Ik-sang Eom

Abstract

Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) was a pioneer in the field of Modern Chinese linguistics in the first half of the 20th century. This article aims to provide a brief overview of his phonological theory and analyze the validity of his views. Based on some current phonological theories, this article attempts to meticulously evaluate the appropriateness of Yuen Ren Chao’s linguistic research on phonemic function and his assertions regarding consonants, vowels, tones, stress, and other phonetic and phonological aspects of Modern Chinese.