Chinese Language and Culture

Why are the Native Languages of the Chinese Malaysians in Decline?

by Tze Wei Sim

published in 'Journal of Taiwanese Vernacular' Vol.4, No. 1, 2012

The vast majority of Chinese Malaysians have originated from south China with their native languages, Hokkien, Hakka,... more The vast majority of Chinese Malaysians have originated from south China with their native languages, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, Hokchew and Hainanese. Most of these native languages are weakening due to lack of intergenerational transmission. Languages spoken in the families are largely shifting to Mandarin and English. This paper has investigated the reasons why the community is shifting away from their native languages. Language attitudes, beliefs, and ideologies held by the majority of Chinese Malaysians have been collected and they are presented together with the historical development of Chinese languages. The origins of the factors, which put their native languages into disadvantageous positions, are discussed. This paper also explores the possibilities of running language revitalization programmes in the community.

Familial address forms in Chinese

by Gregory Bornmann

(Co-authored with Lu Chen) Journal of Kibi International University,School of International and Industrial Studies (11), 137-147, 2001

All cultures employ kinship terms to designate familial relationships. This paper examines the structure and use of... more All cultures employ kinship terms to designate familial relationships. This paper examines the structure and use of familial forms of address in Chinese, not only from the point of view of family members, but also from the point of view of "outsiders." More importantly, it analyzes what Chinese familial forms of address indicate about the sociolinguistic reality inhabited by members of Chinese culture. The study of familial address forms in Chinese indicates the great importance which Chinese place on blood relations. Within these relationships, up/down and inside/outside are important parameters which play a vital role in the daily linguistic decisions made by speakers of Chinese.

But i nEver Learned To Waltz: the "Real" and Imagined Education of a Courtesan in the Late Qing

by Paola Zamperini

Chinese speech acts in the context of English language education

by Gregory Bornmann

Journal of Kibi International University, 9, 15-20. March 1999.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, there are an estimated 52,921 foreign students studying in Japan,... more According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, there are an estimated 52,921 foreign students studying in Japan, half of whom are Ethnic Chinese or Chinese nationals (Kawai, 1998). The presence of Chinese students at Japanese universities presents new challenges for curriculum design. Chinese students exhibit patterns of communicative behavior that are significantly different from their Japanese counterparts, and vastly different from native speakers of English. These unique cultural patterns require special attention from English language educators. Research in comparative speech acts and its pedagogical implications will be discussed, to demonstrate how studies of particular speech acts might be applied to the English language curriculum to better serve the needs of Chinese students. Such studies can play an important role in textbook and curriculum design for courses of communicative English.

Hebben vrouwen in Chinese families geen macht?

by Bastiaan Vrielink

Alexis Littlefield - An Obsessive’s Guide to Tea Obsession - 2011

by Alex Littlefield

Alexis Littlefield - An Obsessive’s Guide to Tea Obsession - 2011

by Alex Littlefield

The Impact of Culture on eComplaints: Evidence from Chinese Consumers in Hospitality Organisations Norman Au, Rob Law, and Dimitrios Buhalis

by Professor Dimitrios Buhalis

Au, N., , Law, R., Buhalis, D., 2010, The impact of culture on eComplaints: Evidence from Chinese consumers in Hospitality Organisations, in Gretzel, U., Law, R., Fuchs, M., (eds), ENTER 2010 Proceedings, Lugano, Springer-Verlag, Wien, ISBN: 9783211994061, pp.285-296.

The Impact of Culture on eComplaints: Evidence from
Chinese Consumers in Hospitality Organisations
Norman... more The Impact of Culture on eComplaints: Evidence from
Chinese Consumers in Hospitality Organisations
Norman Au, Rob Law, and Dimitrios Buhalis

aSchool of Hotel and Tourism Management,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
{hmnorman, hmroblaw}@polyu.edu.hk

b ICTHR Bournemouth University, UK
DBuhalis@bournemouth.ac.uk

Abstract
Culture plays an important role in determining how product/service consumption is evaluated and the resulting complaining behaviour when dissatisfaction occurs. At present, the rapid advancement of web 2.0 technologies enabled hotel customers to use them easily for reporting negative experiences on the Internet. The purpose of this study is to investigate the cultural impacts on e-complaint by Mainland Chinese and non-Chinese hotel customers. Through content analysis of 964 individual complaint cases reported on TripAdvisor and Ctrip travel
review websites for Hong Kong hotels, nine e-complaint ategories were identified and compared. Mainland Chinese customers were found having far less complaint items in almost all complaint categories comparing to the non-Chinese customers. A two-way contingency table analysis further revealed that a significant relationship is found between e-complaint categories and room rates in the case of Mainland Chinese customers. The implications of the findings are discussed and future cultural e-complaint research for the hospitality industry is suggested.

Keywords: culture, complaints, e-complaints, Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong, hotels.

Not so obvious: the sociolinguistic distribution of me in Mandarin Chinese

by Patrick Callier

Klein, N., Carlson, G., Li, R., Jaeger, T.F., and Tanenhaus, M. (in press) Classifying and Massifying Incrementally in Chinese Language Comprehension.

by T. Florian Jaeger

Submitted for proofs. Feel free to cite, but pls quote only from final copy.

Malay, English and Mandarin as investments for future identities: a Malaysian story.

by Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan

(2010) - research-in-progress presentation.

7th Annual Asian Studies Graduate Conference, University of Auckland, New Zealand / October 27th 2010, School of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Auckland, NEW ZEALAND.

Trauma och parodi i bilden av Mao

by Fred Andersson

Review of Minna Valjakka's thesis "Many Faces of Mao Zedong" (2011). Published in the online journal for art history in Finland: "TaHiTi - Taidehistoria Tieteenä" (ISSN 2242-0665), nr 2 (2011). Language: Swedish (S/F).

Course Description Mandarin

by Eleni Vryza

Learning from the Confucians: Learning from the Past

by Karyn Lai

(2008) Journal of Chinese Philosophy 35.1: 97–119.

A distinguishing characteristic of Confucianism is its emphasis on learning (xue), is a key element in moral self... more A distinguishing characteristic of Confucianism is its emphasis on learning (xue), is a key element in moral self cultivation. This paper discusses why learning from the experiences of those in the past is important in Confucian learning.

City Between Worlds: My Hong Kong

by Non Arkaraprasertkul

Arkaraprasertkul, Non. “City Between World: My Hong Kong.” Review Article. Thammasat Review 13: 116-122 (2008/2009). For the shorter version of this review, see Arkaraprasertkul, Non. “City Between World: My Hong Kong by Leo Ou-Fan Lee.” Book Review, Urban Studies 47 (14): 3161-3163 (2010)

The Impact of Culture on Hotel Ratings: Analysis on Star-Rated Hotels in China

by Daniel Leung

Daniel Leung, Hee "Andy" Lee and Rob Law
Published in Journal of China Tourism Research, Volume 7, Issue 3, pages 243 - 262

The influence of cultural values on consumer behavior is well documented in tourism studies, yet limited research is... more The influence of cultural values on consumer behavior is well documented in tourism studies, yet limited research is reported on the link between cultural values and hotel ratings. In Chinese culture, “face” prevails in every aspect of interpersonal relationship and hinders aggressive behaviors in public, whereas the American society values decision making based on honesty and independence more than what is derived from giving face. The difference in this cultural value is likely to be a critical component of idiosyncratic ratings by companies from different cultural backgrounds. This study compares the ratings on a hotel guide published by the Chinese government and one Chinese online and three U.S. online distribution channels. Based on four a priori comparisons of ratings among the five channels, the hotel ratings on the Chinese sources are considerably higher than those on the U.S. channels, which can be attributed to the unique value of “giving face” in Chinese culture.

Le “SARS” et les maux identitaires chinois: Néologismes, métissages et tradition de la traduction, TransCulturAl : A Journal of Transcultural and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta, Volume 2, n°1, 2011.

by Florent Villard

Schmid, Neil - Tun-huang Literature

by D. Neil Schmid

“Tun-huang Literature,” In The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. Victor Mair, ed., New York: Columbia University Press, 2002, pp.964-988.
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-10984-0/the-columbia-history-of-chinese-literature

This chapter from the Columbia History of Chinese Literature provides a detailed survey of Chinese literature found... more This chapter from the Columbia History of Chinese Literature provides a detailed survey of Chinese literature found among the medieval manuscripts discovered in the Library Cave at the Mogao Grottos (Dunhuang) in the northwest of China.

Transnational Nation-Building: Beijing's 798 Art Zone

by Christen Cornell

Chapter in "China and the West: Encounters with the Other in Culture, Arts, Politics and Everyday Life, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, forthcoming early 2012

This essay is a study of Beijing’s most celebrated contemporary art district, 798 Art Zone (798), specifically its... more This essay is a study of Beijing’s most celebrated contemporary art district, 798 Art Zone (798), specifically its production as a national cultural space in a global context. Its primary interest is in the relationship between the national and the transnational in 798, or the Chinese and the “cosmopolitan”, and the ways these work together to contribute to the post-socialist Chinese nation-building project. 798 began as a community of primarily Chinese artists and a transnational arts industry, supported with transnational capital, and, until 2006, was viewed with suspicion by the national government and its subsidiary groups. The area is today, however, a national showpiece for China’s “open and progressive society,” administered by the local government as an official Cultural Creative Industries Precinct  and promoted as a symbol of “new Chinese culture” . Still comprised largely of transnational arts workers, and (more than ever) flush with global capital, the district now plays an important role in the rhetoric of China’s harmonious society while providing a cosmopolitan face for Beijing. By outlining some of the forces that shaped this process, this essay argues that in 798 the transnational is essentially reinforcing the national – a newly perceived national culture forged in the context of globalisation.

Feng, G. (2006). Eye movements in Chinese reading

by Gary Feng

In P. Li, et al. (Eds), Handbook of East Asian Psycholinguistics (Vol. 1: Chinese Psycholinguistics). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University