The ‘French Connection’: Chinese linguistics in Paris
Dans le cadre du séminaire EHESS Sciences et savoirs de l’Asie orientale dans la mondialisation (co-organisé par Catherine Jami, Frédéric Obringer, Huiyi Wu et Bing Zhao), Marianna Muenning (Université de Heidelberg) donnera une conférence intitulée “The ‘French Connection’: Chinese linguistics in Paris”.
Date et lieu
Mardi 12 décembre, 10h30-12h30
Campus Condorcet, bâtiment EHESS, Salle A302, 93300 Aubervilliers
Lien Zoom de connexion :
https://cnrs.zoom.us/j/95701478162?pwd=eE8yaW1nUnNqUmRzQlY4VTV5T1NnUT09
ID de réunion: 957 0147 8162
Code secret: j5CAY5
Résumé
Wang Li 王力 (1900-1986), founding father of modern Chinese linguistics, studied in Paris (1927-1932) and obtained his PhD with a thesis on experimental phonetics there. He studied with the theoretical linguist Vendryès (1875-1960) and the sinologists Pelliot (1878-1945) and Granet (1884-1940); and used the phonetics laboratory of l’abbé Millet. Paris was a hotbed for innovative and discipline-shaping linguists. Apart from Wang Li, also Ma Jianzhong 馬建忠 (1845-1900), Liu Fu 劉復 (1891-1934) Zhao Yuanren 趙元任 (1892-1982), Gao Mingkai 高名凱 (1911-1965) and others studied there. They radically reshaped Chinese linguistics, which itself already had a history going back two millennia. It happened at a time when the entire existence of the Chinese language and script was questioned by an urge to modernize and westernize.
What did linguists who studied in Paris contribute to the shaping of linguistics as a modern scientific discipline in the 20th century? And vice versa, how could they enrich the academic world in Paris with their knowledge, as many of them had already studied in China? They did by no means just copy what they learned from their French professors. The foundations they laid for modern Chinese linguistics as we know it today went far beyond that. They made their way back to western sinology as standard works. On the basis of their scientific work, they also participated in the language reforms of the 20th century, among which the introduction of a standard language and the simplification of the script. Also here, their approach was not to just Westernize, they made the reforms possible by using Chinese traditional methodologies and modernized the language and script on their own terms.
This talk will give a glimpse into the lives of Chinese students in Paris in the first half of the 20th century, based on archival material. It will sketch their contributions in the field and provide an overview over some main developments in Chinese linguistics, also against the backdrop of the changing political situation in the Republic and the People‘s Republic.
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Monique Abud (8 décembre 2023). The ‘French Connection’: Chinese linguistics in Paris. Carnets du Centre Chine (CNRS/EHESS). Consulté le 21 janvier 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/mhcy
