From Mandarin to Cantonese Lexicography

Abstract

Abstract The Vocabulary of the Canton Dialect , compiled by Robert Morrison (1782–1834) and published in 1828 in Macao, was the first bilingual dictionary of Cantonese in a Western language. This article traces the genealogy of the Vocabulary by examining Morrison’s sources. It is shown how Morrison availed himself of the resources of Mandarin dictionaries and of the lexicographical work on Cantonese undertaken in the 1820s.