Skip navigation

ASIA2077 Varieties of Chinese

Later Year Course

Offered By School of Culture, History and Language
Academic Career Undergraduate
Course Subject Asian Studies
Offered in ASIA2077 will not be offered in 2011
Unit Value 6 units
Course Description

This course offers a survey of the history and development of varieties of the Chinese language (spoken and written) from its earliest forms down to the present moment.

The course introduces students to the history and rich variety of Chinese language usage through the ages, through both the spoken and writtten languages of China.

Topics covered will include the beginning of the Chinese script with the Oracle bones of the Shang dynasty (ca 2100 to 1600 BCE); the development of Archaic, Early and Middle Classical Chinese; the use of the Chinese script in Japan, Korea and Vietnam; the development of the written vernacular language; the simplification of the script; systems of Romanisation; the varieties of other Chinese languages (dialects) and their written forms; the use of Chinese on the World Wide Web and for texting

Learning Outcomes Understand issues in the history and variety of the language of China; to integrate this theoretical and historical knowledge with empirical examples; learn to think critically; develop skills in synthesising and contextualising new information; develop skills to locate, analyse, evaluate, and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources, both Western and Chinese; develop an ability to work in cooperative groups on key issues in this field of Chinese Studies and to communicate findings to others.
Indicative Assessment

Tutorial participation (10%)

 Tutorial presentation (15%)

 Major essay (40%)

 Final examination (35%).

Workload Three contact hours per week
Requisite Statement Modern Chinese 1B (CHIN1013) or Modern Chinese 2 ( CHIN2020)
Majors/Specialisations Cognitive Major (Contemporary Asian Societies), Chinese Studies, and Northeast Asian Studies

The information published on the Study at ANU 2011 website applies to the 2011 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2010 website.

Updated:   13 Nov 2015 / Responsible Officer:   The Registrar / Page Contact:   Student Business Solutions