“Yuan Language and Translation Policy in the Longue Durée”
Dr. Johannes Lotze (Buber Postdoctoral Fellow, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
The talk examines Yuan-era language and translation policies from a longue durée perspective, with particular attention to the Kitan Liao, Jurchen Jin, and Tangut Xia as predecessor regimes. Special focus will be placed on the contradictions and ambiguities within Yuan policy, evident in decisions for and against translation as well as the continued use of Sinographs alongside new scripts such as Phagspa and Uyghur-script Mongolian. The talk also considers phenomena such as the Mongolian-Chinese hybrid Han’er yanyu, which emerged not from deliberate policy but organically through everyday language contact.
If you are interested in attending the talk, please contact Dr. Patricia Sieber (sieber.6@osu.edu). This presentation is sponsored by the Institute for Chinese Studies and co-sponsored by the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures.