The Editor’s statement 

The Editor’s statement as a Mission Statement (1973)

William S-Y. Wang
Chinese Linguistics derives from two distinct but related fields of knowledge. In one, the objective is to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture (in the broadest sense of the term) via its primary medium of expression - its language. Whether it is a piece of inscription to be deciphered, a philosophy to be analyzed, or a poem whose rimes are to be reconstructed, a solid knowledge of the language of that time is crucial. Such studies have a long tradition in Sinology; indeed, they were virtually the only ones which scholars interested in Chinese pursued, until recent times.

The other field of knowledge is aimed at discovering the general principles underlying human language as a whole. The Chinese Language is particularly important here not only because of the time depth of its literature and the wealth of its dialects, but even more because of the unique properties of its syntax and phonology. It constitutes a tremendously rich resource for Linguistics to tap from the study of sound change to investigations of sociolinguistic variation.

These two fields, Linguistics and Sinology, flow together in their concern with the Chinese Language. The central questions on the language remain the same: its structure, its ontogeny, and its phylogeny, as well as the interactions between the Chinese Language on the one hand, and Chinese thought, literature, and social systems on the other. Also of considerable interest are the questions which arise when the Chinese language comes into contact with other languages, be it in the controlled context of a language class or on the streets of an emigrant community. All in all, there is much to be done.

Before today, papers on Chinese Linguistics had to seek foster homes in diverse journals of general linguistics and in publications of various hues of orientalia. This situation was at best a nuisance, and at worst a serious impediment to the communication and progress of our field. In this journal, let us hope, Chinese Linguistics will have found its own voice. (Index of Journal of Chinese Linguistics are linked here)