The languages are mutually intelligible to a varying degree, depending on how close the languages are to one another. Although it is a common notion among many people that the Chinese language includes only pictorial fonts, the fact is that the majority of the characters use one semantic element and one phonetic element. According to Today Translations, linguists believe there was an even older language, Proto-Sino-Tibetan, that was actually the original Chinese language. Are they similar to each other or vastly different? Its reconstruction was first attempted by linguists during the Qing Dynasty centuries later. Instead, the Chinese language uses Chinese characters, which are called 汉字 hàn zì. However, there’s really no objective difference between a “language” and a “dialect.” There are thousands of dialects spoken all over the world that linguists strongly believe should be considered languages, but in most cases, they’re classified as “dialects” for almost purely political purposes. There are thousands of spoken languages in the world and most can be traced back in history to show how they are related to each other.For example:By finding patterns like these, different languages can be grouped together as members of a language family.There are three main language families: 1. It’s sometimes used as a synonym for Mandarin, despite not quite being the same thing. Where you’ll find many Chinese speakers, speaking a form of Chinese (either Mandarin or a Chinese dialect): Canada, and the US, particularly in California and in New York. The Korean alphabet, on the other hand, is very easy to learn and understand. According to Asian Absolute, these eight dialects can be further divided into sub-dialects. The Chinese language is the oldest written language in the world with at least six thousand years of history. Chinese (simplified Chinese: 汉语; traditional Chinese: 漢語; pinyin: Hànyǔ or also 中文; Zhōngwén, especially for the written language) is a group of language varieties that form the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, spoken by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. Standard Chinese has never been a language that developed entirely organically. Instead it’s very much a planned language that was designedby language experts from inside (and even outside) China. Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world, with 898 million speakers. But should it be simplified or traditional Chinese? Many of the oral dialects are mutually unintelligible—meaning they’re so different from one another that speakers of one can’t understand speakers of another. The most commonly spoken language in China is Mandarin. Ancient colonization is the main reason behind the fact many Chinese speakers live in North America. Today, it’s spoken by about 85 million people. The remaining 30% now often learns both their regional dialects and Mandarin so they can communicate with everyone. Xiang is also known as Hunanese. This makes learning English a serious challenge for Chinese native speakers. For a fun way to discover written Chinese, The earliest traces of Chinese appeared almost 3000 years ago and is considered one of the oldest surviving languages. 粤 Yuè (Cantonese) for example has 9 tones. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates. The main spoken form, used officially in China, is called Mandarin. About 4% of the Chinese speaks at least one Min dialects. I’m about to answer all your questions about China’s languages so that the next time you’re asked whether or not Chinese is a language, you’ll know exactly how to respond. This means in Beijing people typically add an “r” sound to the end of words, such as: However, unlike many of the other dialects, Modern Standard Mandarin and Standard Mandarin are mutually intelligible—meaning speakers of both can understand one another. Because of this, the language can be found in numerous areas, such as Jiangxi, Guizhou, Guangdong and Hong Kong, as well as in many countries in Southeast Asia. Mandarin is China’s official language other countries in Asia. However, since Mandarin is the official language, the others are classified as “dialects.”. This dialect is spoken primarily in Beijing and Northern China and differs greatly from Southern and Central Mandarin because of the accent. But you’ll also hear many other languages in the country. When you type in Chinese, you use a phonetic system, called pinyin, that corresponds to the Mandarin pronunciation. Read on for answers to your burning questions. We already discussed how it’s spoken by nearly 900 million people and that it’s the official language of three countries. So, the simple answer as you now thoroughly understand is—no, Chinese is not a language, but rather a blanket term for over 300 dialects spoken in China today. Let’s take a look at the history of China’s written language and original spoken languages. The Han dynasty has brought a lot to the elaboration of a national language. want to focus this post on two sources that I was sent to “prove” how hard Chinese is Chinese characters have a meaning independently of the sounds you can make to describe them. Chinese speakers usually use a dialect that belongs to one of these 7 groups of languages: Mandarin, Yue (Cantonese), Xiang (Hunanese), Min, Gan, Wu, and Kejia or Hakka. It was the common language of China in the early and middle Zhou Dynasty (11th-7th centuries BC). Brooke Bagley is a freelance writer and a passionate language learner.She’s learned Mandarin Chinese for seven years, Spanish for three and Indonesian for one. If your goal is to be able to communicate with the largest number of Chinese speakers, then, without a doubt, you should learn Mandarin. In English, Mandarin is the term you’ll hear the most to refer to the official Chinese language. Gan is widely used in the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui, Fujian, Hubei and Hunan. It’s considered that in China, there are more than 200 dialects. As the official language of China and the most spoken dialect of Chinese languge, when we say we learn Chinese, we actually mean Mandarin Chinese. All versions of spoken Chinese are part of the same family, which is part of the Sino-Tibetan language group. It’s spoken by about 37 million people, which makes it one of the most endangered dialects of the eight primary ones. Chinese words are short and simple. The Chinese language is the world’s most widely spoken language. FluentU isn’t just about watching videos, though—it’s about learning and actively practicing the language you hear in the videos with interactive subtitles, flashcards and vocabulary lists. Although many of China’s dialects have numerous variants, Min has the most, including Northern Min, Southern Min, Central Min and Shaojiang Min. Chinese to rise as a global language Technology will help overcome barriers Date: May 18, 2020 Source: Flinders University Summary: With the continuing rise of … Let’s take a look at these dialects and visit the different places where you can hear them. More than 70% of the Chinese population speaks Mandarin as their first language. If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Chinese with real-world videos. The main spoken form, used officially in China, is called Mandarin. Chinese intonation is a help and hindrance for those learning it from another language because if Chinese was spoken atonally, it’d be very hard to differentiate between many phrases. Also known as Hunanese, you’ll find the 湘语 xiāngyǔ group of dialects spoken in Hunan and in some parts of the Sichuan province as well. Different Written Chinese Languages . About 1.3 billion people speak the Chinese language in the world. This dialect is the most common one in Southern China and is widely used in Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong. This is similar to how British English, American English and Australian English are all slightly different. In addition to China, Mandarin Chinese is an official language in several other countries in Asia. Chinese is an umbrella language term that encompasses multiple dialects/languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, and more. The vast majority of c… They are therefore closely related. Mandarin is taught in schools throughout the country. Early characters were drawn to resemble objects. Simplified and traditional Chinese characters mean the same, just not the same form。Why are there two different forms? Indeed, people often say that the Chinese write in pictures. Definitions. We owe the Chinese language used nowadays in China to the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). The Chinese written language uses single distinctive symbols, or characters, to represent each word of the vocabulary. regardless of what spoken form of Chinese they speak. China’s Second Largest Spoken Language: Cantonese. About 4% of the population can speak a dialect belonging to the Hakka group. These two dialects even share a few words. When we talk about Standard Chinese, we mean the official language spoken by most of the people in China. The Chinese language is often considered one of the world’s most difficult languages to learn, but this sentiment is a major oversimplification. I spent almost a year studying Mandarin full time in Hong Kong. 汉语 means the “language of the Han tribe”. Unlike most other languages, the Chinese language both has a written form and several spoken forms. But before diving in, take a look at this fun video featuring 25 different Chinese dialects. The capital of Guangdong, Guangzhou, was once named Canton, hence the name Cantonese. Is Chinese a single language? You can find many Asian and Chinese communities in Northern America. Did you know that there are 302 individual languages spoken in China? Interestingly though, all of the languages share the same writing system. About 5% of the Chinese living in China speak a form of Xiang. Once you’re used to the tonal structure of Chinese, it becomes easier to speak very quickly. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe, Sign up for our weekly blog newsletter for a chance to win a free FluentU Plus subscription (value $240), Get regular language learning tips, resources and updates, starting with the "Complete Guide to Foreign Language Immersion" e-book. Unlike in other languages, there is no Chinese alphabet. Although there are over 300 Chinese dialects, every school in China is required to teach Mandarin to students from kindergarten through high school. There are several hundred languages in China. The writing system is one of China’s most valuable inventions. Many people who’ve migrated from China to other countries speak Hakka. As a language learner, placing yourself in an ideal learning environment is key to learning Chinese. Primarily spoken in Western China, the Gan dialect has about 60 million speakers, according to Omniglot. Hands-down, the best way to learn Mandarin Chinese online is Ninchanese. In the West, you can also hear the Chinese language referred to as Standard Chinese, also called Modern Standard Mandarin. Since Chinese is a tonal language, pronunciation can change the meaning of a word. Written Chinese can be understood by all those who can read Chinese characters, Min is the perfect example of dialects that have sub-dialects. This group of Wu dialects includes Shanghainese, which is mainly heard in Shanghai. We also participate in other affiliate advertising programs for products and services we believe in. Brooke Bagley is a freelance writer and a passionate language learner. According to Business Insider, Cantonese has about 60 million speakers. These inscriptions gave hints about the ancient language’s phonetics, such as the discovery that Old Chinese included heavy breathing for differentiating consonants. Afro-Asiatic (Includes Arabic)Indo-European is the la… You may not have heard of the 赣语 Gàn yǔ, Gan dialect. FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons. With this information, you can probably understand why it used to be a pet peeve of mine when someone asked me if I was learning Chinese when I was a student. To Asian Absolute, these eight dialects can be heard primarily in Beijing and Northern China addition to,. In quora, but today the dialect is the world top for number! Read a Chinese newspaper and easy when you type in Chinese, as mentioned!, called pinyin, that makes you want to be able to communicate with almost anyone China... Regional Mandarin variants in Beijing and its surroundings, as well as in Northern America China speak! 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