm. The Canon of Supreme Mystery, by Yang Hsiung.
• R. P. Peerenboom. Law and Morality in Ancient China: The Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao.
• Henry G. Schwarz. An Uyghur-English Dictionary.
• Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed. Dene-Sino-Caucasian Languages.
• Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed. Nostratic, Dene-Caucasian, Austric and Amerind.
• Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Studies of Chinese Religion: A Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in English, French, and German through 1970.
• Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Chinese Religion in Western Languages: A Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in English, French, and German through 1980.
• Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Chinese Religion: Publications in Western Languages, 1981 through 1990.
• Aat Vervoorn. Men of the Cliffs and Caves: The Development of the Chinese Eremitic Tradition to the End of the Han Dynasty.
• WANG Jiting, ZHANG Shaoting, and WANG Suorong, comp. Changjian Wenyan Shumianyu [Frequently Encountered Literary Sinitic Expressions in Written Language].
• John Timothy Wixted. Japanese Scholars of China: A Bibliographical Handbook.
• YÜ Lung-yü, ed. Chung-Yin wen-hsüeh kuan-hsi yüan-liu [The Origin and Development of Sino-Indian Literary Relations].
• ZHANG Guangda and RONG Xinjiang. Yutian Shi Congkao [Collected Inquiries on the History of Khotan].
• ZHANG Yongyan, chief ed. Shishuo Xinxu Cidian [A Dictionary of A New Account of Tales of the World].
• Peter H. Rushton. The Jin Ping Mei and the Non-Linear Dimensions of the Traditional Chinese Novel.

• William H. Baxter, A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology. Reviewed by Paul Rakita Goldin, Harvard University.
• JI Xianlin (aka Hiän-lin Dschi). Dunhuang Tulufan Tuhuoluoyu Yanjiu Daolun [A Guide to Tocharian Language Materials from Dunhuang and Turfan]. Reviewed by XU Wenkan, Hanyu Da Cidian editorial offices in Shanghai.
• GU Zhengmei. Guishuang Fojiao Zhengzhi Chuantong yu Dasheng Fojiao [The Political Tradition of Kushan Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism]. Reviewed by XU Wenkan, Hanyu Da Cidian editorial offices in Shanghai.

• W. South Coblin, University of Iowa. A Note on the Modern Readings of 土蕃.
• Rejoinder by the Editor.

• Announcement concerning the inauguration of a new series in Sino-Platonic Papers entitled “Bits and Pieces.”

This work also continues the discussion regarding the Chinese characters “土蕃” and Tibet.

This was first published in July 1994 as issue no. 46 of Sino-Platonic Papers.

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The most recent rerelease from Sino-Platonic Papers is Dì-yī ge Lādīng zìmǔ de Hànyǔ Pīnyīn Fāng’àn shì zěnyàng chǎnshēng de? (How Was the First Romanized Spelling System for Sinitic Produced? / 第一个拉丁字母的汉语拼音方案是怎样产生的), by YIN Binyong (尹斌庸).

The author should be familiar to regular readers of this site, as he wrote the standard works on Hanyu Pinyin orthography — Chinese Romanization: Pronunciation and Orthography and the Xinhua Pinxie Cidian — as well as Pinyin-to-Chinese Character Computer Conversion Systems and the Realization of Digraphia in China.

The text is in Mandarin in Chinese characters. Here is the introduction.

This is issue no. 50 of Sino-Platonic Papers. It was first published in November 1994.

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Sino-Platonic Papers has just released online its second compilation of book reviews. Here are the books discussed. (Note: The links below do not lead to the reviews but to other material. Use the link above.)

Invited Reviews

• William A. Boltz, “The Typological Analysis of the Chinese Script.” A review article of John DeFrancis, Visible Speech, the Diverse Oneness of Writing Systems.
• Paul Varley and Kumakura Isao, eds., Tea in Japan: Essays on the History of Chanoyu. Reviewed by William R. LaFleur .
• Vladimir N. Basilov, ed., Nomads of Eurasia. Reviewed by David A. Utz.

Reviews by the Editor

• “Philosophy and Language.” A review article of Françcois Jullien, Procès ou Création: Une introduction a la pensée des lettrés chinois.

Language and Linguistics

• W. South Coblin, A Handbook of Eastern Han Sound Glosses.
• Weldon South Coblin. A Sinologist’s Handlist of Sino-Tibetan Lexical Comparisons.
• ZHOU Zhenhe and YOU Rujie. Fangyan yu Zhongguo Wenhua [Topolects and Chinese Culture].
• CHOU Fa-kao. Papers in Chinese Linguistics and Epigraphy.
• ZENG Zifan. Guangzhouhua Putonghua Duibi Qutan [Interesting Parallels between Cantonese and Mandarin].
• Luciana Bressan. La Determinazione delle Norme Ortografiche del Pinyin.
• JIANG Shaoyu and XU Changhua, tr. Zhongguoyu Lishi Wenfa [A Historical Grammar of Modern Chinese] by OTA Tatsuo.
• McMahon, et al. Expository Writing in Chinese.
• P. C. T’ung and D. E. Pollard. Colloquial Chinese.
• Li Sijing, Hanyu “er” Yin Shih Yanjiu [Studies on the History of the "er" Sound in Sinitic].
• Maurice Coyaud, Les langues dans le monde chinois.
• Patricia Herbert and Anthony Milner, eds., South-East Asia: Languages and Literatures; A Select Guide.
• Andrew Large, The Artificial Language Movement.
• Wilhelm von Humboldt, On Language: The Diversity of Hunan Language-Structure and Its Influence on the Mental Development of Mankind.
• Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed., Reconstructing Languages and Cultures.
• Jan Wind, et al., eds., Studies in Language Origins.

Short Notices

• A. Kondratov, Sounds and Signs.
• Jeremy Campbell, Grammatical Man: Information, Entropy, Language, and Life.
• Pitfalls of the Tetragraphic Script.

Lexicography and Lexicology

• MIN Jiaji, et al., comp., Hanyu Xinci Cidian [A Dictionary of New Sinitic Terms]
• LYU Caizhen, et al., comp., Xiandai Hanyu Nanci Cidian [A Dictionary of Difficult Terms in Modern Sinitic].
• Tom McArthur, Worlds of Reference: Lexicography, learning and language from the clay tablet to the computer.

A Bouquet of Pekingese Lexicons

• JIN Shoushen, comp., Beijinghua Yuhui [Pekingese Vocabulary].
• SONG Xiaocai and MA Xinhua, comp., Beijinghua Ciyu Lishi [Pekingese Expressions with Examples and Explanations] .
• SONG Xiaocai and MA Xinhua, comp., Beijinghua Yuci Huishi [Pekingese Words and Phrases with Explanations] .
• FU Min and GAO Aijun, comp., Beijinghua Ciyu (Dialectical Words and Phrases in Beijing).

A Bibliographical Trilogy

• Paul Fu-mien Yang, comp., Chinese Linguistics: A Selected and Classified Bibliography.
• Paul Fu-mien Yang, comp., Chinese Dialectology: A Selected and Classified Bibliography.
• Paul Fu-mien Yang, comp., Chinese Lexicology and Lexicography: A Selected and Classified Bibliography.

Orality and Literacy

• Jack Goody. The interface between the written and the oral.
• Jack Goody. The logic of writing and the organization of society.
• Deborah Tannen, ed., Spoken and Written Language: Exploring Orality and Literacy.

Society and Culture

• Scott Simmie and Bob Nixon, Tiananmen Square.
• Thomas H. C. Lee, Government Education and Examinations in Sung China.
• ZHANG Zhishan, tr. and ed., Zhongguo zhi Xing [Record of a Journey to China].
• LIN Wushu, Monijiao ji Qi Dongjian [Manichaeism and Its Eastward Expansion].
• E. N. Anderson, The Food of China.
• K. C. Chang, ed., Food in Chinese Culture: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives.
• Jacques Gemet, China and the Christian Impact: A Conflict of Cultures.
• D. E. Mungello, Curious Land: Jesuit Accommodation and the Origins of Sinology.

Short Notice

• Roben Jastrow, The Enchanted Loom: Mind in the Universe.

In Memoriam
Chang-chen HSU
August 6, 1957 - June 27, 1989

• Hsu Chang-chen, ed., and tr., Yin-tu hsien-tai hsiao-shuo hsüan [A Selection of Contemporary Indian Fiction].
• Hsu Chang-chen, T’o-fu tzu-huiyen-chiu (Mastering TOEFL Vocabulary).
• Hsu Chang-chen, Tsui-chung-yao-te i pai ke Ying-wen tzu-shou tzu-ken (100 English Prefixes and Word Roots).
• Hsu Chang-chen, Fa-wen tzu-hui chieh-koufen-hsi — tzu-shou yü tzu-ken (Les préfixes et les racines de la langue française).
• Hsu Chang-chen, comp. and tr., Hsi-yü yü Fo-chiao wen-shih lun-chi (Collection of Articles on Studies of Central Asia, India, and Buddhism).

This is SPP no. 14, from December 1989. The entire text is now online as a 7.3 MB PDF.

See my earlier post for the contents of the first SPP volume of reviews and a link to the full volume.

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Sino-Platonic Papers has just released online its first compilation of book reviews. Here is a list of the books discussed. (Note: The links below do not lead to the reviews but to other material.)

Invited Reviews

• J. Marshall Unger, The Fifth Generation Fallacy. Reviewed by Wm. C. Hannas
• Rejoinder by J. Marshall Unger
• Hashimoto Mantaro, Suzuki Takao, and Yamada Hisao. A Decision for the Chinese Nations — Toward the Future of Kanji (Kanji minzoku no ketsudan — Kanji no mirai ni mukete). Reviewed by Wm. C. Hannas
• S. Robert Ramsey. The Languages of China. Reviewed by Wm. C. Hannas
• James H. Cole, Shaohsing. Reviewed by Mark A. Allee
• Henry Hung-Yeh Tiee, A Reference Grammar of Chinese Sentences. Reviewed by Jerome L. Packard

Reviews by the Editor

• David Pollack, The Fracture of Meaning
• Jerry Norman, Chinese
• N. H. Leon, Character Indexes of Modern Chinese
• Shiu-ying Hu, comp., An Enumeration of Chinese Materia Medico
• Donald M. Ayers, English Words from Latin and Greek Elements
• Chen Gang, comp., A Dictionary of Peking Colloquialisms (Beijing Fangyan Cidian)
• Dominic Cheung, ed. and tr., The Isle Full of Noises
• Jonathan Chaves, ed. and tr., The Columbia Book of Later Chinese Poetry
• Philip R. Bilancia, Dictionary of Chinese Law and Government
• Charles O. Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China
• Robert K. Logan, The Alphabet Effect
• Liu Zhengtan, Gao Mingkai, et al., comp., A Dictionary of Loan Words and Hybrid Words in Chinese (Hanyu Wailai Cidian)
• The Mandarin Daily Dictionary of Loan Words (Guoyu Ribao Wailaiyu Cidian)
• Shao Xiantu, Zhou Dingguo, et al., comp., A Dictionary of the Origins of Foreign Place Names (Waiguo Diming Yuyuan Cidian)
• Tsung-tung Chang, Metaphysik, Erkenntnis und Praktische Philosophie um Chuang-Tzu
• Irene Bloom, trans, ed., and intro., Knowledge Painfully Acquired: The K’un-chih chi of Lo Ch’in-shun
• Research Institute for Language Pedagogy of the Peking College of Languages, comp., Frequency Dictionary of Words in Modern Chinese (Xiandai Hanyu Pinlyu Cidian)
• Liu Yuan, chief compiler, Word List of Modern Mandarin (Xianhi Hanyu Cibiao)
• The Editing Group of A New English-Chinese Dictionary, comp., A New English-Chinese Dictionary
• BBC External Business and Development Group, Everyday Mandarin

This is SPP no. 8, from February 1988. The entire text is now online as a 4.2 MB PDF.

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Another back issue of Sino-Platonic Papers has been released: The Four Languages of “Mandarin”, by Robert M. Sanders of the University of Hawaii.

Here’s how it begins:

Many hours have been spent at scholarly meetings and many pages of academic writing have been expended discussing what is to be considered acceptable Mandarin. Very often these discussions degenerate into simplistic and narrow-minded statements such as “That’s not the way we say it in …!” or “We had better ask someone from Peking.” Objectively speaking, these disagreements on style reflect a less-than-rigorous definition of which type of Mandarin each party is referring to. Because there has been a failure by all concerned to define fully the linguistic and socio-linguistic parameters of their assumed language(s), Mandarin oranges are often unwittingly being compared with Mandarin apples. This paper is a preliminary attempt to articulate the fundamental differences distinguishing four major language types subsumed under the single English heading ‘Mandarin’. Though the Chinese terms putonghua/guoyu, guanhua, and difanghua help to accentuate the conceptual distinctions distinguishing our four types of Mandarin, it is arguable that even Chinese scholars are not immune from confusing one language with another.

Sanders goes on to indentify and discuss what he calls

1. Idealized Mandarin
2. Imperial Mandarin
3. Geographical Mandarin
4. Local Mandarin

The entire text is now online for free in both HTML and PDF (875 KB) formats.

Professor Sanders is also one of the associate editors of the excellent ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary.

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Sino-Platonic Papers has just released one of its popular back issues as a free PDF. This one, no. 19 (June 1990), deals with the common question of What’s up with that “Peking” spelling, anyway?

As Bosat Man explains in “Backhill / Peking / Beijing”:

The three main contributing factors to the discrepancy between Peking and Beijing are:

1. a plethora of romanizations
2. a welter of local pronunciations, and
3. phonological change over time.

He then goes into detail, especially about the third point. The whole work is just six pages, single spaced. Here it is: “Backhill / Peking / Beijing” (1 MB PDF).

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Portions of some textbooks in the PRC are being turned into animated cartoons for primary- and secondary-school students.

Wang Ying, the general manager of the Children’s Art and Play Theater Co. and chief organizer of the activity, described this as “an innovative move to further develop cultural products for 367 million people in China aged under 18.”

The scripts for the screenplays are being selected through a nationwide competition.

The cartoons will cover such subjects as ancient poems, fairy tales, and foreign novels.

For more information, see the official website.

source: Chinese youngsters to enjoy cartoon plays based on textbooks, Xinhua, October 13, 2005

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Sonarchic sent in photos of some signs in the Beijing subway system.

The typography for English and Pinyin is generally poor, as is common in China.

There are several things in general I’d like to draw attention to:

• Everything is in a boring sans-serif.
• The letters are often set too close together and occasionally too far apart.
• EVERYTHING IS IN CAPITAL LETTERS.
• The size of the English/romanization relative to the Chinese characters varies, with the English text often too small. (The latter is increasingly a problem in Taiwan.)

OK, now to the photos.

Above:

• very tight tracking between most of the Roman letters, except around the letter I
• enormous (and incorrect) space after the apostrophes in “Tian’anmen” (which is, correctly, written with an apostrophe, BTW) and “Yong’anli” (which should perhaps be written “Yong’an Li”)
• yet the apostrophes in the time-to-station markings are not followed by enormous spaces
• failure to parse many words correctly, e.g., “Lù” (”Road” / 路) should be written apart from the name of the road: Gǔchéng Lù (古城路), not GUCHENGLU, etc.

Above:

• note different word spacing between “TO” and “LINE” than between “LINE” and the number

Above:

• This should almost certainly be “Changchun Jie” (jie means “street”), not “CHANGCHUNJIE”.

Above:

• only Chinese characters identify this as the northeast exit (东北口 Dōngběi kǒu)
• uneven left margin for the English/romanization
• very small English in relation to the Chinese characters
• clumsy letterspacing around capital I’s
• too much space after the period in JRJ.COM
• uneven spacing, as can be seen in the two uses of the word “insurance”

further reading:

• Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
• Traffic Stuff, at the Web site of Richard C. Moeur

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