Chinese Dictionaries prepared by Western Missionaries in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century

The article presents a brief history of the early Chinese dictionaries composed of Western missionaries in China in the buckets. Seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and compares the different systems of romanization used in various dictionaries. We then move on to an analysis of the value of this material for the study of the Chinese language, with particular regard to polysyllabic lexical items. Since only very few Chinese dictionaries contain entries of this period polysyllabic, dictionaries work of Christian missionaries are a useful tool to reconstruct the evolution of the vocabulary from the Chinese monosillabismo to polisillabismo. The paper will present a short history of the early Chinese dictionaries prepared by Western missionaries in China, During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, comparing the various systems of romanization employed in the different dictionaries. It will then concentrated on the value of this material for the study of Chinese lexicon, with Particular Focus on polysyllabic lexical items. Since very few Chinese dictionaries of this period Contain polysyllabic words, the dictionaries are prepared by western missionaries Reconstructing a useful tool for the development of Chinese lexicon from monosyllabism to polysillabism.

L’articolo presenta una breve storia dei primi dizionari cinesi composti da missionari occidentali in Cina nel corso dei secc. XVII e XVIII, e pone a confronto i vari sistemi di romanizzazione utilizzati nei diversi dizionari. Si passa poi a un’analisi del valore di questo materiale per lo studio del lessico cinese, con particolare riguardo agli elementi lessicali polisillabici. Poiché soltanto pochissimi dizionari cinesi di questo periodo contengono lemmi polisillabici, i dizionari opera dei missionari cristiani costituiscono uno strumento utile a ricostruire l’evoluzione del lessico cinese dal monosillabismo al polisillabismo. The paper will present a short history of the early Chinese dictionaries prepared by western missionaries in China, during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, comparing the various systems of romanization employed in the different dictionaries. It will then concentrate on the value of this material for the study of Chinese lexicon, with particular focus on polysyllabic lexical items. Since very few Chinese dictionaries of this period contain polysyllabic words, the dictionaries prepared by western missionaries are a useful tool for reconstructing the development of Chinese lexicon from monosyllabism to polysillabism.