A Grammar of Mandarin.

• Author: Simmons, Richard Vanness
• Position: Book review

A Grammar of Mandarin. By JEROEN WIEDENHOF. Amsterdam: JOHN BENJAMINS, 2015. Pp. xxiii + 477. $158 (cloth); $54 (paper).

This comprehensive work is Jeroen Wiedenhof's lucid translation of his original study in Dutch, Grammatica van het Mandarijn (Amsterdam: Bulaaq, 2004, 4th rev. ed. 2015). It presents a mature and solid treatment of the grammar of spoken Mandarin that is the result of sustained research and study over many years. In this book, Wiedenhof attends to everything that should be covered by a comprehensive grammar: all elements found within the structural system of a language, including sound system, sentence structures, lexicon, and other elements that convey meaning. The volume's pages contain a wealth of information and theoretical insight, all richly supported with copious examples and illustrations. Overall, the book lays out Wiedenhof's own distinctive take on the grammar of Mandarin, one in which the author does not shy from departing from accepted views and standard interpretations to present fresh insight and new approaches. It is thus an authoritative and thought-provoking contribution to the scholarship of Mandarin in English that is most welcome in the field and sure to have long-lasting impact.

The book's first chapter, "Mandarin," places its topic in context as a variety of Chinese that is now the standard language of China. The second chapter, "Phonetics and Phonology," presents a description of Mandarin pronunciation and a phonemic analysis. The following nine chapters provide Wiedenhof's analysis of syntax, morphology, and lexicon, including a detailed list and discussion of function words: chapter three on "Subordination," chapter four on "Nouns," chapter five on "Verbs," chapter six on "Properties and States," chapter seven on "Negation and Questions," chapter eight on "Tense, Aspect, and Mood," chapter nine on "Counting and Classifying," chapter ten on "Morphology," and chapter eleven on "Function Words." The last chapter, chapter twelve on "The Chinese Script," provides an overview of the writing system from its earliest origins to its modern form and usage. The volume concludes with four appendices providing useful charts on transcriptions and Romanization as well as a glossary of terminology. Interspersed throughout the main text are passages printed in a smaller typeface that the author includes to provide "more detailed treatments" of points under discussion, in which he includes most of his references to linguistic sources (p. xxii).

Wiedenhof's goal in compiling this grammar was to "have Mandarin speak for itself as much as possible" (p. xxi). He takes a descriptive approach, seeking to "document common and regular language use and embrace all evidence of change and variation" (p. xxiii, emphasis added). He tells us that the local form of Mandarin spoken in Beijing is the primary object of his...