The Sinitic Languages: A Contribution to Sinological Linguistics (Collectanea Serica. New Series)

The __Sinitic Languages__ is the quintessence of Mieczysław Jerzy Künstler’s thirty years of research into the Chinese languages. Originally published in Polish in 2000 as __Języki chińskie__, this work collected Künstler’s various lectures on the fascinating world of this branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It marked the apogee of linguistic research of Chinese languages in Poland. With a keen, intuitive understanding of the workings of these languages, Künstler introduces his readership to the historical development of spoken Sinitic languages. Besides analyzing the various stages of Standard Chinese, he also makes a convincing case for classifying Cantonese, Pekinese, Nankinese, Minnanese, Wu, and other so-called "dialects" as distinct languages. Künstler’s work offers an insightful and detailed overview about synchronic and diachronic research on the major language groups of Chinese, a fast growing academic field until today. The present English version was begun by Künstler himself before his untimely demise in 2007. However, it is not merely a translation of the Polish work, but a revised edition that introduces a shift in Sinological linguistics from a genetic to an areal description of Modern Chinese languages. A joint effort of the Polish linguist Alfred Franciszek Majewicz and the Sinologists Ewa Zajdler and Maria Kurpaska helped to bring the original manuscript to its completion. Thus, __The Sinitic Languages__ is now finally accessible for a larger readership. Both amateurs and experts interested in this topic are invited to follow Künstler on his intellectual journey into Sinological linguistics. Künstler intentionally excluded Chinese characters from his work because he viewed the Sinitic languages primarily as spoken languages. In order to provide readers with the opportunity to compare spoken and written language, the editors added an index with glossary to the English version. The Sinitic Languages is the quintessence of Mieczyslaw Jerzy Kunstler's thirty years of research into the Chinese languages. Originally published in Polish in 2000 as Jezyki chinskie, this work collected Kunstler's various lectures on the fascinating world of this branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It marked the apogee of linguistic research of Chinese languages in Poland. With a keen, intuitive understanding of the workings of these languages, Kunstler introduces his readership to the historical development of spoken Sinitic languages. Besides analyzing the various stages of Standard Chinese, he also makes a convincing case for classifying Cantonese, Pekinese, Nankinese, Minnanese, Wu, and other so-called "dialects" as distinct languages. Kunstler's work offers an insightful and detailed overview about synchronic and diachronic research on the major language groups of Chinese, a fast growing academic field until today. The present English version was begun by Kunstler himself before his untimely demise in 2007. However, it is not merely a translation of the Polish work, but a revised edition that introduces a shift in Sinological linguistics from a genetic to an areal description of Modern Chinese languages. A joint effort of the Polish linguist Alfred Franciszek Majewicz and the Sinologists Ewa Zajdler and Maria Kurpaska helped to bring the original manuscript to its completion. Thus, The Sinitic Languages is now finally accessible for a larger readership. Both amateurs and experts interested in this topic are invited to follow Kunstler on his intellectual journey into Sinological linguistics.0Kunstler intentionally excluded Chinese characters from his work because he viewed the Sinitic languages primarily as spoken languages. In order to provide readers with the opportunity to compare spoken and written language, the editors added an index with glossary to the English version Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 Abbreviations 8 Editor’s Foreword 10 About the Author 12 Introduction to the English Version 16 Introduction 22 A Note about Transcriptions 26 Chapter 1: Typology, Kinship, and Areal Features 28 Chapter 2: Writing and Language 46 Chapter 3: The Oldest Phase of the Chinese Language 64 Chapter 4: The Archaic Chinese Language 80 Chapter 5: The Post-Archaic Period 116 Chapter 6: From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty 144 Chapter 7: The Middle Chinese or Ancient Chinese 158 Chapter 8: Transitory Times 176 Chapter 9: The Modern Period 184 Chapter 10: The Contemporary Pan-National Language 198 Chapter 11: The Chinese Tower of Babel 222 Chapter 12: Mandarin Languages 240 Chapter 13: Southern Chinese Languages 256 Addendum 286 Bibliography 292 Index with Glossary 306