Presented By: Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies
LRCCS Noon Lecture Series | On Some Popular Views about the Chinese Language
San Duanmu, Professor of Linguistics, University of Michigan
Attend in person or via Zoom:
https://myumi.ch/qVE14
This talk examines some popular views on the Chinese language. For example, many believe that, because each English word has many affixed forms, English has many times more words than Chinese. In addition, because English has more words, it can express ideas more clearly than Chinese. Moreover, because Chinese cannot express ideas clearly, it requires more mental effort to read Chinese. To verify such views, a detailed comparison is made between a modern English dictionary and a modern Chinese dictionary. It is found that they have similar numbers of roots (unaffixed words) and similar numbers of lexical entries. In addition, most English affixes have a Chinese counterpart, which means Chinese does not lack the ingredients to express whatever subtle meanings English can. There is a major difference between the two languages though: Chinese tends to omit all redundant information, while English often must repeat it. The difference does not always make English clearer but may introduce additional confusions.
San Duanmu is Professor of Linguistics, University of Michigan. He received his PhD in Linguistics from MIT in 1990 and has held teaching posts at Fudan University, Shanghai (1981-1986) and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1991-present). His research focuses on general properties of language, especially those in phonology.
If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at chinese.studies@umich.edu. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.
https://myumi.ch/qVE14
This talk examines some popular views on the Chinese language. For example, many believe that, because each English word has many affixed forms, English has many times more words than Chinese. In addition, because English has more words, it can express ideas more clearly than Chinese. Moreover, because Chinese cannot express ideas clearly, it requires more mental effort to read Chinese. To verify such views, a detailed comparison is made between a modern English dictionary and a modern Chinese dictionary. It is found that they have similar numbers of roots (unaffixed words) and similar numbers of lexical entries. In addition, most English affixes have a Chinese counterpart, which means Chinese does not lack the ingredients to express whatever subtle meanings English can. There is a major difference between the two languages though: Chinese tends to omit all redundant information, while English often must repeat it. The difference does not always make English clearer but may introduce additional confusions.
San Duanmu is Professor of Linguistics, University of Michigan. He received his PhD in Linguistics from MIT in 1990 and has held teaching posts at Fudan University, Shanghai (1981-1986) and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1991-present). His research focuses on general properties of language, especially those in phonology.
If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at chinese.studies@umich.edu. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.
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