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Online Confucius Institute Public Talks: A tale of Chinese characters with Dr YAN Tong

Dates
Wednesday, June 1, 2022 - 13:00 to 14:00
Location
Online - Zoom
Contact
Online Confucius Institute

A talk about Chinese character writing looking at its meaning, history and evolution with demonstration.

Join us for this fascinating and interactive talk on Chinese characters as part of the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures (OCLC) & The Open University's Online Confucius Institute Public Talks.

Chinese characters are the written form of the Chinese language. As with any other language, characters have their own corresponding sounds, forms and meanings. However what makes characters unique and fascinating is that they encode cultural and social meanings in their shapes, structures and styles. It is especially noteworthy that characters – a 2200-year-old writing system that is daunting to natives and foreigners alike – are accessible to a globalized, digital world.

This talk aims to discuss how to decode embedded meanings through analysing the ways of forming characters, their historical evolution and actual functions in communication. Character handwritings – hard pen writing and soft brush writing will also be demonstrated in the talk. The aim is to help learners and enthusiasts to have a better understanding of characters and find the process of learning them fun and enjoyable.

This talk will be held online via Zoom and meeting details will be sent after registration.

REGISTER TO ATTEND (Eventbrite)

NB: The talk will be recorded and made available after the event.

About the speaker

Dr YAN Tong has an MA in Applied Linguistics from IOE (UCL's Faculty of Education and Society) and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from King’s College London. He is the author of the Confidence Chinese series (2006, 2007) and Chinese Crosswords (2005).

He has nearly 40 years of experience in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, having worked with a diverse group of learners from university students and British diplomats to local communities.

Event category: 
LAL