The Chinese
language is a part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Many
linguists believe that all varieties of Chinese language have been
derived from an original language, known as Proto-Sino-Tibetan. It
is also believed that the Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman languages
descended from this language.
It is estimated
that about twenty percent of the people in the world speak some
variety of Chinese as their language.
The Chinese
language is a rich and varied language. There are varieties of
Chinese language, more commonly known as dialects. All the varieties
of Chinese language are tonal and analytic. Although most people
regard the varieties of Chinese language as a single language, the
variations in these dialects are so vast that one particular dialect
may be incomprehensible to someone who is familiar with another
dialect.
Depending on the
classification scheme, it is estimated that there are around six to
twelve main regional varieties of Chinese dialects. Amongst these
varieties of Chinese dialects, the one that is most spoken is
Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min and Cantonese.
Standard Cantonese
is one of the official languages of Hong Kong (along with English)
and continues to be common with people residing in
Cantonese-speaking overseas communities. Mandarin, on the other hand,
is the official language of Peoples Republic of China. It is also
one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
Among the other
varieties of Chinese dialect, Wu is spoken by people in Shanghai;
Min is spoken by people in Fujian and
Taiwan, along with the Gan, Xiang varieties of the Chinese dialect.
There are few other
varieties of Chinese dialect such as Kejia
which is spoken by the Hakka, and Yue which is more common with
people from Guangzhou.
Some more varieties
of the Chinese language which have not been classified so far
include the Danzhou dialect, spoken in Danzhou, on Hainan Island; Shaozhou
Tuhua, spoken by people from northern Guangdong, and Xianghua, more
common in western Hunan. The Xiang dialect is different from the
Xianghua dialect.
Chinese language is
a tonal language. There is greater stress on the tone. The modern
varieties of Chinese languages can have somewhere between four to
nine tones.
Written Chinese
vs. Spoken Chinese
Chinese is written
using the Han characters. It is believed that Chinese characters
originated in the Shang dynasty. It is interesting to note that the
varieties of Chinese dialects have undergone a number of evolutions
since the late-Han dynasty. Written Chinese, on the other hand, has
seen far less changes than the spoken language.
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