Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-l4t7p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-17T14:11:36.963Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mandarin Chinese: An Annotated Bibliography of Self-Study Materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2019

Duncan E. Alford
Get access

Extract

The People's Republic of China is currently the seventh largest economy in the world and is projected to be the largest economy by 2050. Commensurate with its growing economic power, the PRC is using its political power more frequently on the world stage. As a result of these changes, interest in China and its legal system is growing among attorneys and academics. International law librarians similarly are seeing more researchers interested in China, its laws and economy. The principal language of China, Mandarin Chinese, is considered a difficult language to learn. The Foreign Service Institute has rated Mandarin as “exceptionally difficult for English speakers to learn.” Busy professionals such as law librarians find it very difficult to learn additional languages despite their usefulness in their careers.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Legal Information , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , Winter 2007 , pp. 537 - 563
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 by the International Association of Law Libraries 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Recommended Titles

The over 100 titles listed above may seem daunting. In order for the self-learner to locate a core group of relevant materials, I recommend the following titles:Google Scholar
Ho, Yong, Chinese-English Frequency Dictionary: A Study Guide to Mandarin Chinese's 500 Most Frequently Used Words (New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 2002),Google Scholar
Ho, Yong, Beginner's Chinese (New York, N.Y.: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1997),Google Scholar
Lee, Philip Yungkin, 250 Essential Chinese Characters for Everyday Use, vol. 1 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2003).Google Scholar
Lee, Philip Yungkin, 250 Essential Chinese Characters for Everyday Use, vol. 2 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2004),Google Scholar
Alison, & Matthews, Lawrence, The First 100 Chinese Characters (North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2006),Google Scholar
Alison, & Matthews, Lawrence, The Second 100 Chinese Characters (North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2007),Google Scholar
Scurfield, Elizabeth and Lianyi, Song, Beginner's Chinese Script: An Introduction to Reading and Writing Chinese (Hodder Headline plc, 1999),Google Scholar
Scurfield, Elizabeth and Lianyi, Song, Beginner's Chinese: A Complete Course for Beginners (Hodder Headline plc, 1991),Google Scholar
Sussman, Julie Mazel, I Can Read That: A Traveler's Introduction to Chinese Characters (China Books, 1994),Google Scholar
Xiao, Hong, Talk Mandarin Today / Jin ri xue shuo Putonghua (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2003),Google Scholar
McNaughton, William, Reading and Writing Chinese: A Guide to the Chinese Writing System (Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle, 1979),Google Scholar
Oxford Starter Chinese Dictionary (Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2000),Google Scholar
Harbaugh, Rick, Chinese Characters: a Genealogy and Dictionary (Taipei: Zhongwen.com, 1998),Google Scholar
Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) Test http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/hsk/105146.htm Google Scholar
ChinesePod http://chinesepod.com/ Google Scholar
MIT Open Courseware Chinese Language Lessons http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Foreign-Languages-and-Literatures/index.htm Google Scholar
Raymond, Henry, Learn in Your Car in Mandarin, Penton Overseas.Google Scholar