PhD defence

“All the aids which a beginner needs”: James Summers’ (1828-1891) research on Chinese grammar

• W. Chen

Date

Thursday 15 June 2023

Time

11:15 - 12:00 hour

Address

Academy Building
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden

Supervisor(s)

• Prof.dr. R.P.E. Sybesma
• Prof.dr. H. Klöter (Humboldt Universität Berlin)

Summary

James Summers (1828-1891) is the first British professor who conducted systematic research on Chinese grammar.  This dissertation provides a complete picture of his research on Chinese grammar throughout his publications. It further brings Summers to prominence in the historiography of linguistics. By tracing which and whose ideas inspired him and who he, in turn, influenced, this study identifies his position relative to other linguists. The dissertation claims that Summers was able to integrate the research of his predecessors and arrange their findings and conclusions in his own clearly pedagogically oriented research, abandoning the purely theoretical conclusions to help his students learn Chinese efficiently.

PhD dissertations

Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.

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