Sinography: The Borrowing and Adaptation of the Chinese Script (Language, Writing and Literary Culture in the Sinographic Cosmopolis, 1)

"In the more than 3,000 years since its invention, the Chinese script has been adapted many times to write languages other than Chinese, including Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Zhuang. In Sinography: Cross-linguistic Perspectives of the Borrowing and Adaptation of the Chinese Script, Zev Handel provides a comprehensive analysis of how the structural features of these languages constrained and motivated methods of script adaptation. This comparative study reveals the universal principles at work in the borrowing of logographic scripts. By analyzing and explaining these principles, Handel advances our understanding of how early writing systems have functioned and spread, providing a new framework that can be applied to the history of scripts beyond East Asia, such as Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform"-- Provided by publisher Intro Contents Acknowledgments Figures and Tables Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Scope and Purpose 1.2 Definition of Writing and Typology of Writing Systems 1.3 Literary Sinitic, the Sinographosphere, and Sino-xenic Vocabulary and Pronunciations 1.4 Chinese Script Forms 1.5 Basic Techniques of Adaptation 1.6 Linguistic Affiliations and Linguistic Typology 1.7 Previous Scholarship 1.8 Plan of this Study 1.9 Notation Chapter 2 Chinese Writing 2.1 Chinese Historical Linguistic Typology 2.2 The Development of the Chinese Writing System 2.3 Stability of the Mainstream Writing System 2.4 Middle Chinese and Sino-xenic Character Readings2.5 Ongoing Development of the Chinese Writing System for Colloquial and Dialectal Writing 2.6 Summary and Implications for Script Borrowing Chapter 3 Korean 3.1 Introduction of Chinese Writing to Korea and Related History 3.2 Korean Historical Linguistic Typology 3.3 Sino-Korean 3.4 Glossing Traditions and the Development of Vernacular Writing 3.5 Structure and Function of Vernacular Writing 3.6 Korean Sinography: Classification of Methods 3.7 Later Script Developments 3.8 Analysis 3.9 Appendix to Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Vietnamese4.1 Introduction of Chinese Writing to Vietnam and Related History 4.2 Vietnamese Historical Linguistic Typology 4.3 Sino-Vietnamese 4.4 Glossing Traditions and the Development of Vernacular Writing 4.5 Structure and Function of Chữ Nôm 4.6 Vietnamese Sinography: Classification of Methods 4.7 Later Script Developments 4.8 Analysis Chapter 5 Japanese 5.1 Introduction of Chinese Writing to Japan and Related History 5.2 Japanese Historical Linguistic Typology 5.3 Sino-Japanese 5.4 Glossing Traditions and the Development of Vernacular Writing 5.5 Structure and Function of Vernacular Writing5.6 Japanese Sinography: Classification of Methods 5.7 Later Script Developments 5.8 Analysis 5.9 Appendix to Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Comparative Analysis 6.1 Preliminary Conclusions 6.2 Predictions Chapter 7 Other Languages: Zhuang, Khitan, Jurchen 7.1 Zhuang 7.2 Introduction of Chinese Writing to the Zhuang and Related History 7.3 Zhuang Linguistic Typology 7.4 Sino-Zhuang 7.5 Glossing Traditions and the Development of Vernacular Writing 7.6 Zhuang Sinography: Classification of Methods 7.7 Significance of Regional Variation Patterns7.8 Analysis and Implications for the Isolating Model 7.9 Khitan and Jurchen 7.10 Khitan and Jurchen Linguistic Typology 7.11 History of the Khitan and Jurchen Scripts 7.12 Structure and Function of the Scripts Methods of Adaptation and Innovation 7.13 Analysis and Implications for the Agglutinating Model 7.14 Conclusion: Revising the Model Chapter 8 Beyond the Sinographosphere: Sumerian and Akkadian 8.1 Sumerian and Akkadian: an Imperfect Parallel to Sinographic Writing 8.2 Sumerian and Akkadian Linguistic Typology In the more than 3,000 years since its invention, the Chinese script has been adapted many times to write languages other than Chinese, including Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Zhuang. In Sinography: The Borrowing and Adaptation of the Chinese Script , Zev Handel provides a comprehensive analysis of how the structural features of these languages constrained and motivated methods of script adaptation. This comparative study reveals the universal principles at work in the borrowing of logographic scripts. By analyzing and explaining these principles, Handel advances our understanding of how early writing systems have functioned and spread, providing a new framework that can be applied to the history of scripts beyond East Asia, such as Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform. --Publisher description