Chinese Script: Its Characteristics
and Intrinsic Regularities

Co-organized by the Confucius Institute
Co-sponsored by the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies
Date: Friday, September 27th, 2019, 10:00-11:00 AM
Location: Humanities Building 1003

Watch: Chinese Script (Its Characteristics and Intrinsic Regularities)

Lecture Abstract

The Chinese script is a highly developed form of writing that has been used by Chinese people for more than 3,000 years. The Chinese script, unlike the script of any Indo-European language, uses no letters or combination of letters to represent the sounds and meanings in the Chinese language. How was the Chinese script formed? What are the characteristics and intrinsic regularities the Chinese script has? How may native English speakers effectively learn and appreciate the Chinese script? Professor Yin will address these questions, drawing on his studies and research.

About the Speaker: John Jing-hua Yin

John Jing-hua Yin (印京华) is professor of Chinese and chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Vermont. His research interests are in the area of teaching Chinese to native English speakers, focusing on the Chinese script and phonetics. His major works include Fundamentals of Chinese Characters, published by Yale University Press in 2006; Practical Rhythmic Chinese, published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in 2008; and Essential College Chinese, published by
Beijing Language and Culture University Press in 2018. He has also published over 20 book chapters and journal articles.