Chinese word formation through the lens of 19th-Century French sinologists: breaking away from the Latin grammatical tradition

This study investigates how 19th-century French sinologists defined and classified Chinese words and analysed word formation, grounded in the linguistic theories of their time. By systematically synthesising three representative works, Rémusat’s Élémens de la grammaire chinoise (1822), Bazin’s Grammaire Mandarine (1856), and Perny’s Grammaire de la langue chinoise orale et écrite (1873), the research examines their interpretations of Chinese word components, categories of word formation, and their comparative perspectives on Chinese and Indo-European morphology. While influenced by Latin grammar traditions, these sinologists increasingly recognised Chinese-specific features such as the syntactic flexibility of morphemes and the functional significance of particles. Their categorisations reveal an integrative approach that blends both European linguistic traditions with Chinese classical philology. This study contributes to the historical understanding of Chinese word formation and its pedagogical transmission in European Sinology duirng the 19th century.