John DeFrancis

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John DeFrancis
Born(1911-08-31)August 31, 1911
Linguist
Institutions
Main interestssinology, lexicography
Chinese name
Hanyu Pinyin
Yuēhàn Défànkè
Gwoyeu RomatzyhIuehann Derfannkeh
Wade–GilesYue-han Te-fan-k'e

John DeFrancis (August 31, 1911 – January 2, 2009) was an American

professor emeritus of Chinese Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
.

Early life

John DeFrancis was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in a family of modest Italian immigrant origins. His father, a laborer who had changed his name from DeFrancesco, died when DeFrancis was a young child. His mother was illiterate.[1]

Professional life

After graduating from

Ma Clique warlords Ma Buqing and Ma Bukang. DeFrancis returned to the United States in 1936 and did not visit China again until 1982.[4][5]

DeFrancis began graduate studies in Chinese, first at Yale under

blacklisted for defending his colleague Owen Lattimore
from unsubstantiated allegations of being a Russian spy, and eventually laid off in 1954.

After an unhappy stint as a vacuum-cleaner salesman, DeFrancis eventually returned to teaching, notably at

Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association
from 1966 to 1978.

Retirement

DeFrancis retired from teaching in 1976, but remained an important figure in Chinese language

magnum opus by colleague Victor H. Mair.[5] DeFrancis spent his final years diligently working as Editor in Chief of the "ABC (Alphabetically Based Computerized) series" of Chinese dictionaries, which feature innovative collation by the pinyin romanization system.[5]

While celebrating Christmas at a Chinese restaurant in Honolulu, DeFrancis choked on a piece of Peking duck.[9] He died on 2 January 2009, in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, at the age of 97.[3][10]

Works

John DeFrancis was the author and editor of numerous publications.[11]

The "DeFrancis series"

Textbooks (Yale Language Series, Yale University Press):

  1. DeFrancis, John; Yung Teng, Chia-yee (1976) [1963], Beginning Chinese, Yale linguistic series (in English and Chinese) (2nd ed.), New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
    ISBN 978-0-300-02054-0
  2. ———; ——— (1976) [1964], Character Text for Beginning Chinese (in English and Chinese) (2nd ed.), New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
    ISBN 978-0-300-02055-7
  3. ———; ——— (1977) [1964], Beginning Chinese reader (2nd ed.), New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
    ISBN 978-0-300-02060-1
  4. ———; ——— (1973) [1964], Intermediate Chinese (2nd ed.), New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
    ISBN 0-300-00064-2
  5. ———; ——— (1973) [1965], Character Text for Intermediate Chinese (2nd ed.), New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
    ISBN 978-0-300-00062-7
  6. ———; ———; Yung, Chih-sheng (1972) [1967], Intermediate Chinese Reader,
    ISBN 0-300-00066-9
  7. ———; ——— (1972) [1966], Advanced Chinese, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
    ISBN 978-0-300-00056-6
  8. ———; ——— (1972) [1966], Character text for advanced Chinese,
    ISBN 978-0-300-00411-3
  9. ———; ———; Yung, Chih-sheng; Seton Hall University (1968), Advanced Chinese reader (in Chinese), New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
    OCLC 567
  10. ———; ——— (1968), Index Volume; Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Texts in Spoken and Written Chinese, Yale University Press,
    ISBN 978-0-300-01311-5
  11. Mao, Zedong; DeFrancis, John (1975), Annotated quotations from Chairman Mao, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
    ISBN 978-0-300-01749-6

Supplementary series

Accompanying Supplementary Readers for the Intermediate Chinese Reader, (Yale University Press, 1976):

  1. Ho, Chih-yu (1976), DeFrancis, John (ed.),
    ISBN 978-0-887-10116-8
  2. ——— (1976), ——— (ed.),
    OCLC 3683318
  3. Wang, Hsin-ling; Cao, Xueqin (1976), ——— (ed.), Episodes From the "Dream of the Red Chamber", Yale University,
    OCLC 228897563
  4. Yung Teng, Chia-yee (1976), ——— (ed.), Sun Yat-sen, Yale University,
    OCLC 729092164
  5. ———; Shih, Nai-an (1976), ——— (ed.), Wu Song Kills a Tiger, Yale University,
    ISBN 978-0-887-10120-5

Books and monographs

Dictionaries

Editor of bilingual Chinese dictionaries (University of Hawai'i Press), which are used as databases for software such as

Wenlin
:

Reviews

References

  1. ^ In the Footsteps of Genghis Khan, page 9
  2. ISBN 978-0-374-95287-7
  3. ^ a b c Wong, Edward (15 January 2009). "John DeFrancis, Chinese Language Scholar, Is Dead at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  4. ^ DeFrancis 1993, pp. 3–4.
  5. ^ a b c d Mair, Victor (26 January 2009). "John DeFrancis, August 31, 1911–January 2, 2009". Retrieved 27 January 2009 – via Language Log.
  6. ^ Mair (2009), pp. 184–5.
  7. ^ Mair (2009), p. 185.
  8. ^ DeFrancis 1984.
  9. ^ "John DeFrancis, August 31, 1911 – January 2, 2009". Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  10. ^ Nora Caplan-Bricker: John DeFrancis, 97, Chinese language scholar, is dead Archived 2009-01-23 at the Wayback Machine. Yale Daily News, January 16, 2009.
  11. ^ Mair 1991, pp. vii–ix.

Works cited

External links

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