The Hong Kong Society (HKS) has been organising seminars to provide continuing professional development opportunities for our members. We cordially invite you to attend the coming seminar on “Merchants as Lexicographers in China-West Language Contact”. It will take place from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Hong Kong Time (11:30 am – 12:30 pm UK time) on 26 May 2025. The seminar will be delivered by Dr Michelle LI, who will introduce how the Chinese merchants applied their knowledge and experience on both East and West to create lexicographic work.
Please refer to the appendix for details of the seminar.
To register for the free seminar, please send an email to info@iolhks.hk. Upon receipt of your registration, we will email you the relevant webinar link.*
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr Manfred Wu at +(852) 5543 8493 or info@iolhks.hk. We look forward to receiving your positive response.
Seminar
Time and date: 26th May 2025 at 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Hong Kong Time (11:30 am – 11:30 pm UK time)
Topic: Merchants as Lexicographers in China-West Language Contact
Speaker: Dr Michelle LI
Description:
The contribution of merchants in the dissemination of knowledge has often been overlooked. However, throughout history, merchants have been one of the most active and resourceful groups of people who travelled extensively for trade and constantly engaged in cross-cultural communication. Therefore, the merchants’ linguistic knowledge is an important site for investigating innovative communication strategies and language contact. For example, the Phoenician alphabet, invented by the Phoenician maritime merchants, is the ancestor of modern European alphabets. In order to conduct cross-border commerce, knowledge of a foreign language is one of the essential skills of businesspeople. This paper discusses the role of Chinese merchants as compilers of bilingual Chinese–English dictionaries, focusing on two lexicographic works: 《英語集全》The Chinese and English Instructor (1862) and 《唐字音英語》 English Made Easy (1904). Both works were compiled by the prominent compradores, merchants, and interpreters of their times. The Chinese and English Instructor was compiled by 唐廷樞Tong Ting Kü and published in Canton and English Made Easy by 莫文暢 Mok Man Cheung in Hong Kong. Distinct from conventional bilingual dictionaries compiled by missionaries, Tong and Mok’s works emphasized ease of learning and practical use of English for ordinary people. This presentation will show how the Chinese merchants applied their knowledge and experience on both East and West to create lexicographic work that emphasized usefulness to the readers and a down-to-earth approach rather than following dogma and standardization.
About the Speaker:
Michelle Li is Assistant Professor at Ip Ying To Lee Yu Yee School of Humanities and Languages, Saint Francis University. She specializes in bilingualism/multilingualism and language contact, particularly pidgins and creoles of the Asia-Pacific region. She has studied extensively the historical development and grammar of Chinese Pidgin English and has published in journals such as Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, Journal of Language Contact, and English World-Wide.
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