Abstract
Spanish missionary Francisco Varo (1627-1678) is a pioneer in the history of Western and Chinese cross-cultural communication and Chinese Linguistics. His work Arte de la lengua Mandarina (Grammar of the Mandarin Language, written in 1682 and published in 1703) is not only one of the earliest Chinese grammar books officially published, but also a Chinese language teaching material especially designed for western missionaries. Its significance for the studies of the history of Chinese linguistics and social-culture has aroused concerns in the academic circle over last decade. However, its enlightening meanings as a Chinese second language textbook is undervalued. From the view of second language teaching, this paper discusses the language teaching concepts and methods of the early western Chinese learners reflected in the book and discloses its implications to the international Chinese language education at present.
Highlights
As the Norwegian linguist Even Hovdhaugen (1996:14) said, missionaries are “the first professional fieldworkers”, given that the very nature of missionary work is to communicate with people from different areas, and learning different languages is their obligation in many situations
The Spanish missionary Francisco Varo (1627-1678) was among these pioneers and his work Arte de la lengua Mandarina (Grammar of the Mandarin Language) was one of the earliest Chinese language books written by westerner
As we have shown above, the motivation of writing the book Arte de la lengua Mandarina was to help the ministers of Christ to learn Chinese, the selection, interpretation and the practicing of the teaching contents are for practical purposes
Summary
As the Norwegian linguist Even Hovdhaugen (1996:14) said, missionaries are “the first professional fieldworkers”, given that the very nature of missionary work is to communicate with people from different areas, and learning different languages is their obligation in many situations. The 17th and 18th century is the first climax when western missionaries came to China These missionaries’ exploration of Chinese language in that early period is recognized as the foundation of European sinology and modern Chinese linguistics. The novelty of this article lies in giving a more comprehensive understanding of Varo’s work and to uncover the strategies that Varo used to achieve a good balance between learning Chinese language and conveying religious mission. These findings will be helpful to enrich the studies of ChinaEurope communication and to contribute to international Chinese language education at present
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