An introduction to the scientific study of the Chinese language. We will explore where the Chinese language came from, its similarities to and differences from Japanese and Korean, and how the Chinese character writing system was invented, plus what is it like now. We will explore differences among Chinese dialects (e.g., Cantonese, Mandarin, Taiwanese and Shanghai) and learn where in China these are spoken, and also explore how the Chinese language operates in the brain. Finally, we will investigate how children in China learn to speak, read, and write, how adults learn to speak Chinese as a foreign language, and how Chinese can be used by different social groups in different settings in order to influence social power and distance.

This course does not fulfill the campus foreign language requirement.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:

Cultural Studies - Non-West
Social & Beh Sci - Soc Sci