Graduate Courses for Chinese (CHIN)

Schedule of Classes: Fall | Winter | Spring | Summer
(Only current and next semester available)

CHIN 401 Readings in Modern Chinese I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN302 or equivalent. Non-majors admitted only after a placement interview.
Readings in history, politics, economics, sociology, and literature. Emphasis on wide-ranging, rapid reading, reinforced by conversations and compositions.

CHIN 402 Readings in Modern Chinese II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN401 or equivalent. Non-majors admitted only after a placement interview.
Continuation of CHIN401.

CHIN 408 Selected Readings in Classical Chinese (3 credits)
Prerequisites: CHIN321 or CHIN403 at UMCP or pass a placement test offered by the Chinese Program; and must know Pinyin. Students who do not know Pinyin must learn it before the end of the first week of classes or they will be required to drop. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs.
Selected readings in Classical Chinese, including important representative works of history, poetry, and parallel prose. Close attention is paid to matters of grammar and phonology in the readings. Content will differ each time this course is offered.

CHIN 411 Business Chinese I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN402 or permission of department. Non-majors admitted only after a placement interview. Not open to students who have completed CHIN303.
Conversation, reading, and writing applicable to Chinese business transactions, social meetings, and meetings with government organizations, plus background material in English on professional business practices and social customs associated with business.

CHIN 412 Business Chinese II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN411 or permission of department. Non-majors admitted only after a placement interview. Not open to students who have completed CHIN304.
Continuation of CHIN411.

CHIN 413 Advanced Conversation and Composition (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN402 or permission of department. Non-majors admitted only after a placement interview. Not open to students who have completed CHIN405.
Practice in writing essays, letters, and reports on selected topics. Conversation directed toward everyday situations and topics related to life in China.

CHIN 415 Readings in Current Newspapers and Periodicals (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN402 or equivalent. Non-majors admitted only after a placement interview.
Reading of periodical literature on selected topics with discussions and essays in Chinese.

CHIN 418 Special Topics in Contemporary Chinese Fiction and Film (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Various approaches to the most recent textual productions of China and Taiwan. Taught in Chinese.

CHIN 421 Sounds and Transcriptions of Mandarin Chinese (3 credits)
Production and recognition of Mandarin speech sounds and tones, their phonological patterns, comparison with English, and representation by the various Romanization systems.

CHIN 422 Advanced Chinese Grammar (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN302, CHIN322, or permission of department.
Chinese sentence patterns studied contrasted with English and in terms of current pedagogical as well as linguistic theories.

CHIN 423 Chinese Historical and Dialect Phonology (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN302 or JAPN405. Formerly CHIN428B.
The history and structure of the sounds of Chinese language, with emphasis on the Medieval formal phonological system and its relationship to Mandarin and other modern languages. Students are expected to have advanced knowledge of written Chinese graphs (may include Japanese kanji or Korean hanja).

CHIN 424 Linguistics of the Chinese Writing System (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN302 or JAPN405. Recommended: CHIN423. Also offered as SLAA798A. Formerly CHIN428A.
The history and structure of the Chinese writing system, with emphasis on its early development and place in the cognition of language. Students are expected to have advanced knowledge of written Chinese graphs (may include Japanese kanji or Korean hanja).

CHIN 428 Selected Topics in Chinese Linguistics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Sophomore standing. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Undergraduate seminar in Chinese linguistics. Topics may include the ancient writing system, historical phonology, dialectology, prosody and rhyming, grammar and the history of the language as a whole. This course may be repeated with different content, and satisfies the linguistics requirement for the Chinese major. Students are expected to be in at least Third Year Chinese. Taught in English.

CHIN 431 Translation and Interpretation I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN302 or equivalent and permission of department.
Theory and practice of Chinese/English translation and interpretation with emphasis on translation.

CHIN 432 Translation and Interpretation II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: CHIN402 or equivalent and permission of department.
Workshop on Chinese/English translation and interpretation, with emphasis on seminar (consecutive) interpretation and introduction to conference (simultaneous) interpretation.

CHIN 441 Traditional Chinese Fiction (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department.
Major works of fiction from the 4th century tales of the marvelous through the 19th century Ching novel. Taught in Chinese.

CHIN 442 Modern Chinese Fiction (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department.
Examination, through selected texts, of the writer's role as shaper and reflector of the Republican and Communist revolutions. Taught in Chinese.

CHIN 499 Directed Study in Chinese (1-3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
Readings in Chinese under faculty supervision.

CHIN 601 The Language of Contemporary Chinese Written Media (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Departmental placement test required prior to registration.
Non-fiction Chinese writing, with emphasis on contextually and culturally appropriate interpretation of lexicon, style, and idiom in various genres. Conducted entirely in Chinese, intended for non-native speakers of the language pursuing professional levels of competence.

CHIN 602 The Language of Contemporary Chinese Audio Media (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Departmental placement test required prior to registration.
Oral Chinese non-fiction in the high diglossic register, with emphasis on contextually and culturally appropriate interpretation of lexicon, style, and idiom. Conducted entirely in Chinese, intended for non-native speakers of the language pursuing professional levels of competence.

CHIN 603 The Language of Contemporary Chinese Written Fiction (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Departmental placement test required prior to registration.
Chinese fiction writing, with emphasis on contextually and culturally appropriate interpretation of lexicon, style, and idiom in various genres. Conducted entirely in Chinese; intended for non-native speakers of the language pursuing professional levels of competence.

CHIN 604 The Language of Contemporary Chinese Audio Fiction (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Departmental placement test required prior to registration.
Oral Chinese fiction in the high diglossic register, with emphasis on contextually and culturally appropriate interpretation of lexicon, style, and idiom. Students analyze current materials from Mandarin-language radio drama, etc. Conducted entirely in Chinese, intended for non-native speakers of the language pursuing professional levels of competence.

CHIN 611 Structure of the Chinese Language (3 credits)
An overview of the basic linguistic characteristics of modern standard (Mandarin) Chinese, including phonology, morphology and syntax. Emphasis on the analysis of functional linguistic models and the development of student skills in critically appraising existing interpretations of Chinese language structure.

CHIN 621 Chinese Historical Linguistics (3 credits)
An introduction to the origin and development of the Chinese language, and its relationship to other languages.

 

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