Just a note to apologize for the paucity of posts lately. I’ll presently in Canada and will be back in Taiwan and posting again in August.

–M.

It has lots of regular expressions, to make the code nice and compact. I’ve added comments for clarity.

##############################
### SEPARATE THE SYLLABLES
##############################
// In the lines below, \s means space
// This program assumes that ü is written as v
// The i at the end of a line means case insensitive
// \W is a single, non-word character (e.g., punctuation)

##############################


Since I’m always going on about the need for word parsing and not separating Pinyin into single syllables, some of you are probably wondering just why I of all people would have ever written such code. The answer is that it’s part of my Pinyin spell-checker, which is only a very basic utility in that it functions by checking for theoretically correct groups of syllables rather than real words (i.e., anything composed of correctly spelled groups of syllables, minus tone marks, will pass even if that word isn’t found in a dictionary).

Suggestions for improvements are always welcome.

Zēng Zhìlǎng Jiàoyùbù zhǎng rènnèi, jiānchí cǎiyòng Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, shì tā bèi huàn xiàlái de zhǔyīn zhīyī. Tā zuótiān réng bù gǎi qí zhì, qiángdiào guówài bùguǎn Zhōngwén jiàoxué huò xuéshù qīkān, hěn duō yǐjing gǎiyòng Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, Táiwān bùnéng shìruòwúdǔ, zhè suī fēi xīn zhèngfǔ zuì yōuxiān shīzhèng xiàngmù, dànshì yě lièwéi wèilái zhòngdà jiǎntǎo shìxiàng.

Most of the source article for this discusses poet and academic Zheng Chouyu’s backing for Hanyu Pinyin. He stresses his view that this is a practical matter, not a political one.

source: Zhèng Chóuyǔ jiànyì: Zhōngwén yìyīn kěyǐ cǎi Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (鄭愁予建議：中文譯音 可採漢語拼音), United Daily News, June 9, 2009

further reading: Hanyu Pinyin backer to return to Taiwan’s Cabinet, Pinyin News, April 29, 2008

From a screen shot taken a couple of nights ago:

From a screen shot taken about two-and-a-half years ago:

(FWIW, I told a meeting of government webmasters three years ago that the date script needed fixing — or, better still, deletion. Are they really under the impression that lots of people visit the presidential office’s Web site or that of any other Taiwan governmental agency to check the date and time?)

Also, given what the head of the ruling party recently said in the glorious motherland China, perhaps they might want to replace “Office of the President” with “Office of Mr. Ma.”

At any rate, how things are named is a concern of the current administration, just as it was for the previous one. I’ve given up trying to follow the twists and turns of the name of Revere the Bloody Dictator Shrine Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall. Someone let me know when the dust finally settles.

And then there’s the airport. The last time I was on a highway in Taoyuan I noticed that the signs that previously said “CKS Airport” had the “CKS” covered, so they read simply “Airport”. Maybe the new administration can live with that, regardless of what it does about the signage of the airport itself.

But what is to become of the official names that weren’t changed in Mandarin but only in English? Please note that I’m not talking about romanizations but about real English names. I’m referring to how the English names of several ministries and other government agencies were changed during President Chen Shui-bian’s two terms in office, though the Mandarin names remained the same.

For example:

None of the above revised names have been revoked or changed as of today (June 12, 2008 — or 108-06-12, as the Presidential Office would have it).

What about the addresses of the Web sites of these ministries and agencies?

Thus, so far the new English names have survived.

Yes, penal use: In early China tattooing was a common way of branding criminals. Often such tattoos were standard designs, such as circles. But sometimes they contained text.

Here’s something from Reed’s discussion of the Yuan dynasty’s legal code:

In the section on illicit sexual relationships we read that, in general, on the first offense the adulterous couple will be separated, but if they are “caught in the act” a second time, the man (it is not clear if the woman is tattooed as well) will be tattooed on the face with the words “committed licentious acts two times” (犯姦二度) and banished. Numerous examples are given to illustrate this type of punishment.

Reed examines and translates many texts describing tattoos.

Some of the terms encountered in these early texts are (with a literal translation given in parentheses) qing 黥 (to brand, tattoo), mo 墨 (to ink), ci qing 刺青 (to pierce [and make] blue-green), wen shen 文身 (to pattern the body), diao qing 雕青 (to carve and [make] blue-green), ju yan 沮顏 (to injure the countenence), wen mian 文面 (to pattern the face), li mian 剺面 (to cut the face) , hua mian 畫面 (to mark the face), lou shen 鏤身 (to engrave the body), lou ti 鏤體 (same), xiu mian 繡面 (to embroider [or ornament] the face), ke nie 刻涅 (to cut [and] blacken), nie zi 涅字 (to blacken characters) ci zi 刺字 (to pierce characters), and so on. These terms are sometimes used together, and there are numerous further variations. In general, if the tattooing of characters (字) appears in the term, it refers to punishment, but this is certainly not true in every case. Likewise, if a term literally meaning “to ornament” or “decorate” is used, it does not necessarily mean that the tattoo was done voluntarily or for decorative purposes.

All of the types of tattoo, except perhaps for the figurative and textual, are usually described as inherently opprobrious; people bearing them are stigmatized as impure, defiled, shameful or uncivilized. There does not ever seem to have been a widespread acceptance of tattoo of any type by the “mainstream” society; this was inevitable, partly due to the early and long-lasting association of body marking with peoples perceived as barbaric, or with punishment and the inevitable subsequent ostracism from the society of law-abiding people. Another reason, of course, is the Confucian belief that the body of a filial person is meant to be maintained as it was given to one by one’s parents.

This was first published in June 2000 as issue no. 103 of Sino-Platonic Papers. Although the work contains no illustrations, it does feature copious translations of texts describing tattoos or relating tales about them.

First, a few basic points:

• they’re in Tongyong Pinyin (bleah — but at least they’re consistent)
• they don’t use InTerCaPiTaLiZaTion (This lack is, of course, a good thing. If only Taipei hadn’t screwed this up!)
• in most cases the text in romanization is large enough to read even at a distance (Very good — unlike all too many relatively recent signs elsewhere, such as Taipei County.)

In short, other than the choice of romanization most of these signs aren’t all that bad. They’re certainly much better (and more consistent) than the ones that Taipei County put up in Tongyong Pinyin a few years ago. (Although Taipei County’s current magistrate said more than two years ago that he was in favor of switching to Hanyu Pinyin, as far as I can see he has done absolutely nothing about this. Of course, some might say that he’s done absolutely nothing about anything; but I’ll leave discussion of that to the political blogs.)

Here’s another Gāoxióng sign with romanization that isn’t too small.

I’m not a fan of the practice of force-justifying the Chinese characters and romanization/English to the same width. This style can be seen in many of these signs. Sometimes this results in the romanized/English words being spaced too far apart; more often, though, the Chinese characters are left with lots of space between them — so much space that it would be easy to have spaces indicate word divisions for the texts in Hanzi (something Y.R. Chao recommended nearly a century ago), which might be an interesting thing to try on signs. I wonder if anyone has ever performed any experiments on this.

The full Mandarin name of the school indicated by the blue sign on the left is rather long:

Gāoxióng shìlì Gāoxióng nǚzǐ gāojí zhōngxué
(高雄市立高雄女子高級中學)

Whoever made the sign wisely desided to cut that down to 高雄女中 (Gāoxióng nǚ zhōng). If only someone had realized that it would have been better to use something shorter than the full English name, too. “Kaohsiung Municipal Girls’ Senior High School” is a lot to fit on one small sign. “Kaohsiung Girls’ High School”, “Girls’ Municipal High School”, or something even shorter would have been much better.

Here are some more signs.

And finally an address plate on a building. This style could certainly be better.

The reviews are by David Utz, Xinru Liu, Taylor Carman, Bryan Van Nordan, and Victor H. Mair.

Contents

• Review Article by David A. Utz of Ádám Molnár, Weather-Magic in Inner Asia. With an Appendix, “Alttürkische fragmente über den Regenstein,” by P. Zieme. Indiana University Uralic and Altaic Series, 158. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University, 1994.
• Graham Parkes, ed., Heidegger and Asian Thought. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987. Reviewed by Taylor Carman and Bryan Van Norden.
• Beijing Daxue Nanya Yanjiusuo [Peking University Institute for South Asian Studies], ed. Zhongguo zaiji zhong Nanya shiliao huibian (Collection of South Asian Historical Materials from Chinese Sources). 2 vols. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Chubanshe, 1995. Reviewed by Xinru Liu.

The following 23 reviews are by the editor of Sino-Platonic Papers.

• Ronald E. Emmerick and Edwin G. Pulleyblank. A Chinese Text in Central Asian Brahmi Script: New Evidence for the Pronunciation of Late Middle Chinese and Khotanese. Serie Orientale Roma, LXIX. Rome: lstituto ltaliano per ii Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1993.
• YIN Binyong and SU Peicheng, eds. Kexuede pingjia Hanyu hanzi [Scientifically Appraise Sinitic and Sinographs]. Zhongguo yuwen xiandaihua congshu (Chinese Language Modernization Series), 1. Peking: Huayu Jiaoxue Chubanshe (Sinolingua), 1994.
• WU Chang’an. Wenzi de toushi — Hanzi lunheng [A Perspective on Culture -- Balanced Discussions on the Sinographs]. Wenhua Yuyanxue Congshu [Cultural Linguistics Series]. N.p. (Changchun?): Jilin Jiaoyu Chubanshe, 1995.
• ZHOU Shilie, comp. Tongxingci cidian [Dictionary of Homographs]. Peking: Zhongguo Guoji Guangbo Chubanshe, 1995. (Reviewed twice from different perspectives in the same issue.)
• KANG Yin. Wenzi Yuanliu Qianshi (The Origin and Development of Chinese Ideographs) (sic). N.p.: Guoji Wenhua Chubanshe, 1992.
• DUAN Kailian. Zhongguo minjian fangyan cidian [A Dictionary of Chinese Folk Topolecticisms]. Haikou: Nanhai chuban gongsi, 1994.
• CHANG Xizhen, comp. Beiping tuhua [Peking Colloquialisms]. Taipei: Shenge Shiye Youxian Gongsi Chubanshe, 1990.
• ZHANG Xunru. Beiping yinxi xiaoche bian [A Compilation of Words with "er" Suffix in Pekingese]. Taipei: Taiwan Kaiming, 1991; 2nd Taiwan ed.; 1956, first Taiwan ed.
• LI Sijing. Hanyu “er” [] yin shi yanjiu [Studies on the History of the "er" [] Sound in Sinitic]. Taipei: Taiwan Shangwu, 1994.
• Erdengtai, Wuyundalai, and Asalatu. Menggu mishi cihui xuanshi [Selected Explanations of Lexical Items in The Secret History of the Mongols]. Mengguzu lishi congshu [Series on the History of the Mongolian People]. Hohhot: Neimenggu Renrnin Chubanshe, 1980; 1991 rpt.
• Matthews, Stephen and Virginia Yip. Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar. Routledge Grammars. London and New York: Routledge, 1994.
• Killingley, Siew-Yue. Cantonese. Languages of the World / Materials 06. München-Newcastle: Lincom Europa, 1993.
• ZHONG Jingwen, chief ed. Yuhai (An Encyclopedia of Chinese Folk Language), Vol. 1: Mimiyu (Chinese Secret Language). Vol. editors ZHENG Shuoren and CHEN Qi. Shanghai: Shanghai Wenyi Chubanshe, 1994.
• Harrell, Stevan, ed. Cultural Encounters on China’s Ethnic Frontiers. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1995.
• Woo, Henry K. H. The Making of a New Chinese Mind: Intellectuality and the Future of China. Hong Kong: China Foundation, 1993.
• Miller, Lucien, ed. South of the Clouds: Tales from Yunnan. Translated by GUO Xu, Lucien Miller, and XU Kun. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1994.
• Hoizey, Dominique and Marie-Joseph Hoizey. A History of Chinese Medicine. Tr. by Paul Bailey. Vancouver: UBC Press; Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993.
• Crystal, David. An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Language and Languages. London: Penguin, 1992, 1994.
• Day, Gordon M. Western Abenaki Dictionary. Vol. 1: Abenaki-English. Vol. 2: English-Abenaki. Mercury Series, Canadian Ethnology Service, Papers 128 and 129. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1994-95.
• Hassrick, Peter H. The Frederic Remington Studio. Cody, Wyoming: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, in association with University of Washington Press (Seattle, London), 1994.
• Jonaitis, Aldona, ed. Chiefly Feasts: The Enduring Kwakiutl Potlatch. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press; New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1991.
• Jerry L. Norman and W. South Coblin. “A New Approach to Chinese Historical Linguistics.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, 115.4 (1995),576-584.

Bits and Pieces

• Letter concerning An Zhimin’s views on the origins of bronze metallurgy in China.
• “Yet again on Tibet.” This is one in a continuing series of discussions with Edwin G. Pulleyblank, W. South Coblin, and others on the origins of the name “Tibet”.

This was first published in February 1996 as issue no. 70 of Sino-Platonic Papers.

買套餐, A大獎
(Mǎi tàocān, A dà jiǎng)
(Buy a set meal, score a big prize.)

Here, the Roman letter “A” is used to represent a Taiwanese verb that means something like “get in an easy manner” or “make off with” — though the fine print says that customers just have a chance to get a prize, not that they necessarily will win one.

A is often used in A-qián (”A錢”: to A money), a mixed Taiwanese and Mandarin term that means embezzle/embezzlement.

Perhaps the Ministry of Education has issued an official Chinese character for this morpheme. But even if they had most people would have no idea how to read it, and it probably would be of spurious origin to boot — just like most of the other characters the ministry has issued. Where a Taiwanese morpheme sounds like the English name of a Roman letter, the romanized form is likely to prevail over the Chinese character.

There are other interesting things about this ad. But I’ll get to those in another post.

The text (right to left) reads “wǔxīng chū dōngfāng lì Zhōngguó” (五星出東方利中國 / 五星出东方利中国 ) (”when the five planets appear in the east it is beneficial for China”).

As David W. Pankenier — the author of Popular Astrology and Border Affairs in Early China: An Archaeological Confirmation (2.3 MB PDF), the latest rerelease from Sino-Platonic Papers — notes, “One could hardly ask for more eloquent testimony to the pervasiveness of astrological thinking in early China than this accessory from one of the remotest frontiers of the empire.” (See his paper for all sorts of details.)

As I suppose befits something on the subject of astrology, some superstitious people in China latched onto the phrase as a prophecy of the greatness of the People’s Republic of China (whose flag has five stars). The text, however, doesn’t refer to wǔ [kē] xīng (”five stars”) but to the wǔxīng (”the five planets”), which people these days might call the wǔ dà xīngxing (”five greater stars”). But superstitious nationalists aren’t known for letting facts get in the way of what they want to believe.

The five planets are:

• 火星 Huǒxīng Mars (lit. “fire star”)
• 水星 Shuǐxīng Mercury (”water star”)
• 木星 Mùxīng Jupiter (”wood star”)
• 金星 Jīnxīng Venus (”metal star”)
• 土星 Tǔxīng Saturn (”earth star”)

Those in beginning Mandarin classes are no doubt grateful that for days of the week modern standard Mandarin has adopted what is mainly a numbering system (i.e., lǐbàiyī, lǐbài’èr, lǐbàisān… — day of the week no. 1, day of the week no. 2, day of the week no. 3 …) rather than the old names, which use the names of the planets (along with the sun and moon). Students of Japanese aren’t so lucky.

Or maybe I’ve got that backward; many who study languages that use Chinese characters as a script have more than a bit of masochism.

Victor Mair’s latest post at Language Log introduces a new U.S.-based newspaper, the Huayu Xuebao (Mandarin Learning Newspaper, 華語學報), which is similar to Taiwan’s Guoyu Ribao (Mandarin Daily News), the main difference being the former uses Hanyu Pinyin while the latter uses zhuyin fuhao (bopo mofo).

Well, actually the Huayu Xuebao doesn’t use proper Pinyin (see recent remarks). But I’m so happy to see this long-needed paper that I’ll hold my tongue for now.

Unfortunately, the paper doesn’t have its Web site ready yet — not that the long-established Guoyu Ribao is much better at that, at least when it comes to texts as they appear in the newspaper. So, for more information about the Huayu Xuebao, write learningnewspaper [AT] yahoo.com or phone +1-201-288-9188 (New Jersey).

There’s also a sample issue.

source: How to learn to read Chinese, Language Log, May 25, 2008

But the specifics of the article are a little less encouraging.

Since controls against newspapers in Mandarin were eased in 2000, Jakarta has had up to six so-called Chinese newspapers. The number is now down to three, at least one of which is operating in the red.

Bambang Suryono (a.k.a. Lie Zuo Hui), editor in chief of the Yìnní Guójì Rìbào (Indonesian International Daily News, 印尼國際日報) said that Chinese newspapers in general did not get many young readers or contributors who could write well.

After the reformation era in 2001, Sino-Mandarin courses started to sprout in the city. However, Bambang said new Chinese language students were not yet apt to read Chinese newspapers.

“They can write simple articles about their daily activities, but not on complex subjects.”

For that matter, not many people on his own staff can write in Hanzi.

Out of his editorial staff of 20, there are only four journalists that can write in Chinese, and the youngest is 58 years old. “It’s so hard to find young people that can write in Chinese,” Bambang said.

Sunardi Mulia, the editor-in-chief of a business daily Indonesia Shang Bao, said most of his paper’s readers were above 55 years old.

“They are those who once went to local Chinese schools,” he said. “More and more of those aging readers are passing away.”

Sunardi’s paper, has few reporters. “I have to really roll up my sleeves to report large events,” he said. And about 90 percent of the paper’s editorial team are over 50….

“It’s true more young people have begun learning the language. However, it will take time for them to improve because their cultural surrounding is completely different than previous generations.”

“A lot of their parents cannot speak Mandarin or read Chinese anymore,” said Sunardi.

“So their opportunities to practice and communicate with the language are very limited. They probably need 15 years or so before they can read fluently,” said Sunardi, 59.

Sunardi said his paper’s present marketing target was mostly foreigners, specifically businesspeople from China and Taiwan. But he was optimistic about the future for his paper — again, though, not because of people born and bred in Indonesia but because of new readers arriving as immigrants from China.

No. of copies printed per day, according to the editors:

• Guoji Ribao: 60,000 copies per day, about one-third of those distributed in Jakarta
• Shang Bao: 10,000 copies per day, most distribued in Jakarta
• Harian Indonesia Yinni Sin Chew Ribao (formerly government controlled): 55,000 per day

source: Chinese papers attracting younger readers, Jakarta Post, May 15, 2008 (alternate source)

Here are some readings in Hanyu Pinyin:

• Dàshuǐ Guòhòu (”After the Flood”), by Zhāng Lìqīng. The story recalls a girlhood friend in China, not long after the end of the Second World War. This is also available in a version with an English translation given in parallel.
• Hànzì Bù Tèbié Biǎoyì, an essay, also by Zhang Liqing. (PDF — from Sino-Platonic Papers)
• Hūndì Dūndì (”Humpty Dumpty”), by Lewis Carroll, translated into Mandarin by Y.R. Chao and presented in Gwoyeu Romatzyh, Hanyu Pinyin, and English.
• Lā Tuǐ, by Táo Dàzú (Christopher L. Potter), a shaggy dog story
• Gùxiāng (故乡), a short story by Lǔ Xùn

Some song lyrics

• Wǔ Bǎi and China Blue
  • Làngrén qínggē
  • Nuówēi de sēnlín
  • Qiānguà
  • Láibují
• Jay Chou
  • Guāniú
• Faye Wong
  • Bù liú
  • Tiānkōng
  • Zhèngtuō
• Cuī Jiàn
  • Huāfáng gūniang
• And one song whose name and performer I can’t remember

I should probably figure out a way to incorporate this into the recommended readings section. One of the problems with this site is that it has grown much, much larger than I ever expected, which has resulted in some pages not fitting well within the structure I initially established for Pinyin Info. Over the years various additional readings have been added to the site, a few of which are even in Hanyu Pinyin. But since Pinyin Info’s recommended readings section is set up for books rather than essays, songs, etc., this will involve a rethinking of that page.

I very much hope people can help expand the list by providing links to readings elsewhere in Pinyin. But before listing something in the comments, please make sure it is in real Hanyu Pinyin (e.g., with word parsing instead of bro ken syl la bles, with tone marks instead of tone numbers, and with proper capitalization and punctuation). Alas, most texts that are supposedly in Pinyin do not follow those rules.

Even if you have no particular interest in the specific works reviewed, I recommend at least browsing through this and all of the other volumes of reviews from Sino-Platonic Papers, as they often feature Victor Mair at his most direct and entertaining about a wide range of subjects.

Table of Contents:

• Review Article: The Present State and Future Prospects of Pre-Han Text Studies. A review of Michael Loewe, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Reviewed by E. Bruce Brooks, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

N.B.: The following 29 reviews are by the editor of Sino-Platonic Papers.

• Roger T. Ames, Chan Sin-wai, and Mau-sang Ng, eds. Interpreting Culture through Translation: A Festschrift for D. C. Lau.
• Sau Y. Chan. Improvisation in a Ritual Context: The Music of Cantonese Opera.
• CHANG Xizhen. Beijing Tuhua [Pekingese Colloquial].
• CHANG/AIXINJUELUO Yingsheng [AISINGIORO *Yingsheng]. Beijing Tuhua zhong de Manyu [Manchurian in Pekingese Colloquial].
• BAI Gong and JIN Shan. Jing Wei’er: Toushi Beijingren de Yuyan ["Capital Flavor": A Perspective on the Language of the Pekingese].
• JIA Caizhu, comp. Beijinghua Erhua Cidian [Dictionary of Retroflex Final-r in Pekingese].
• Julia Ching and R. W .L. Guisso, eds. Sages and Sons: Mythology and Archaeology in Ancient China.
• FENG Zhiwei. Xiandai Hanzi he Jisuanji (Modern Chinese Characters and Electronic Computers).
• FENG Zhiwei. Zhongwen Xinxi Chuli yu Hanyu Yanjiu [Chinese Information Processing and Research on Sinitic].
• Andre Gunder Frank. The Centrality of Central Asia.
• HUANG Jungui. Hanzi yu Hanzi Paijian Fangfa [Sinographs and Methods for Ordering and Looking up Sinographs].
• W. J. F. Jenner. The Tyranny of History: The Roots of China’s Crisis.
• Adam T. Kessler. Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan.
• David R. McCraw. Du Fu’s Laments from the South.
• Michael Nylan, tr. and comm. The Canon of Supreme Mystery, by Yang Hsiung.
• R. P. Peerenboom. Law and Morality in Ancient China: The Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao.
• Henry G. Schwarz. An Uyghur-English Dictionary.
• Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed. Dene-Sino-Caucasian Languages.
• Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed. Nostratic, Dene-Caucasian, Austric and Amerind.
• Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Studies of Chinese Religion: A Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in English, French, and German through 1970.
• Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Chinese Religion in Western Languages: A Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in English, French, and German through 1980.
• Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Chinese Religion: Publications in Western Languages, 1981 through 1990.
• Aat Vervoorn. Men of the Cliffs and Caves: The Development of the Chinese Eremitic Tradition to the End of the Han Dynasty.
• WANG Jiting, ZHANG Shaoting, and WANG Suorong, comp. Changjian Wenyan Shumianyu [Frequently Encountered Literary Sinitic Expressions in Written Language].
• John Timothy Wixted. Japanese Scholars of China: A Bibliographical Handbook.
• YÜ Lung-yü, ed. Chung-Yin wen-hsüeh kuan-hsi yüan-liu [The Origin and Development of Sino-Indian Literary Relations].
• ZHANG Guangda and RONG Xinjiang. Yutian Shi Congkao [Collected Inquiries on the History of Khotan].
• ZHANG Yongyan, chief ed. Shishuo Xinxu Cidian [A Dictionary of A New Account of Tales of the World].
• Peter H. Rushton. The Jin Ping Mei and the Non-Linear Dimensions of the Traditional Chinese Novel.

• William H. Baxter, A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology. Reviewed by Paul Rakita Goldin, Harvard University.
• JI Xianlin (aka Hiän-lin Dschi). Dunhuang Tulufan Tuhuoluoyu Yanjiu Daolun [A Guide to Tocharian Language Materials from Dunhuang and Turfan]. Reviewed by XU Wenkan, Hanyu Da Cidian editorial offices in Shanghai.
• GU Zhengmei. Guishuang Fojiao Zhengzhi Chuantong yu Dasheng Fojiao [The Political Tradition of Kushan Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism]. Reviewed by XU Wenkan, Hanyu Da Cidian editorial offices in Shanghai.

• W. South Coblin, University of Iowa. A Note on the Modern Readings of 土蕃.
• Rejoinder by the Editor.

• Announcement concerning the inauguration of a new series in Sino-Platonic Papers entitled “Bits and Pieces.”

This work also continues the discussion regarding the Chinese characters “土蕃” and Tibet.

This was first published in July 1994 as issue no. 46 of Sino-Platonic Papers.

Just last December there was an interesting milestone on the web. For the first time, we found that Unicode was the most frequent encoding found on web pages, overtaking both ASCII and Western European encodings—and by coincidence, within 10 days of one another. What’s more impressive than simply overtaking them is the speed with which this happened.

Here’s Google’s graph:

I wish Big5, the encoding most used for Web pages in traditional Chinese characters, had been included in the graph. And I suspect that it’s only within the past ten years — perhaps even within the timeframe of the graph — that more Web pages have been encoded in GB (used for so-called simplified Chinese characters) than Big5. (GB is shown on the graph in green.)

Of course, many (most?) Web pages don’t declare any character encoding. This is especially bad when they contain characters beyond the bounds of ASCII, since those characters will often end up rendered as garbage on systems different than that of the creator of the Web page.

So … should I have a post focusing on Unicode without again berating the Unicode Consortium for its continuing unscientific, egregious, and unforgivable use of ideographic? I don’t think so.

source: Moving to Unicode 5.1, Official Google Blog, May 5, 2008

Half of the chapters in the new book (ISBN 978-0-8248-3309-1) focus specifically on Austronesian languages of Taiwan. I have indicated those with bold text below.

Contents:

Introduction: documenting and revitalizing Austronesian languages
I. International capacity building initiatives

• The language documentation and conservation initiative at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa
• Training for language documentation: Experiences at the School of Oriental and African Studies
• SIL International and endangered Austronesian languages

II. Documentation and revitalization activities

• Local autonomy, local capacity building and support for minority languages: Field experiences from Indonesia
• Documenting and revitalizing Kavalan
• E-learning in endangered language documentation and revitalization
• Indigenous language-informed participatory policy in Taiwan: A socio-political perspective
• Teaching and learning an endangered Austronesian language in Taiwan

III. Computational methods and tools for language documentation

• WeSay, a tool for engaging communities in dictionary building
• On designing the Formosan multimedia word dictionaries by a participatory process
• Annotating texts for language documentation with Discourse Profiler’s metatagging system

There have also been two issues of the journal issued to date, though neither of these has anything specific about languages spoken in Taiwan.

This is indeed a promising beginning. I look forward to more such titles from the journal.