Francisco Varo's grammar of the mandarin language, 1703 : an English translation of 'Arte de la lengua Mandarina' / [Edited by] W. South Coblin, Joseph A. Levi ; with an introduction by Sandra Breitenbach.
Includes bibliographical references (p. xlv-liii) and index.

Reproduction of Spanish original printed in Canton (Guangzhou 廣州) in 1703 with English translation on facing pages; English text has Chinese characters added to romanized text.
Includes reproduction and translation of Confessionarium of Basilio de Glemona.
Chinese character index arranged by modern pinyin with Varo's transcription and original character.
Note: De Glemona's name unauthorized, but OCLC records follow: Basilio da Gemona, 1648-1704. Brevis methodvs confessionis institvendae.

FRANCISCO VARO'S GRAMMAR OF THE MANDARIN LANGUAGE (1703): AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF 'ARTE DE LA LENGUA MANDARINA'; Editorial page; Title page; Copyright page; PREFACE & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; Table of contents; EDITOR'S FOREWORD; 1. Background to the text; 2. Biographical data; 3. Text history and format of the Arte de la Lengua Mandarina; 4. Grammatical framework and transcriptional conventions in the text; 5. Structure and conventions of the translation; REFERENCES; INTRODUCTION: THE BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, AND GRAMMATICAL CONTEXT OF FRANCISCO VARO'S ARTE DE LA LENGUA MANDARINA (CANTON, 1703).

1. Introductory remarks; 2. Francisco Varo's Arte de la lengua Mandarina (Canton, 1703); 3. Biographical notes on Francisco Varo; 4. Varo's writings; 5. Grammatical studies initiated by the Dominican missionaries; 6. Greek and Latin linguistic traditions found in Varo; 7. The notion of ars grammaticae in the 17th and 18th centuries in connection with Varo's Arte de la lengua Mandarína; 8. Nebrija's influence on Varo's grammar; 9. Missionary grammars as models for Varo's grammar; 10. The influence of Varo'sArte on subsequent grammatical studies; 11. Concluding remarks; REFERENCES.

Abbreviations used in the Introduction. FRONTISPIECE; PROLOGUE; The First Chapter: A Few Monitions; The First Monition; The Second Monition; The Third Monition; The Fourth Monition; The Fifth Monition; The Second Chapter: On the Tones of this Language; Paragraph 1 : On the Simple Tones; The Second Paragraph: On the Guttural Tones; The Third Paragraph: On the Tones with Dot; The Fourth Paragraph: On the Guttural Tones with Dot; The Fifth Paragraph: On Some Other Ways of Pronouncing Certain Words; The Third Chapter: On the Declension of the Noun and the Pronoun; Declension of the Noun.

Declension of the Basic Pronouns; Declension of the Pronominal Derivatives; The Second Paragraph: Explanation of the Cases; Paragraph 3. On the Plural; Chapter 4: On the Substantive, Adjectival, Comparative, and Superlative Nominais; The First Paragraph: On the Substantives; The Second Paragraph: On the Adjectives; The Third Paragraph: On the Comparatives; Chapter V: On the Abstract Verbal Nouns, Diminutives, Frequentatives, Occupations, and Genders; The First Paragraph: On Verbals and Abstracts; The Second Paragraph: On the Diminutives; The Third Paragraph: On the Frequentatives.

The Fourth Paragraph: On the Names of Occupations; The Fifth Paragraph: On the Genders; Chapter VI: On The Pronoun; The First Paragraph: On the Basic and Derivative Pronouns; The Second paragraph. On the Demonstratives; The Third Paragraph: On the Relatives; The Fourth Paragraph: On the Reciprocals; Chapter VII: On the Interjection, Conjunction, Negation, Interrogative, and Conditional; The First Paragraph: On the Interjection and Conjunction; The Second Paragraph: On Negation; The Third Paragraph: On the Interrogative; The Fourth Paragraph: On the Conditional.

Chapter VIII: On the Verb and its Conjugations.

"Francisco Varo's Arte de la Lengua Mandarina, completed ca. 1680, is the earliest published grammar of any spoken form of Chinese and the fullest known description of the standard language of the seventeenth century. It establishes beyond doubt that this "Language of the Mandarins" was not Pekingese or Peking-based but had instead a Jiang-Huai or Nankingese-like phonology. It also provides important information about the nature and formation of pre-modern standard forms of Chinese and will lead to revisions of currently held views on Chinese koines and their relationship with regional speech forms and the received vernacular literature. Finally, it provides a wealth of information on stylistic speech levels, honorific usage, and social customs of the elite during the early Qing period. The book provides a full translation of the 1703 text of the Arte, an extensive introduction to the life and work of Varo, an index of Chinese characters inserted into the translation, and an index of linguistic terms and concepts. It should be of interest to a diverse readership of Chinese historical, comparative, and descriptive linguists, students of Qing history and literature, historiographers of linguistics, and specialists in early Western religious and cultural contact with China."

Local access dig.pdf. [Coblin-Varo's Grammar (1703).pdf]

Note on name: Basilio da Gemona (following LC); Basilio Brollo de Glemona (following Coblin). LC Authority record note: (The Franciscan Basilio Brollo was the author of the first comprehensive Chinese-Latin dictionary, which he composed in Nanking in 1694 and in 1699; At the beginning of the 19th century the French government decided to publish a dictionary and in 1808 entrusted this task to C.L. Joseph de Guignes (1759-1845), former consul of France in Catnon. Using the manuscript copy of Brollo's dictionary then in the Vatican Library, in 1813 de Guignes published the dictionary bearing his name, not that of Brollo, as the author)