Re: Some thoughts about Chinese ad Russian from an English speaker

Nigel Greenwood wrote:

> > > If the OP does decide to tackle Chinese, I would suggest having a look
> > > at the transcription system called GR. This is no longer in official
> > > use anywhere, but because it incorporates (Mandarin) tones in the
> > > spelling it's useful when learning the language.
>
> > But if it isn't used anywhere (say, in textbooks), what good will it do
> > him?
>
> I meant that it is no longer used anywhere officially (as it was in
> China in the 20s & 30s). OTOH its most enthusiastic proponent, the
> great linguist YR Chao, used it in his Mandarin Primer & his
> magisterial Grammar of Spoken Chinese (as well as other works, eg
> Sayable Chinese). W Simon used GR in two useful works: How to Study &
> Write Chinese Characters and A Beginners' [sic] Chinese-English
> Dictionary.

Are any of those even still in print? I haven't see them in quite a
while on the extensive shelves dedicated to foreign-language textbooks
at the original Barnes & Noble.

<Beginners'> is exactly right -- it's for all beginners, not just one
beginner at a time.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

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