As the first volume of a two-volume set that studies Chinese rhyme tables, this book focuses on their emergence, development, structure, and patterns. Rhyme tables are tabulated tool constituted by phonological properties, which helps indicate the pronunciation of sinograms or Chinese characters, marking a precise and systematic account of the Chinese phonological system. This volume first discusses the emergence of the model and factors that determined its formation and evolution, including the Chinese tradition of the rhyme dictionary and the introduction of Buddhist scripts. The second part analyzes the structure and arrangement patterns of rhyme tables in detail, giving insights into the nature of “division” (deng): the classification and differentiation of speech sounds, of vital significance in the reconstruction of middle Chinese. The author argues that deng has nothing to do with vowel aperture or other phonetic features but is a natural result of rhyme table arrangement. He also reexamines the principles for irregular cases (menfa rules) and categorizes the 20 rules into three types. The book will appeal to scholars and student studying linguistics, Chinese phonology, and Sinology.

A one-stop, comprehensive account of the key developments in the phonological history of Chinese.

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This book, the first in its field in a Western language, examines China’s native phonological tool with regard to reconstruction, theory, and linguistic philosophy. After an introductory essay on the nature of the tables and the history of their interpretation, the book concentrates on three areas: application of rime table theory to reconstruction, the history of rime table theory, and the application of the tables to descriptive linguistics. An appendix details a number of 20th century systems for transcribing their phonology into Roman letters. Major topics include Altaic contact-influence on Chinese, early native understanding of the tables’ meaning, the phonological work of Yuen Ren Chao, and Stammbaumtheorie/diasystemic thinking about Chinese. New reconstructions of Han and “Common Dialectal” phonology appear here, as do complete texts and translations of the Shouwen fragments and Yunjing preface.

As the second volume of a two-volume set that studies the Chinese rhyme tables, this book seeks to reconstruct the ancient rhyme tables based on the extant materials and findings. A rhyme table is a tabulated tool constituted by phonological properties, which helps indicate the pronunciation of sinograms or Chinese characters, marking an accurate and systematic account of the Chinese phonological system. The book first explores the relationship and identifies the prototype of the extant rhyme tables. Then the principles and methods for collating and rebuilding the ancient rhyme table are introduced. It then looks at the general layout, including tables, table order, shè, zhuǎn, rhyme heading, rhyme order, light and heavy articulations, rounded and unrounded articulations, and initials. The final chapter presents the reconstructed rhyme tables with detailed annotations and add-on indexes. The book will appeal to scholars and students studying Sinology, Chinese linguistics, and especially Chinese phonology.

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

My First Book of Chinese Words introduces young children to basic words and concepts in the Chinese language through colorful rhymes and beautiful imagery. It is a book that parents and young children will enjoy reading together. The Chinese words in the book are all common, everyday items, and the rhymes are informative and fun for children. The goal of My First Book of Chinese Words is to familiarize children with the basic sounds and written characters of Chinese, to introduce core concepts of Chinese culture and to illustrate the ways in which Chinese sounds differ from English ones. Teachers and parents will welcome the cultural notes at the back of the book and appreciate how the book is organized using a familiar ABC structure. Each word is presented in Chinese characters (both Simplified and Traditional) as well as Romanized Pinyin for easy pronunciation. With the help of this book, we hope more children (and adults) will soon join the more than one billion people worldwide who speak Chinese!