Description

Book Synopsis
Thanks to dedicated efforts of early missionaries, pedagogues, and linguists, we can trace back the evolution of modern Cantonese-one of the most spoken dialects in China, Southeast Asia, and globally-while differences in sounds, words, and grammar distinguish the old from contemporary speech today.

Not much was recorded in official documents or gazetteers about the early history of Hong Kong where Cantonese is its most popular dialect. The knowledge of Cantonese is likewise quite limited except for occasional mentions of its culture and customs in writings here and there. For a long time, Cantonese was deemed a local dialect enjoying little prestige among the intellectuals. Its language and its origin remained much of a mystery until the mid-twentieth century when scholars started to accord it with increasing attention.

In Cantonese: Since the 19th Century, Cheung offers profound insights to some thirty firsthand century-old materials, with findings that will be useful for ongoing efforts to trace the development of a language that has gone through many rounds of incredible and, at times dramatic, changes during the last two hundred years.

Cantonese: Since the Nineteenth Century

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    A Hardback by Hung-nin Samual Cheung

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      Book details

      Publisher The Chinese University Press
      Published 22 December 2023
      ISBN-13 9789882372535
      978-9882372535
      ISBN-10 9882372538
      Also in:
      Historical and comparative linguistics

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Thanks to dedicated efforts of early missionaries, pedagogues, and linguists, we can trace back the evolution of modern Cantonese-one of the most spoken dialects in China, Southeast Asia, and globally-while differences in sounds, words, and grammar distinguish the old from contemporary speech today.

      Not much was recorded in official documents or gazetteers about the early history of Hong Kong where Cantonese is its most popular dialect. The knowledge of Cantonese is likewise quite limited except for occasional mentions of its culture and customs in writings here and there. For a long time, Cantonese was deemed a local dialect enjoying little prestige among the intellectuals. Its language and its origin remained much of a mystery until the mid-twentieth century when scholars started to accord it with increasing attention.

      In Cantonese: Since the 19th Century, Cheung offers profound insights to some thirty firsthand century-old materials, with findings that will be useful for ongoing efforts to trace the development of a language that has gone through many rounds of incredible and, at times dramatic, changes during the last two hundred years.

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