Advanced Chinese Grammar

Textbooks | Course Requirements | Weekly Schedule Chinese 325--Fall 1999 ADVANCED CHINESE GRAMMAR Course Information and Syllabus

Instructor: R.VanNess Simmons [back to main page]

Office: Scott Hall 327
Office Phone: 932-5597
Email: rsimmon@rci.rutgers.edu
Office Hours: TTh 11:15-12:15
Class meeting times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5th period--2:50-4:10pm in Murray 111

This is a course in Chinese grammar. The goal of the course is to increase your understanding of Chinese grammar in order to improve your mastery of Chinese. A secondary goal is to explore the nature of Standard Chinese grammatical structure in general and learn how and where it differs from the grammars of other languages, such as English and Chinese dialects. The course will be heavily discussion oriented; we will approach our topic through analysis and dialogue. We will look at Chinese sounds, word structure and formation, sentence grammar, and paragraph structure, using a variety of techniques, from analysis to problem solving. This course will demand that students actively participate; and you will be expected to frequently present your own ideas and understand all examples in Chinese. Hence to take this course, students must have studied Chinese up through the level of 132 or the equivalent. (Others may be allowed to take the course with special permission from the instructor.) Textbooks Required:

1 Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington. Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook. New York: Routledge, 1998.

2 Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington. Intermediate Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook. New York: Routledge, 1998.

3 Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington. Chinese: An Essential Grammar. New York: Routledge, 1997.

The above texts should be available from the University Bookstore at One Penn Plaza, opposite the New Brunswick train station, and from New Jersey Books, 108 Somerset St.

Optional (if available):

Li Dejin and Cheng Meizhen. A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners. Beijing: Sinolingua, 1988.

Li, Charles N. and Sandra A Thompson. Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981.

To be on reserve at the library for supplementary reading and reports:

Boltz, William G. The Origin and Development of the Chinese Writing System. Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1994. ISBN: 0-940490-78-1

Chao, Yuen Ren. A Grammar of Spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968. ISBN: 0-520-00219-9. {ALEX PL1137.S6C5 1968}

Chao, Yuen Ren. Language and Symbolic Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968. ISBN 0-521-09457-7. {ALEX P106.C5}

Chao, Yuen Ren. Mandarin Primer. Cambridge, 1961. {EASIA PL1125.E6C45}

DeFrancis, John. The Chinese Language: Fact And Fantasy. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984. Paper. ISBN: 0-8248-1068-6 {ALEX PL1171.D38}

Eccles, Lance. Shanghai Dialect: An Introduction to Speaking the Contemporary Language. Maryland: Dunwoody Press, 1993. {ALEX PL1940.S53E33 1993}

Kratochvil, P. The Chinese Language Today. {ALEX PL1087.K7}

Li, Charles N. & Sandra A. Thompson. Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981. ISBN: 0-520-04286-7 {ALEX PL1107.L5}

Newnham, Richard. About Chinese. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1971. ISBN: 0-14-02.1131-4 {ALEX PL1111.N4}

Norman, Jerry. Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Paper. ISBN 0-521-29653-6 {ALEX PL1075.N67}

Pullum, Geoffrey K. & William A. Ladusaw. Phonetic Symbol Guide. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. ISBN: 0-226-68532-2. {ALEX P221.P85 1986}

Ramsey, S. Robert. The Languages of China. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987. Paper. ISBN: 0-691-01468-X {ALEX PL1071.R34}

Wang, W. S-Y. Languages and Dialects of China. Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series No. 3. Berkeley: Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 1991.

General Requirements

Attendance: Attendance is of utmost importance and you are expected to come to every class. Beginning with the second class you miss, your final grade will be lowered by of a grade for each day you are absent without bona fide medical or religious cause.

Assignments: In addition to the readings, you will be required to write one short report (a minimum of eight to a maximum of twelve typed, double-spaced pages), due Tuesday, December 2nd. The report must follow normal conventions of style for college term papers and must include a bibliography. Below is a list of suggested topics; if you wish to write on another topic, please first check with the professor:

Chinese romanization systems
The nature of Chinese writing and how it affects Chinese grammar
Chinese and English grammar compared
The grammatical differences between standard Chinese and one or more dialects
The history and development of the Mandarin based standard
Some interesting features of Chinese grammar
Different ways to analyze features of Chinese grammar

In addition, there will be occasional other written assignments. Assignments must be handed in on time; late papers will not receive full credit.

Quizzes: There will be two quizzes. The first will be on the sound system of modern standard Chinese and two romanization systems -- Pinyin and Gwoyeu Romatzyh. The second will be on Chinese grammatical terminology (in Chinese and English). I will provide you with further information on these quizzes later. No make-ups will be given for missed quizzes.

Exams: There will be a midterm and a final exam covering the material presented in class and the readings.

Grading: Final grades will be based on attendance and participation in class, written assignments and the report, quiz results, the midterm, and the final. Your final grade will be calculated approximately as follows (subject to revision):

attendance/participation 10% (or more)
assignments/report 20%
quizzes 10%
midterm 30%
final 30%

Chinese 325--Fall 1999 WEEKLY SCHEDULE Week 1--Th9/2 ++ Week 2--T9/7 & Th9/9

1. Sounds of the modern standard language, pinyin & other romanizations

Readings:

3 Yip, pp. 1-4
Li and Thompson, pp. 1-9 (on reserve)
Norman Chinese, pp. 138-151, 257-263 (on reserve)
Chao, Yuen Ren, A Grammar of Spoken Chinese, pp. 18-56 (on reserve)

Week 3--T9/14 & Th9/16 ++ Week 4--T9/21 & Th9/23

2. The structure of words and parts of speech

Readings:

1 Yip, Units 1-6, 24-25
2 Yip, Unit 17
3 Yip, pp. 4-29 & Chapter III.19
Li and Cheng, Chapters 1& 2
Li and Thompson, pp. 10-44, and Chapters 5, 7, 8 & 9 (on reserve)

Quiz 1: Th9/16--the sound system of modern standard Chinese and romanization systems.

Week 5--T9/28 & Th 9/30

3. Phrases and their structures

Readings:

1 Yip, Units 7-10
2 Yip, Units 4-6
Li and Cheng, Chapter 3
Li and Thompson, pp. 45-84, and Chapters 10, 11 & 20

Week 6--T10/5 & Th10/7

4. Sentence elements

Readings:

1 Yip, Units 17, 21-23
2 Yip, Units 3 & 7
3 Yip, p. 93 and Chapters II.13 & III.18
Li and Cheng, Chapter 4
Li and Thompson, Chapters 4, 13 & 22

Week 7--T10/12 & Th10/14

5. Simple sentences

Readings:

1 Yip, Units 13-14, 16, 18-19
3 Yip, Chapters II.9-12, II.14-15, & III.17
Li and Cheng, Chapter 5
Li and Thompson, Chapters 4, 12, 14, 17, 18

Week 8--T10/19 & Th10/21 ++ Week 9--T10/26

6. Verbal aspect

Readings:

1 Yip, Unit 15
2 Yip, Units 8 & 21-22
3 Yip, Chapter II.8
Li and Cheng, Chapter 6
Li and Thompson, Chapter 6

Midterm: T10/19

Week 9--Th10/28 ++ Week 10--T11/2 & Th11/4

7. Special predicate constructions

Readings:

1 Yip Unit 11
2 Yip Units 1-2 & 19
3 Yip, Chapters II.6-7 & III.20-21
Li and Cheng, Chapter 7
Li and Thompson, Chapters 15, 16, 17 & 21

Week 11--T11/9 & Th11/11

8. Expressing comparison

Readings:

1 Yip, Unit 12
2 Yip, Unit 18
Li and Cheng, Chapter 8
Li and Thompson, Chapter 19

Week 12--T11/16 & Th11/18

9. Expressing emphasis

Readings:

1 Yip, Unit 20
2 Yip, Unit 20
3 Yip, Chapter III.22
Li and Cheng, Chapter 9

Quiz 2: Th11/16--Chinese grammatical terminology (in Chinese and English)

Week 13--T11/23 ++ Week 14--T11/30 & Th12/2

10. Complex sentences

Readings:

2 Yip, Units 9-16
3 Yip, Chapter III.23-25
Li and Cheng, Chapter 10
Li and Thompson, Chapter 23

Report due: T11/30

Week 15--T12/7 & Th 12/9

Catch-up and Review

Final: Friday 12/17, 12:00-3:00pm

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