摘要
林語堂身處中國現代史上「五四」時期，這是一個新舊文化轉換的時期，他為中國文學現代化的貢獻，即為中國白話文的審美追求及拓展。語堂對閒適文學語言的提倡，並非其所獨創的，這是一個貫穿中國古典與現代文學之情境，也是原本即存有的優雅、趣味、閒賞、美感等意味的文學語文情境。閒適語文的美感，存在個別中國文人創作中，也在世界各國文學文化模式中顯現。林語堂運用浪漫自由及美的精神，突破了五四時期教導式與自語式的書寫法，引領出一深具中國文學文化趣味的語言風潮，只管自由地書寫人情人性中共通之趣味與美的語言。學貫中西的語堂，為中國語文開一窗口，創造出清新的閒談句式，翻新中文舊傳統書寫法，也打破中西語文句式界限，語堂提倡新式閒談語式，也實際運用在創作上。他將新式中文四種特殊句式──把字式、被字式、兼語式及連動式，簡鍊生動地書寫出來，不為傳統寫法所局限，處處可見嶄新獨特之語言美感，呈現了繼往開來的新的中文語言美之價值。
並列摘要
Highly active during China's reform-minded May 4th Movement in 1919, a time when the old meets the new, Lin Yutang is a contemporary author whose contributions to the modernization of Chinese literature include an aesthetic pursuit and exploration of vernacular Chinese language. The "leisure literature" Lin advocated is actually not an original paradigm, but a time-honored heritage that connects the country's classic and modern literatures with a long-existing linguistic context characterized by elegance, humor, amusement and aesthetics. The aesthetics of "leisure language" are not only evident in the works of individual Chinese writers from all eras, but also reflected in writing styles worldwide. Seeking romanticism, freedom and beauty, Lin broke with the traditionally preaching-and monologue-oriented writing styles prevailing during the May 4th Movement to start a linguistic trend that is typically Chinese and teeming with culture-infused fun, with the sole concern being freely catering to the sense of humor and aesthetics shared by all humanities. The Bilingual and bicultural Lin discovered yet another possibility of the Chinese language when he created a refreshing syntax inspired by casual chats, which changed the way Chinese writings are composed while blurring the lines between Chinese and Western sentence patterns. Such a revolutionary, chitchat-inspired syntax was also applied to his writings, which combine the four construction types of "new Chinese language" (i.e., the "Ba", "Bei", Verb Complement and Serial Verb Constructions) into a simple yet lively style unconfined to any conventional rules. That explains why his works are full of unique innovations and successfully underscore the brand-new aesthetics of Chinese language, while preserving the heritage.