Agenda

27 Feb 2026 15:30

An Updated Overview of the Historical Linguistic Influence of Chinese on Vietnamese

Sala conferenze, Campo San Sebastiano, Dorsoduro 1686, Venezia

Prof. Mark Alves
Montgomery College

An Updated Overview of the Historical Linguistic Influence of Chinese on Vietnamese

Friday 27 February 2026, 15.30–17.00
Sala conferenze, Campo San Sebastiano,
Dorsoduro 1686, Venezia

Registration link

Abstract:
A recent review (Alves 2024) confirms Vietnamese’s Austroasiatic lexical and structural linguistic core, yet two millennia of contact have led to substantial Chinese influence beyond loanwords. This talk will survey key impacts of that language contact across the Vietnamese lexicon, phonological system, word formation strategies, syntax, and semantic domains. However, while the influence is profound, a point will be made that it is also important not to unrealistically emphasize the impact on Vietnamese of language contact with Chinese. A goal is to provide a nuanced view that considers regional convergence and change due to natural processes over a period many centuries.

Mark Alves, Professor at Montgomery College, Editor-in-Chief of JSEALS (Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society), has presented and published widely on historical and comparative linguistics of Southeast Asia with a focus on Vietnamese and Austroasiatic. He has explored Vietnamese, Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and phonology, and Vietic etymology, historical phonology, and language history; Southeast Asian regional language contact and loanwords which spread from Chinese, Daic, Khmeric, and Indic languages with reference to historical and archaeological data; Austroasiatic language history and typological linguistics, especially morphology; among other related topics.

Organizer:
Trang Phan (DSAAM)

Organizzatore

Department of Asian and North African Studies (Trang Phan)

Allegati

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