On Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. in Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building, Professor John Jing-hua Yin, chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures, will give a lecture on "Demystifying Chinese Characters." The talk, the third in this fall's College of Arts and Sciences Full Professor Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.

Chinese characters, unlike the writing system of any Indo-European language, are formed with no letters or combination of letters to represent the sounds of the Chinese language. Chinese characters have been a highly developed writing system for at least 3,300 years. How were the Chinese characters formed? What changes have Chinese characters undergone? How can native English speakers effectively learn and appreciate Chinese characters? Professor Yin will address these questions, drawing on his studies and research.

Yin has been a faculty member at the University of Vermont since 1997. His research interests are in the area of teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language, focusing on the Chinese writing and tonal system. He has published Fundamentals of Chinese Characters and Practical Rhythmic Chinese as well as a co-edited book, Chinese as a Foreign Language Teaching Practice and Reflections. He has also published more than 20 book chapters and journal articles.

A recording of the lecture will be made available on the College of Arts and Sciences website.

Information: (802) 656-3166.

PUBLISHED

11-29-2012
University Communications