Historical Phonology of Chinese

As an important introduction to the phonological history of Chinese, this title explores the phonological systems of the Chinese language and explains basic concepts, materials and methodologies.

Unlike many historical accounts, this book adopts a reverse chronological sequence – starting with the phonology of Modern Mandarin and modern Chinese dialects, then looking back on Early Mandarin and Middle Chinese, and ultimately ending with Old Chinese phonology. This arrangement makes the book r...