Chinese As It Is: A 3D Sound Atlas with First 1000 Characters!Chinese As It Is: A 3D Sound Atlas is a relatively small volume (radical index + 190 pages of text) but its size is deceptive as it provides a carefully constructed window on the entire language. How so? The core of the book is a 60-page table comprised of four columns and 400 rows. Into this matrix, the sound system is loaded, then each cell is occupied by one or more characters, for a grand total of 2394 characters. Of these, a beginner's subset of 903 characters is clearly called out, and in this sense the book doubles as a list of "First 1000 Characters" in the curriculum...but with several twists that make it potentially of interest to the graduate student as well. In particular, all romanizations are color-coded to indicate different degrees of "tonal weighting"; this is what makes the atlas three-dimensional. Here are some details about the book's special features that set it apart from all similar-looking offerings on the market: 1] Multiple aids to situational awareness: a] Rather than let the four tones of Mandarin be folded into a single dimension, they are made continually visible as the four columns of a 4x400 array, thus honoring them as an integral part of the "soundscape." b] For the romanized entry that accompanies each character, Dr. Boyce lets the color of its font provide an extra layer of information as follows: If there is a SINGLE second-tone word in the language, he prints the entry in red: tang. If there are SEVERAL second-tone tang-words, then he prints the entry in black: tang. If there is a PLETHORA of second-tone tang-words, then in green: tang. And so on. By internalizing this "tonal weighting," the student develops 3D awareness about where s/he is in the soundscape. |
Contents
1 | |
Students View and Scholars View | 12 |
Three Kinds of Preview Quick Reference | 22 |
Notation Conventions Detailed Presentation | 28 |
The Matrix | 39 |
Aufbau Building Up | 101 |
Simplified Chinese and the Second Law | 109 |
Defining the Morphemic Space | 117 |