Associate Professor, Associate Chair
Fields of Interest
Biography
Ph.D. Chinese Language, University of California, Berkeley, 1998
M.A. East Asian Languages, University of California, Berkeley, 1992
A.B. Mathematics, Harvard College, 1988
Current Research Projects:
- Comparative study of the development of Sinographic (Chinese-character based) writing systems in Asia.
- History of the Northern Min dialects of Fujian Province.
Research
Selected Research
- Handel, Zev. Sinography: The Borrowing and Adaptation of the Chinese Script. Brill. April, 2019. Print.
- Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics, 5 volumes, ed. by Rint Sybesma, Wolfgang Behr, Yueguo Gu, Zev Handel, C.-T. James Huang, and James Myers. Leiden: Brill. 2017.
- Zev Handel. Old Chinese Medials and their Sino-Tibetan Origins: A Comparative Study. Monograph series, Linguistics Institute, Academia Sinica, 2010.
- Zev Handel. "Reflections on the historical origin of the Northern Min softened initials." Language and Linguistics 10.1 (2009): 1-16.
- Zev Handel. "Preliminary remarks on the influence of linguistic typology on Asian sinography." SCRIPTA 1.1 (2009).
- Zev Handel. "What is Sino-Tibetan? Snapshot of a field and a language family in flux." Language and Linguistics Compass 2.3 (2008): 4222-441.
- Zev Handel. "Notes on Old Chinese bilabial dissimilation, with reference to yì 邑 ‘city’ and yōng 邕 ‘moat’." Linguistic studies in Chinese and neighboring languages: Festschrift in honor of Professor Pang-Hsin Ting on his 70th birthday, ed. Dah-an Ho et al.. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, 2007. 1013-1033.
- Zev Handel. "The *-i-/*-ji- distinction in the Old Chinese reconstruction system of Li Fang-kuei." Journal of Chinese Linguistics 32.2 (2004): 179-199.
- Zev Handel. "Methodological considerations in the application of Tibeto-Burman comparison to the reconstruction of Old Chinese." Studies on Sino-Tibetan languages: papers in honor of Professor Hwang-cherng Gong on his seventieth birthday, ed. Ying-chin Lin et al. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, 2004. 603-620.
- Zev Handel. "Northern Min tone values and the reconstruction of 'softened initials'." Language and Linguistics 4.1 (2003): 47-84.
- Zev Handel. "Rethinking the medials of Old Chinese: Where are the r's?." Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale 31.1 (2002): 3-32.
- Zev Handel. "Proto-Lolo-Burmese velar clusters and the origin of Lisu palatal sibilants." Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 25.1 (2002): 95-112.
- Zev Handel, Rint Sybesma, James Huang, Wolfgang Behr, Gu Yueguo. Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics.
Courses Taught
Autumn 2019
Winter 2019
Autumn 2018
Spring 2018
Winter 2018
Spring 2017
Autumn 2016
Spring 2016
Autumn 2015
Winter 2014
Autumn 2013
Spring 2013
Resources & Related Links
Related News
Related News
- 8th grade Chinese learners from Mercer International Middle School visit the Chinese Program at UW - June 4, 2019
- Professor Zev Handel publishes new book, Sinography: The Borrowing and Adaptation of the Chinese Script - March 6, 2019
- Watch: Prof. Zev Handel delivers the 71st Societas Koreana Lecture on "The Hidden Influence of Chinese Characters and Words on Korean Vocabulary and Writing" - January 3, 2018
- Zev Handel Presents on Chinese Characters at University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute - August 5, 2017
- Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics - January 17, 2017
- Fourth Workshop on Sino-Tibetan Languages of Southwest China Held at University of Washington - December 30, 2016
- Departmental Faculty Shine Brightly in UW's Interdisciplinary Honors Program - June 7, 2016
- Zev Handel Gives Talk to Accelerator Physicists in South Korea - June 7, 2016
- AL&L hosts unprecedented number of lectures - June 1, 2010
- China summer programs modified to increase cultural contact - June 1, 2010
- Faculty publication explores the pronunciation of ancient Chinese and beyond - June 1, 2010
- Faculty News 2010 - June 1, 2010
- AL&L marks a century of growth in Asian studies - June 1, 2009
- AL&L inaugurates language exchange in Sichuan - June 1, 2009
- Centennial Celebration - October 1, 2008