The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters

James D. McCawley

University of Chicago Press, May 1, 2004 - Foreign Language Study - 254 pages

Lauded by Calvin Trillin as a man who "does not have to make to with translations like 'Shredded Three Kinds' in Chinese restaurants," inThe Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters, James D. McCawley offers everyone a guide to deciphering the mysteries of Chinese menus and the opportunity to enjoy new eating experiences. An accessible primer as well as a handy reference, this book shows how Chinese characters are written and referred to, both in script and in type. McCawley provides a guide to pronunciation and includes helpful exercises so users can practice ordering. His novel system of arranging the extensive glossary—which ranges from basics such as "rice" and "fish" to exotica like "Buddha Jumps Wall"—enables even the beginner to find characters quickly and surely. He also includes the nonstandard forms of characters that often turn up on menus.

With this guide in hand, English speakers hold the key to a world of tantalizing—and otherwise unavailable—Chinese dishes.

Contents

• Some General Remarks about Chinese Characters: 2
• How You Slice It: 5
• The Basic Stuff: 6
• Looking Up Characters: 8
• Lets Decipher Some Menus: 14
• Now You Do the Deciphering: 24
• Dimsam Menus: 48
• Restaurant Names: 70
• Familiar Characters in Unfamiliar Forms: 75
• Writing Out Your Order: 79
• The Pronunciation of Chinese: 95
• Cantonese: 101
• Answers to Exercises: 104
• Directions for Finding Characters in the Glossary: 105
• Index to Left Halves: 110
• Index of Tops: 111
• Index of Enclosures: 112
• Index of Indivisible Characters: 113
• Glossary: 114
• Index of English Names: 241

About the author

James D. McCawley (1938-1999) was the Andrew MacLeish Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics and East Asian Languages at the University of Chicago.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters
• Author: James D. McCawley
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2004
• ISBN: 0226555925, 9780226555928
• Length: 254 pages
• Subjects: Cooking / General; Foreign Language Study / Chinese; Foreign Language Study / General