It has undergone few
alterations during successive ages, and this fact has served to deepen the
lines of demarkation between the Chinese and other branches of the race
and has resulted in a marked national life. It belongs to the monosyllabic
family; its radical words number 450, but as many of these, by being
pronounced with a different accent convey a different meaning, in reality
they amount to 1,203. Its pronunciation varies in different provinces, but
that of Nanking, the ancient capital of the Empire, is the most pure. Many
dialects are spoken in the different provinces, but the Chinese proper is
the literary tongue of the nation, the language of the court and of polite
society, and it is vernacular in that portion of China called the Middle
Kingdom.
3. THE WRITING.--There is an essential difference between the Chinese
language as spoken and written, and the poverty of the former presents a
striking contrast with the exuberance of the latter. Chinese writing,
generally speaking, does not express the sounds of the words, but it
represents the ideas or the objects indicated by them.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53