M. De Mançano(?), Arte de la Lengua Chio Chiu (1620–1621)

Arte de la lengua chio chiu was presumably compiled around 1620–1621 by a Dominican missionary in the Philippines, maybe Melchior de Mançano (1579?–1630?), whose name appears at the end of the text but only after ten empty pages. This work, in Spanish and Chinese characters and Romanizations, is the oldest extant grammar of a Chinese language and describes the language of the Sangleys, namely the Fujian dialect (chio chiu is referred to the district of Zhangzhou 漳州), spoken by the Chinese residing in Manila.Footnote 1 This grammar was partially translated and edited by Bayer and inserted in his work Museum Sinicum of 1730.Footnote 2

This work contains many practical examples to meet daily life communication needs, especially those of a priest, but little reference to the grammatical categories as we find in other later grammars coming from the Greek–Latin grammatical tradition. A description of prepositions is missing for example and many grammatical words are simply defined as ‘particles’. No space is given to interjections, among which a variety of words to express emotions can usually be found. Despite the lengthy work, our search for reference to words to express emotions in this text has given poor results.

References to feelings and emotionsFootnote 3:

  • f. 1v About the tones: […] “la quarta diferençia es qua[n]do se pronunçia con un ainco que pareçe salir del cora[çon].” (The fourth difference is pronounced with eagerness that seems to come from the heart.)

  • f. 2v “Accussatiuo: 僚氏惜人 dios ama al hombre” (Accusative: God loves the man.)

  • f. 3r Explaining personal pronouns: “gua sioh [tio-si] 我惜 [僚氏] yo amo a dios” (I love [God].)

  • f. 5v Another case of 惜 to express love for God.

  • f. 9v-10r Here 惜 is used for reciprocal love among men: “lun sio sioh 恁相惜 vosotros amaos” (you love [each other]).

M. Martini, Grammatica Linguae Sinensis (1653)

Grammatica Linguae Sinensis was compiled by the Jesuit missionary Martino Martini between 1651 and 1653, and revised at least until 1656.Footnote 4 This work, of which several copies have been found, has been so far known with the title of Grammatica Sinica. Footnote 5 The language described by Martini, in Latin with Chinese characters and transcriptions, is Mandarin. The work was printed and published in the 1696 edition of Melchisédec Thévenot’s collection of travel reports, Relations de divers voyage curieux. Footnote 6 In 1730, Bayer edited and enriched the contents of this grammar, finally including it in his Museum Sinicum. Footnote 7

References to feelings and emotionsFootnote 8:

  • f. 4v “ Xam xim sive gravis vox \ descedendo velociter et quasi uno ictu exprimitur, ita tamen ut nullo pacto protrabatur sonus ultimæ litteræ, sed ut irati solent, quasi subito cadere permittatur.” (Xam xim or grave accent \, is expressed descending quickly at once, so that the sound of the last letter is not prolonged at all, but is stopped abruptly like those who are angry do.)

  • f. 5v “ ngo ngai ni 我愛你, ego amo te; ngo siam t῾a 我想他, ego cogito illum” ( ngo ngai ni, I love you, ngo siam t῾a, I think of him)

  • f. 6v-7r Entire declension of ngai 愛

  • f. 7v Martini states that in Chinese there are neither vocative nor exhortative adverbs, and that they can be substituted by the so-called optative avdverb “pa pu te 巴不得 utinam” (if only!)

  • f. 8v Adverbs to express doubt “hoe 或, forte” (maybe), “hoe che 或者, fortassis” (probably)

  • f. 9r “Jurandi nulla sunt, nec iuramenta in Sinica gente audies, at bene malas imprecationes.” (There are no adverbs to swear, and you do not hear in China people swearing, at most you hear some bad cursing)

  • f. 9rv “De interiectionibus: Interiectiones raræ sunt Sinis, præcipuè in locutione sed nec in compositione nisi rarissime occurrunt. In locutione est indignantis aut exprobrantis pfi, cuius tamen characterem non habent, sed cum quid exprobrant, hic sonus fit. Datur etiam dolentis c῾u 苦, malum, dolor. Admirantis, k῾i 奇, rarum, non ordinarium. Exclamantis: u hu 於戲Footnote 9 quæ o vel prô significat eodem modo çai 哉,Footnote 10 admirantis est, et hu 呼 admirationis cum interrogatione.” (About Interjections: Interjections in China are rare, they are especially found in the spoken language but they are rarely met in the written language. In the spoken, it is typical of who is mad or is reproaching [the expression] pfi, for which they do not have a corresponding character though, but whose sound is like that of somebody who is reproaching. Somebody who is in pain says c῾u, pain, ache. Who admires: k῾i, rare, extraordinary. Who exclaims: u hu, which means o! or oh! And çai, is of who admires, whereas hu, is of admiration with interrogation.)

F. Varo, Arte de la Lengua Mandarina (1682)

Arte de la lengua mandarina was compiled by the Dominican missionary Francisco Varo in 1682 and eventually printed in 1703 in Canton by Pedro de la Piñuela.Footnote 11 The work is written in Spanish, and the Chinese words of the examples are presented in transcription only.Footnote 12 For its compilation Varo might have taken into consideration the works previously written by his religious brothers, as well as a Latin grammar, Introductiones latinae, compiled by Antonio de Nebrija (1444–1522) in 1481.Footnote 13

While the space dedicated to interjections in this grammar appears surprisingly short, there is an interesting section about the courteous words to express respect or modesty.

References to feelings and emotionsFootnote 14:

  • f. 9 About the first tone: “La primera [tonada] se pronunçia prolongando la voce igualmente […] como quando à una persona le duele algo, y quexandose diçe ai” (The first [tone] is pronounced by prolonging the voice evenly […] as when a person is in pain, and sighing says Alas!”).

  • f. 10 About the third tone: “La terçera tonada se pronunçia […] con algun desgaire o enfado, como quando le digo à uno que esta haziendo una cosa que le mande, y la haze mal o de mala grana” (The third tone is pronounced […] with a certain amount of abruptness or curtness, as when I would say to someone who was doing something which I asked him to do, and did it incorrectly or unwillingly)

  • f. 24 In the section about accusative, we find 愛 to mean love for God: “ni kai gai tien chu 你該愛天主” (You ought to love God).

  • f. 42 “La interjecion, que es la que declara los varios afectos que ai en el anima, se haze con las particulas ch’a, chie, chie hu: ai murio, chie hu, k’iu leao. Assi como no se puede escrivir el modillo de hazer en uno idioma la interjecion, por ser un suspiro, que no tiene letras, assi mismo no se puede escrivir en esta lengua” (The interjection, which is what declares the various feelings within the soul, is rendered by the particles ch’a 嗟, chie 嗟,Footnote 15 chie hu 嗟乎: [e.g.] Alas, he died! chie hu, k’iu leao 嗟乎去了. Just as in our language we cannot write the way we express the interjection, since it is a sigh and has no written form, so in the same manner it cannot be written in this language either).

  • f. 51 In the section about the verbal conjugation, we find examples with ‘to love’ and ‘to hate’: “go gai ni xi çhie, ni hen go 我愛你時節, 你恨我” (When I was loving you, you were hating me)

  • ff. 84 Footnote 16 –87 Chapter XIV Courteous words of the Mandarin Language lists the following words (prefixes) anteposed to a word one wants to pay respect to: ling 令; kuei 貴, with the same value of today; çhun 尊; kao 高, to ask the age of an elderly person; goei 位, like today, measure word for people we want to show respect to. Other prefixes are quoted as expression of ‘modesty’: pi 敝, çhien 賤, han 寒. This chapter is followed by a section of appellatives to address to the mandarins, which I will not go through.

H. de Prémare, Notitia Linguae Sinicae (1720)

Notitia Linguae Sinicae was compiled by the Jesuit missionary Joseph Henri de Prémare (1666–1736) in 1720 and published in 1831 in Malacca, more than a century after its composition. This work, in Latin and Chinese, was translated into English and published again in 1847.Footnote 17 Prémare’s grammar is believed to have provided the framework for the work compiled by the French orientalist Étienne Fourmont (1683–1745), who, in 1742 in Paris, published another grammar in Latin and Chinese entitled Linguae Sinarum Mandarinicae Hieroglyphicae Grammatica Duplex.

This extensive work is divided into two main parts: one dealing with the spoken language and one with the written language. The first part is rich in vocabulary referring to feelings or emotions but lacks a section devoted to interjections. We have not taken into consideration the examples of the second part, which are mainly translations of passages from the classics. However, in this second part, some interjections appear in a section called Elegantiorum Locutionum Collectio.

References to feelings and emotions:

  • p. 45 “ t’ien tchu ngai gin 天主愛人”(God loves men)Footnote 18

  • p. 62 “ k’i ssee 氣死” (make [someone] mad)

  • pp. 64–66 Entire paragraph dedicated to the word 心 with several examples. Here follows a selection of those referring to feelings and emotions: “p’ing sin lun li 平心論理 tranquillo animo discurrere de aliqua re (discuss something at ease); “ngo yeou y kien ssee nao sin 我有一件事惱心” (there is something perturbing me); “sin tchong na men 心中納悶 est animo tristis” (being perplexed/unsatisfied); “ho siu tche teng sin tsiao 何須這等心焦 cur ita tristis es?” (What’s the point in waiting so anxiously?); “leng tan vou sin 冷淡無心 insensibile” (cold/indifferent).

  • p. 111 (passim) “p’a 怕 timeo” (I fear)

  • p. 114 (passim) “hen 恨” (hate)

  • pp. 121–122 About the repetition of the adjectives: “leng leng lo lo 冷冷落落 frigidam vitam agit” (coldly);“hoen hoen hi hi 歡歡喜喜 laetitia gestens” (happily); ”kong kong king king 恭恭敬敬 cum magna veneratione” (respectfully); “hi hi ha ha 嘻嘻哈哈 hilariter” (mirthfully/gaily).

  • pp. 135–143 Collection of proverbs. A selection of those referring to feelings and emotions follows: “yi nien tchi tch’a tchong chin tchi hoei 一念之差終身之悔 error unius momenti, dolor totius vitae” (the mistake of a moment can be the regret/pain of an entire life); “xiao pou gin louan ta meou 小不忍亂大謀 parva impatientia, evertit magna consilia” (if you are not patient for little things, you might compromise big projects); “lo ki poei seng 樂極悲生 extrema gaudii, luctus occupat” (extreme joy begets sorrow).

  • p. 136 (passim) “hoei 悔” (to repent)

  • p. 248–249 Among the ‘elegant expressions’, a few interjections can be found: “yu 吁 apage” (Whoa!); “ou 於 idem ac ou 嗚 vox exclamantis” (exclamation tone); “唗vel pi 否Footnote 19 vox est indignantis” (tone of who feels indignant); “ya 呀 est admirantis” (tone of who is admiring); “Sunt merae particulae affectus varius indicantes e.g. 於乎 vel 於戲 et vulgo ouhou 嗚呼, eheu! (There are some particles which have the exclusive value of indicating different feelings e.g. 於乎 or 於戲 and commonly ouhou 嗚呼Footnote 20 alas!).

É. Fourmont, Linguae Sinarum Mandarinicae Hieroglyphicae Grammatica Duplex (1742)

Linguae Sinarum Mandarinicae Hieroglyphicae Grammatica Duplex, Latine & cum Characteribus Sinensium was a grammar of Chinese, with exercises, compiled by Étienne Fourmont on the base of other grammars of the Chinese language previously written by China missionaries, especially Prémare’s. It was published in Paris in 1742, three years before Fourmont’s death. The first edition also contained a catalogue of Louis XIV’s Chinese library and a list of 110 works written by missionaries.Footnote 21

Fourmont’s grammar was compiled on the basis of previous missionaries’ grammars, as he himself admits quoting from different authors here and there. The grammatical explanations are relatively short, whereas the examples are written spaciously with big fonts for the Chinese characters. The section on the interjections is particularly rich and contains some expressions that are not found in other grammars. It contains some final particles that are also repeated in the section dedicated to them. Most of these expressions are kept in modern Chinese; some are actually verbs of adjectives.

References to feelings and emotions:

  • p. 15 “ko ngai 可愛 dignus amore vel amabilis” (lovable); “ko gu Footnote 22 可惡 dignus odio” (detestable); “ko hen 可恨 dignus odio”(hatable).

  • p. 88 (passim) ngai 愛 is often used to show verbal conjugation or different verbal structures.

  • p. 106 “ko yuen 可怨 dignus odio haberi” (deprecable)

  • pp. 181–183 Entire paragraph on the interjections. “Interjectiones vulgo sunt, 1. vocantis, 2. sperantis, 3. desperantis, 4. admirantis & laudantis, & cum admirations exclamantis, 5. indignantis, 6. ridentis, 7. prohibentis, 8. querentis, dolentis, gementis, plorantis, flentis, ejulantis: hae propter luctum & funera apud Sinas plurimae […]. Erunt ergo: I. Vocantis & ortantis: 1. ho vel ho latine redditur per heus, ya est simplex vocativi nota o; 2. seu vox vocantis canem; çai quod est etiam admirantis; 4. uo heus, gallice, allons. II. Sperantis & expectantis: hoei . III Desperantis & exclamantis: u o. IV. Admirantis & laudantis: yu o quam, & yu quod tunc legitur u phraseos initio. Admirantis & exclamantis: çai o quam! […]. Vox in Canticis usurpari solita: hi .Footnote 23 Admirantis & commiserentis: hu in fine. Aversantis, admirantis & obstupescentis: ya Footnote 24 & ya , ho & ya . V. Indignantis & irascentis & graviter irati: heu Footnote 25 item vox irascentis ça . VI. Ridentis ti vox ridentis, hi est ridere; y vox ***, item pa Footnote 26 item ulh et ulh particulae contemptus in fine. VII Prohibentis ho Footnote 27 clamor prohibentis. VIII Querentis: çie questus vox. IX Suspirantis: gai heu, chi Footnote 28 & kai idem, hi idem, hiu idem, y idem, çie idem, y Footnote 29 idem, hieu . X Dolentis: çeu heu, sie idem. XI Gementis vox est xin & est species quaedam gemitus, li .” (Interjections commonly express: 1. invocation, 2. hope, 3. despair, 4. admiration and praise, and exclamation with admiration, 5. indignation, 6. happiness, 7. prohibition, 8. begging, pain, cry, complaint: there are many that are typical for mourning and funerals in China […]. So they are: I. Invoking and exhorting: 1. ho or ho in Latin is alas!, ya is the simple voice of the vocative oh!; 2. seu voice to incite a dog; çai is also of admiration; 4. uo alas!, allons! in French. II. Hoping and expecting: hoei . III Despairing and exclaiming: u oh. IV Admiring and praising: yu oh realy! and yu that can also be read as u at the beginning of a sentence. Admiring and exclaiming: çai oh really! […] Voice used in songs: hi . Admiring and commiserating: hu at the end. Opposing, admiring and marveling: ya and ya , ho & ya . V. Expressing indignation, wrath and severe furiousness: heu and also the irate voice ça . VI. Expressing laughter ti laughing voice, hi it is laughing; y voice ***, and also pa and ulh and ulh final particle expressing contentment. VII. Prohibiting ho prohibiting aloud. VIII Asking for something: çie voice for requesting. IX. Sighing: gai heu, chi and kai the same, hi the same, hiu the same, y the same, çie the same, y the same, hieu . X. Expressing pain: çeu alas!, sie the same. XI. Voice for crying is xin and for moaning is li .)

  • p. 229 pa 怕 (to fear)

  • pp. 243–262 As already in Varo, list of words—mainly prefixes—accompanied by several examples to express respect (honorifica): lim 令; kuei 貴, with the same value of today; çun 尊; kao 高, to ask the age of an elderly person; goei 位, like today, measure word for people we want to show respect to. Other words are listed for their frequent usage to address people but without a degree of respect or humility (indifferentia): kia 家, sie 媳, xe 舍, sien 先. Other prefixes are quoted as expressions of ‘modesty’ (contemptiva): siao 小, pi 敝, çien 賤, han 寒. This chapter is followed by a section of appellatives to address to the mandarins, which I will not go through.

R. Morrison, Grammar of the Chinese Language (Morrison 1815)

Grammar of the Chinese Language was compiled by the Protestant missionary Robert Morrison (1782–1834) and published in 1815 in Serampore. Actually, Morrison had finished his grammar in 1812 and had sent the manuscript to the Select Committee in China for the East India Company to the Bengal Government, where it remained unnoticed for three years.Footnote 30 It is an extensive work in English with Chinese characters and their transcription. Morrison was also the author of an impressive dictionary entitled A Dictionary of the Chinese Language: Chinese and English whose first volume appeared in 1819.

References to feelings and emotions:

  • p. 6 (passim) ngai 愛

  • p. 7 (passim) hen 恨

  • p. 13 (passim) pa 怕

  • pp. 257–258 Paragraph entirely dedicated to interjections: “1. Expressive of grief: woo hoo 嗚呼 ‘Alas! Alas!’. In distress they say ke lien ge 可憐我 ‘I’m to be pitied’, leuou poo te ge 了不得我Footnote 31 ‘I’m undone’, woo hoo tung tsai 嗚呼痛哉 ‘Alas, how painful!’, woo heu tsae 嗚吁哉 and heu tseay tsae 吁嗟哉 also denote grief and anxiety. 2. Of surprise: he tsae 何哉 ‘What!’. Ah yah 呀Footnote 32 is extremely common, though the first of the characters is only found in lighter productions. It is an exclamation that escapes them when they admire, wonder, are distressed or pity, as well as in the moment of surprise. 3. Of admiration: Heeu tsae 休哉 ‘How excellent’, ta e tsae 大矣哉 ‘O how great!’, e yu heeu tsae 猗歟休哉 ‘O how admirable!’. E foo 矣夫 at the end of a sentence denote admiration.

Final considerations

Missionary grammars were mainly compiled to satisfy practical daily needs. The missionaries recorded many examples of the language they used with the converts and with the Mandarins, therefore the choice of vocabulary is often restricted to this kind of conversations, especially in the earlier grammars. Although we find a small amount of words to express feelings, a quite large space is dedicated to the most natural way to express emotions: interjections. Only some of them are still used today and a few actually belong to a different grammatical category. It is also noteworthy that, in the earliest works, the missionaries used emotions to explain the pronunciation of the tones. Furthermore, they recorded expressions of respect, modesty, of addressing correctly to people, thus showing and trying to explain the complex but fundamental relations system in China.