在語言學上，滿語屬阿爾泰語系下之滿─通古斯語族中的滿語支。在清朝，滿語被賦予國語的地位，亦影響近現代北方漢語甚深，目前仍有少數人使用。至於滿文的創制，則緣起於1599年清太祖努爾哈齊命臣工以蒙古文字拼寫滿語所成的老滿文（或稱無圈點滿文），後於1632年清太宗皇太極命臣工改進，加上圈點以區別不同子音，遂成為後世通行的新滿文（或稱有圈點滿文）。
　　滿文作為清朝的官方語言，留下了許多以滿文寫成的官方文書。另外，許多中文與外文典籍亦有滿文譯本。在民間則存在各種滿文文學作品。本課程將以滿文字母與文法教學，搭配滿文檔案文獻，讓學生對滿語文與滿文檔案文獻有基本瞭解。本課程將選取多種滿文檔案文獻，以便讓學生熟悉不同滿文字體與文書格式。
　Linguistically, Manchu belongs to the Manchu-Tungusic branch of the Altaic language family. During the Qing Dynasty, it held the status of the “National Language” (C. 國語 guoyu) and profoundly influenced modern Northern Mandarin; today, it is still used by a small number of people.
The creation of the Manchu script began in 1599, when Nurhaci (Emperor Taizu of the Qing Dynasty) ordered his officials to adapt the Mongolian script to write the Manchu language, resulting in what is known as Old Manchu (or “script without dots and circles”). Later, in 1632, Hong Taiji (Emperor Taizong) commissioned further improvements, adding dots and circles to distinguish different consonants. This evolved into the widely used New Manchu (or “script with dots and circles”) of subsequent generations.
As the official language of the Qing Dynasty, Manchu left behind a vast corpus of official government documents. Furthermore, many Chinese and foreign classics were translated into Manchu, and a variety of Manchu literary works existed among the populace. This course aims to provide students with a foundational understanding of the Manchu language and its archival documents through the teaching of the Manchu alphabet, grammar, and primary sources. This course will select various Manchu documents to familiarize students with different Manchu calligraphic styles and documentary formats.