Book on the culture of Chinese language?

[spensierata]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here, I'm sorry if this question has been asked before, I wasn't able to find an answer with a quick search.

I'm looking for a book (in English) that describes Chinese thought and worldviews as evidenced by its language. I'm not trying to learn Chinese, but rather have a resource that details the differences in Eastern (particularly Chinese) thought vs. Western thought.

I'm a dabbler in languages and my favorite part of learning languages is learning a new concept that doesn't exist in my native language, or learning how other cultures perceive the world differently based on their language. I think Chinese would be full of new concepts like this.

Does anyone know of a book of this type?

Thank you in advance.

[muppetwonder]

Although this wouldn't exactly be what you're looking for, since the focus is not on linguistics but on philosophy, it does talk about Chinese thought, and of course, a lot of the concepts in Chinese thought is borne by distinctive words that have no equivalent in English.

A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, by Fung Yu-lan

http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Chinese-Philosophy/dp/0684836343

Seems like this is a much more recent edition than the one I have, which was published in the 70s, but it's by the same author. My partner also picked up a Chinese translation of this book, which seems somewhat ironic, but is explained by the fact that Fung Yu-lan penned this work while he was a scholar resident in the United States, and in fact wrote this volume in English. (Phonetic transliteration of the the name here is that provided by the publisher.)

The Chinese version of the book is titled, 中国哲学简史, 冯友兰著.

Note though, that the original edition was published back in the 40s, so there may be more recent scholarship that hasn't been taken into account.

[bossidy]

I can't vouch for this book, because I just ordered it myself:

Keeping My Mandarin Alive: Lee Kuan Yew's Language Learning Experience

For more info about Lee Kuan Yew: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew

[mandel1luke]

Try

Chinese Language: Its History And Current Usage

by Daniel Kane

[Madot]

I just came across a terrific one! It's called: CHINA: A HANDBOOK IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, 2nd Edition, by Jean Brick. It's published by the National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research, Macquarie University, Sydney (Australia).

Enjoy!

Mado

[owshawng]

Lin Yutang "The Importance of Living" is interesting. He compares Chinese to Western values and lifestyle