CHI 501: Advanced Chinese I

An advanced course in Chinese as a foreign or heritage language to strengthen their ability to understand, speak, read, and write Chinese beyond the intermediate level. Students learn to read and comprehend a variety of texts from Chinese newspaper/magazine articles, TV/films, and literary works and to write creatively and professionally in Chinese using sophisticated vocabulary and advanced Chinese characters. Student will also be trained to comprehend authentic spoken Mandarin Chinese, using a variety of audio-visual materials and to communication in Mandarin Chinese, applying appropriate socio-cultural norms.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

CHI 502: Advanced Chinese II

The second part of an advanced course in Chinese as a foreign or heritage language to strengthen their ability to understand, speak, read, and write Chinese beyond the intermediate level. Students learn to read and comprehend a variety of texts from Chinese newspaper/magazine articles, TV/films, and literary works and to write creatively and professionally in Chinese using sophisticated vocabulary and advanced Chinese characters. Students will also be trained to comprehend authentic spoken Mandarin Chinese, using a variety of audio-visual materials and to communicate in Mandarin Chinese, applying appropriate socio-cultural norms. This course is not intended for students who already speak Chinese natively.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

CHI 511: Readings: Journalistic Chinese

Narrative readings in Chinese selected from Chinese newspapers and magazines, including news reports and narrations on lifestyles, people, and landscapes. Students are expected to improve their skills in the analysis and writing of narrative readings. This course is designed for students who already have advanced level proficiency in Chinese, who can read and write everyday vernacular Chinese, but who have not been exposed to more formal language and literary forms.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

CHI 512: Readings in Classical Chinese

Introduction to writings in Chinese that appeared before the May 4th Movement (circa 1920), which marked the beginning of modern Chinese. The course introduces students to readings in classical Chinese and to acquaint students with cultures and customs of traditional China. This course is designed for students who already have advanced level proficiency in Chinese, who can read and write everyday vernacular Chinese, but who have not been exposed to more formal language and literary forms.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

CHI 521: Chinese Poetry & Short Stories

CHI 526: Structure of Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese is only one of a very few contemporary languages whose history is documented in an unbroken tradition extending back to the second millennium BC. At the same time, it has more speakers than any other language spoken in the modern world. This course provides an introduction to the phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and writing system of the Mandarin Chinese language. It is designed to familiarize students with some fundamental knowledge of the structure of spoken and written Mandarin Chinese. Specifically, it aims to enable the students to acquire an understanding of basic methods used by linguists to observe and gather Mandarin Chinese data, to delineate structural properties with regard to the sound, tone, word, grammar, and discourse of the language, and to develop a basic typological comparison between Mandarin Chinese and English.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

CHI 545: Learning of Asian Languages

This course will analyze the cognitive processes involved in the acquisition of Asian languages as second or foreign languages. We will start with a discussion of first language acquisition and compare it with second language acquisition (SLA). Methodologies such as contrastive analysis and error analysis, and concepts such as interlanguage, native and non-native competence, bilingual competence, acceptability, correctness, standard language will be critically examined. We will also consider the variables that affect SLA, including age, context, exposure, attitude, cognition, attention and motivation. Special attention will be given to the applicability of current research paradigms and findings to the acquisition of languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Hindi, both in terms of their structural characteristics and in their socio-cultural context.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

CHI 585: Translation Studies of Asian Language

Inquiry into issues in the translation of Asian languages into/from English. This course introduces the recent theories and concepts of translation studies and applies them to the analysis of a variety of Asian texts as source texts or target texts. Students are expected to gain insights into the lexical, grammatical, cognitive, pragmatic, and socio-cultural characteristics of Asian languages as well as social and political issues that surround translation of Asian texts. Texts to be analyzed include, but are not limited to, literary works, newspaper articles, advertisements, brochures, and business letters. Intermediate to advanced proficiency in one of the Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean is needed.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)