(Routledge Studies in Chinese Linguistics) 1st Edition
by Tae Eun Kim (Author)
English-based Mandarin loanwords are commonly used in Chinese people’s daily lives. Mandarin Loanwords
demonstrates how English phonemes map into Mandarin phonemes through
Mandarin loanwords adaptation. The consonantal adaptations are the most
important in the analyses, and vowel adaptation and tonal adaptation is
also considered.
Through the analysis, it is proven that the
functions of phonology and phonetics play a significant role in Mandarin
loanword adaptation, however the functions of other factors, such as
semantic functions of Chinese characters and English orthography, are
also discussed. Additionally, the phonetic symbolization of Chinese
characters is mentioned.
