Politeness in Historical and Contemporary Chinese

This study will hold interest for a wide range of readers including those involved with the Chinese language but also scholars of Chinese culture and history, of languages other than Chinese, and of language itself. As stated in the foreword, discussion encompasses the "...massive differences between traditional Chinese politeness and the politeness norms circulating within China at present." Yuling Pan is a sociolinguist affiliated with the US Census Bureau; Daniel Z. Kadar is a linguistics scholar affiliated with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. From their introduction: "We write this book as natives of two countries--China and Hungary--whose histories share certain similarities: the rise of Communist regimes...and abrupt changes in society since then." They have both lived and worked in China for long periods of time and have witnessed the dramatic changes in communication that are puzzling for both outsiders and native speakers of the language. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)