What is Chinese?

Professor Lee will explore the relationship between Chinese language and national and diasporic communities. He will discuss the nature and kinds of language(s) over the past two thousand years or more in the space we now call China. He will address the question of how and why in recent years "Mandarin" has come to be synonymous, at least for non-Chinese, people with "Chinese"; the paucity of words in the English language to describe the different kinds, moments and registers of "Chinese" being one of the key factors in this confusion. The status of other Chinese languages and the rich cultural diversity they represent alongside the national language will also be discussed.

Speaker: Professor Gregory B. Lee, Founding Professor of Chinese Studies and Head of Department of Chinese Studies at University of St Andrews

Time: 6-7pm, Thursday 7 April 2022

          7.30pm Complimentary Chinese Buffet

Venue: 004 Theatre, UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland; Please (opens in a new window)register here