Matteo Ricci And The Missionary Role In The Evolution Of Chinese Lexicon

This is a systematic study of Matteo Ricci's (1552-1610) enormous impact on the development of modern scientific and intellectual terminology in China.

Portuguese Asia -- Catholic renewal -- Ming China -- Matteo Ricci -- Ricci in our time.

Most dictionaries have forerunners, and all have imitators; an understanding of the historical foundations of dictionary-making is therefore one of the preconditions of further progress in academic lexicography. The papers in this volume, which were presented at the 1986 Exeter Seminar, survey most of the lexicographical traditions in the world, some tracing them right back to their beginnings. The programme was divided into eight sessions, with the following concentrations of topics: (1) three classical traditions, (2) the early history of European lexicography, (3) the beginnings of English lexicography, (4) further aspects of English lexicography, (5) the background of diverse national developments, (6) specific features of national developments, (7) pioneers of three genres, (8) recent trends in the English dictionary.

As the final volume of a multi-volume set on the Chinese language, this book studies the Western and Japanese influence on the lexicon of Modern Chinese, lexical developments in synonyms, idioms and proverbs in modern times, and lexical developments in contemporary times. This volume first introduces the influence of foreign cultures on the modern Chinese lexicon with an emphasis on loanwords from Japanese and Indo-European languages. It then discusses the synonyms, idioms, and proverbs of Modern Chinese, elucidating their evolution, sources, and composition. The final part centers on the development of the Chinese lexicon after the May Fourth Movement in 1919, marking the beginning of the contemporary phase of the Chinese language. The author analyzes trends and types of neologisms and loanwords and analyzes the blend of Mandarin and dialect words and the necessity of lexical standardization. Illustrated with abundant examples, this comprehensive groundwork on Chinese lexical history will be a must-read for scholars and students studying Modern Chinese language, linguistics, and especially for beginning learners of modern and contemporary Chinese lexicon.

This volume is a collection of papers from the 1st International Conference on Historical Lexicography and Lexicology at the University of Leicester in 2002. The purpose of the conference was to bring together scholars and academics from around the world working as scholars and editors on historical dictionaries or as practising lexicographers. The papers are, accordingly, arranged in two sections, reflecting the distinction between those individuals working on the historical development of dictionaries and those considering the lexicological problems and challenges facing the lexicographer in attempting to represent as fully and justly as possible historical forms of the English language.

First Published in 1979. This title is intended as a guide to personalities, events, ideas and institutions in China from earliest times right up to the present day. The dictionary should be particularly useful to anyone interested in Chinese history for its own sake, or in contemporary China, where today's events are so often seen in terms of the past. It should also help anyone interested in comparing the experience of China with European or American history.

The first account in English of the history of Chinese lexicography traces its development from 1046 BC to AD 1911. It describes the origins and development of primers, thesauruses, dictionaries of dialects, characters, and technical terms, rhyming dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, and encyclopaedic dictionaries.