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Feb 12, 2019 · In general, dialects can be roughly classified into one of the seven large groups: Putonghua (Mandarin), Gan, Kejia (Hakka), Min, Wu, Xiang, and Yue ( Cantonese ). Each language group contains a large number of dialects. These are the Chinese languages spoken mostly by the Han people, which represents about 92 percent of the total population.
- Contents
- The 7 Major Chinese Dialect Groups
- How Many Chinese Dialects Are there?
- The History of Language in China
1. Mandarin Chinese
Where it’s spoken:China, Taiwan Number of speakers:∼1.1 billion Mandarin, also known as Putonghua, is the official language of China.It’s spoken throughout the country and is taught and used in all schools. As a result, nearly every Chinese person can speak (or at least understand) Mandarin. Some regions prefer their local dialect, however, in addition to Mandarin. They are sometimes stereotyped as speaking “bad” Mandarin, which of course is not true. Mandarin began to be recognized as the la...
2. Cantonese Chinese
Where it’s spoken:China’s Guangdong province, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau Number of speakers:∼73 million Though not quite second in terms of speakers, Cantonese is the second most widely spread dialect spoken in China. Today, it’s largely spoken by the Tanka people, who are natives of the Pearl River Delta. The Cantonese Chinese dialectoriginated in ancient Guangzhou, also known as Canton City (hence, “Canton”ese!). It began with Middle Chinese and was then influenced by Proto-Tai. Then the l...
3. Wu Chinese
Where it’s spoken:China’s Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Shanghai Number of speakers:∼80 million Used primarily in Shanghai, the Wu Chinese dialect is mostly known as Shanghainese. But while Shanghainese is one of the major Wu varieties, areas such as Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Jinhua, Shaoxing and others have their own varieties. The Wu Chinese dialect originated in the ancient Wu (吴) and Yue (越) kingdoms of China. These kingdoms were located in the modern-day Jiangsu and northern Z...
Linguists debate whether some Chinese dialects should be considered whole languages on their own. But for now, due to political reasons, China classifies them all as dialects, and there is at least some degree of mutual intelligibility between them. According to K&J Translations, China is home to over 302 individual languages and dialects. In fact,...
The Chinese language has a rich and complex history dating back thousands of years. As a member of the Sino-Tibetan language family, modern Chinese emerged from Proto-Sino-Tibetan and then Old and Middle Chinese, which is the original source of all dialects spoken today. The Chinese language is the oldest known written language on earth.The oldest ...
Mar 17, 2023 · Cantonese is perhaps the most well-known dialect aside from Mandarin outside of China due to Chinese diaspora communities and Hong Kong cultural exports. It is spoken in southern China, particularly Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and in Hong Kong and Macau.
In other dialects, including Mandarin dialects, /o/ has merged with /a/, leaving a single mid vowel with a wide range of allophones. Many dialects, particularly in northern and central China, have apical or retroflex vowels, which are syllabic fricatives derived from high vowels following sibilant initials. [105]
- Sino-TibetanChinese
Distribution of Chinese dialect groups within the Greater China Region. This video explains the differences in pronunciation and vocabulary among Mandarin Dialects ( Std. Mandarin, Sichuan Mandarin and NE Mandarin) and Cantonese. The following is a list of Sinitic languages and their dialects.
Chinese languages Or Dialects? Varieties of Chinese language. Most popular languages and dialects of China. 1. Mandarin (官话 / 官話) 2. Wu (吳語 / 吴语) 3. Yue (粤语 / 粤語) 4. Xiang (湘语 / 湘語) 5. Min (闽语 / 閩語) 6. Gan (赣语 / 贛語) 7. Hakka (客家话 / 客家話) 8. Jin (晋语 / 晉語) 9. Huizhou (徽语 / 徽語) 10.
Blog. Chinese “Dialects”: A Smart Learner’s Guide To What The 7 Chinese Varieties Mean For You. by Olly Richards. Are you learning Chinese? Feeling puzzled by the different Chinese dialects? Chinese? Mandarin? Cantonese? Hokkien? Shanghainese? Taiwanese? Hakka? You're probably asking yourself these kinds of questions: