A Grammar of Colloquial Chinese, as Exhibited in the Shanghai Dialect

This work offers a systematic look at the spoken Chinese of Shanghai, aiming to make the dialect accessible to learners and scholars. By concentrating on a single region, the author gathers detailed observations on pronunciation, tone patterns, and the alphabetic transcription that were often overlooked in broader studies. The text introduces a new naming system for tones, describing up to twenty natural variations and showing how Shanghai’s tonal landscape fits within the larger Chinese family.

The grammar moves beyond basic vocabularies to explore how words group together, presenting classifications that echo native linguistic traditions. Sections on nouns, adjectives, pronouns and quantitative particles illustrate practical usage, while comparative tables contrast Shanghai finals with those of Mandarin. Readers will find the clear tables and thoughtful commentary useful for both missionary work and commercial communication in 19th‑century China.