The Impact of Western Missionaries on the Development of Modern Chinese

Yuan Jin

Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2016, Vol. 1 ›› Issue (4) : 52-59.

Welcome to visit Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning!
Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2016, Vol. 1 ›› Issue (4) : 52-59.

The Impact of Western Missionaries on the Development of Modern Chinese

  • Yuan Jin
Author information +
History +

Abstract

One of the signifi cant differences between early modern and modern Chinese language is the emergence of westernization in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. The westernized linguistic expressions were rarely seen in early modern Chinese language, while in modern Chinese language they were more prevalent. The emergence of westernization in Chinese language was largely credited to the western missionaries. The earliest signs of westernization were observed in some Chinese books written by missionaries. In addition, numerous church publications, especially the Mandarin versions of The Bible, appeared at that time, featuring westernized vernacular texts which contributed to the vernacularization movement in late Qing Danasty and during the May Fourth Movement, and greatly shaped Modern Chinese. The missionaries were the earliest scholars who realized the inevitability of vernacularization movement in China, and they played an active role to promote that movement, a historical fact acknowledged by many modern Chinese writers such as Shen Congwen and Zhou Zuoren.

Key words

missionary / westernization / early modern Chinese language / modern Chinese language

Cite this article

Download Citations
Yuan Jin. The Impact of Western Missionaries on the Development of Modern Chinese[J]. Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2016, 1(4): 52-59

References

郭沫若 1981 《创造十年》,北京:人民文学出版社。
贾立言 1934 《汉文圣经译本小史》,上海:华文印刷局。
沈从文 1982 《沈从文小说选集》,北京:人民文学出版社。
尤思德 2002 《和合本与中文圣经翻译》,香港:国际圣经协会。
袁 进主编 2014 《新文学的先驱——欧化白话文在近代的发生、演变和影响》,上海:复旦大学出版社。
钟鸣旦、孙尚扬 2004 《一八四〇年前的中国基督教》,北京:学苑出版社。

Funding

null

Accesses

Citation

Detail

Sections
Recommended

/