Historical Developmental Perspective of the Chinese Language

Abstract

The historical development study of the Chinese language is beneficial for investigating its unique features, which attracts a number of scholars to explore the nature of the Chinese language. The Chinese language is featured with its long history, among which there are different phases and stages in the historical development of the Chinese language. The paper aims to investigate the specific features of the Chinese language from the perspective of its historical development by examining phases and stages of the developmental history of the Chinese language with concrete examples. In particular, in the four historical development periods of the Chinese language proposed by Wang Li and Lü （1947, 1965）, the paper finds that characteristics of the Chinese language exhibit its specific features in periods or stages of development in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar of the Chinese language. The findings are suggestive of the further systematic study of Chinese linguistics.