Chinese linguistics and typology: The state of the art

Author(s):

Chappell, H.; Ming, L.; Peyraube, A.

Format:

Journal article

Citation:

Linguistic Typology, Volume 11, Issue 1 (2007). pp. 187-211.

Language:

English

Abstract:

China possesses rich linguistic resources which remain relatively untapped: the ten main Sinitic languages or dialect groups account for roughly 93% of the population (Mandarin, Jin, Xiang, Gan, Hui, Wu, Min, Kejia, Yue, and Pinghua); the remaining 7% comprise the many different "minority" languages in long term contact with Sinitic such as Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian, Hmong, and Tai. In an almost unprecedented state of affairs, written records for Chinese extend without a break 3,000 years into the past, furnishing a rich documentation for any kind of historical study. © Walter de Gruyter 2007.

ISSN:

14300532 (ISSN)

DOI:

10.1515/LINGTY.2007.014

Identifier:

HmongStudies0449