The Lexicon of Babel
The Lexicon of Babel
This chapter examines Western missionaries' accounts of the Chinese language. It analyzes various aspects of missionaries' learning process, their views of the Chinese language, problems with translation and the alternative practice of Pidgin English. It explains that the missionaries considered the Chinese language as notoriously intractable for the process of translation and most of the English they heard spoken by the Chinese was grating or comical, but in any case incorrect.
Keywords: Chinese language, Western missionaries, learning process, translation, Pidgin English
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