View source for Varieties of Chinese

{{Infobox language family
|name=Chinese
|altname=Sinitic
|region=[[Mainland China]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Macau]], [[Taiwan]], [[Southeast Asia]] and other regions with historic immigration from China
|familycolor=Sino-Tibetan
|listclass=hlist
|ancestor=[[Old Chinese]]
|ethnicity=[[Han Chinese]]
|ancestor2=[[Eastern Han Chinese]]
|child1=[[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]
|child2=[[Jin Chinese|Jin]]
|child3=[[Wu Chinese|Wu]]
|child4=[[Huizhou Chinese|Hui]]
|child5=[[Gan Chinese|Gan]]
|child6=[[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]]
|child7=[[Min Chinese|Min]]
|child8=[[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]]
|child9=[[Yue Chinese|Yue]]
|child10=[[Pinghua|Ping]]
|iso5=zhx
|glotto=sini1245
|glottorefname=Sinitic
|glottofoot=no
|lingua=79-AAA
|map=Map of sinitic languages cropped-en.svg
|mapcaption=Primary branches of Chinese according to the ''[[Language Atlas of China]]''
|module={{Chinese|child=yes|headercolor={{Infobox language/family-color|Sino-Tibetan}}
 |showflag=p
 |t=漢語
 |s=汉语
 |l="Language of the Han"
 |p=Hànyǔ
 |w=Han<sup>4</sup>-yü<sup>3</sup>
 |mi={{IPAc-cmn|h|an|4|.|yu|3}}
 |gr=Hannyeu
 |wuu=Huu nyy
 |j=Hon<sup>3</sup>-jyu<sup>5</sup>
 |y=Hon-yúh
 |tl=Hàn-gí
 }}
}}
'''Chinese''' is a branch of the [[Sino–Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan language family]]. It has hundreds of local [[Language variety|languages]], many of which are not [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually understandable]]. There is more variation in the mountainous southeast. There are seven main groups: [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], [[Wu Chinese|Wu]], Min, Xiang, [[Gan language|Gan]], [[Hakka language|Hakka]] and [[Cantonese language|Yue]].

[[Chinese language|Chinese]] varieties differ most in their [[phonology]] (sounds) but have similar [[vocabulary]] and [[syntax]] (grammar). Southern varieties tend to have fewer initial consonants but more often preserve the [[Middle Chinese]] final consonants. All have tones. Northern varieties have fewer tones. Many have tone sandhi (biandao). [[Zhejiang]] coast and eastern [[Guangdong]] has some of the most complex patterns.

[[Standard Chinese]] is based on the [[Beijing dialect]]. Its vocabulary is based on Mandarin group and grammar based on literature in the modern written vernacular. It is the [[official language]] of [[People's Republic of China|China]], one of the [[Languages of Singapore|four official languages]] of [[Singapore]], and one of the six official languages of the [[United Nations]].

== History ==
In the 2nd millennium BC, a form of Chinese was spoken in around the [[Yellow River|Huanghe]]. It then expanded east across the [[North China Plain]] to [[Shandong]] and then south towards the [[Yangzi river]] valley. It replaced former languages in the south.

During times of unity, people wanted to use a common standard language to make communication easier between people.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=183, 185}}

Evidence for dialectal variation is found in texts from the Spring and Autumn period (722–479 BC).  At that time, the [[Zhou Dynasty|Zhou]] still defined a standard speech.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=183}}  The ''Fangyan'' (1st century CE) studies the differences in vocabulary between regions.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=185}} Texts from the [[Han dynasty|Eastern Han]] period also discuss local differences in pronunciation. The ''Qieyun'' rhyme book (601) noted wide variation in pronunciation between regions. It wanted to define a standard pronunciation for reading the classics.{{sfnp|Ramsey|1987|pp=116–117}} This standard is called [[Middle Chinese]].{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=24–25}}

The [[North China Plain]] was flat and easy to move around. So people in the north pretty much spoke the same language.

But South China had many mountains and rivers. So it had six major groups of Chinese languages, with great internal diversity, particularly in [[Fujian]].{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=183–190}}{{sfnp|Ramsey|1987|p=22}}

=== Modern Standard Chinese ===
Until the mid-20th century, most Chinese people spoke only their local language. But the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties defined a common language based on Mandarin. It was known as ''Guānhuà'' (官話, "speech of officials").  Knowledge of guanhua was essential for a career as a government official.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=136}}

Until the 20th century, [[Classical Chinese]] was the written standard.

The [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] replaced as the written standard by written vernacular Chinese, which was based on northern dialects. In the 1930s a [[Standard Chinese|standard national language]] was adopted, with its pronunciation based on the Beijing dialect, but with vocabulary also drawn from other Mandarin varieties.{{sfnp|Ramsey|1987|pp=3–15}}  It is the official spoken language of the [[People's Republic of China]].

Standard Mandarin Chinese now dominates public life.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=247}} The only other Chinese that may be commonly taught in colleges is Cantonese.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=187}}

== The different Chinese languages ==
{{Pie chart|caption=Proportions of first-language speakers{{sfnp|Chinese Academy of Social Sciences|2012|pp=3, 125}}|label1=[[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]|color1=#ac8761|value1=65.7 <!-- 798.585 million -->|label2=[[Min Chinese|Min]]|color2=#b1bab6|value2=6.2 <!-- 75 million -->|label3=[[Wu Chinese|Wu]]|color3=#c8c8a8|value3=6.1 <!-- 73.79 million -->|label4=[[Yue Chinese|Yue]]|color4=#bf6e7b|value4=5.6 <!-- 68 million -->|label5=[[Jin Chinese|Jin]]|color5=#96642c|value5=5.2 <!-- 63.05 million -->|label6=[[Gan Chinese|Gan]]|color6=#fbd98d|value6=3.9 <!-- 48 million -->|label7=[[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]]|color7=#eeb36a|value7=3.5 <!-- 42.2 million -->|label8=[[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]]|color8=#a5ae87|value8=3.0 <!-- 36.37 million -->|label9=[[Huizhou Chinese|Huizhou]]|color9=#9b987f|value9=0.3 <!-- 3.3 million -->|label10=[[Pinghua]], others|color10=#946565|value10=0.6 <!-- 7.78 million -->}}

; [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] 管
:* Spoken in northern and southwestern China
:* Has the most speakers
:* Includes the Beijing dialect, the basis for [[Standard Chinese]] 
:* Includes the [[Dungan language]] of [[Kyrgyzstan]] and [[Kazakhstan]] (written in [[Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic script]]).
; [[Wu Chinese|Wu]] 吴
:* Spoken in [[Shanghai]], most of [[Zhejiang]] and the southern parts of [[Jiangsu]] and [[Anhui]]. 
:* Hundreds of different spoken forms, many of which are not [[mutually intelligible]].{{sfnp|Yan|2006|p=90}}
:* Uses [[Stop consonant|stops]], [[affricate]]s and [[Fricative consonant|fricatives]]{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=199–200}}
; [[Gan language|Gan]] 赣
:* Spoken around [[Jiangxi]]
:* Closely related to [[Hakka language|Hakka]]; used to be "Hakka–Gan dialects"{{sfnp|Kurpaska|2010|pp=46, 49–50}}{{sfnp|Yan|2006|p=148}}
; Xiang 湘
:* Spoken in [[Hunan]] and southern [[Hubei]]
:* Some varieties significantly influenced by Southwest Mandarin{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=207–209}}
; Min 闽
:* Spoken in [[Fujian]] and eastern [[Guangdong]]
:* Most conservative language and closest to [[Middle Chinese]]
:* Most diverse{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=188}}
:* Varieties from the coast of Fujian around Xiamen have spread to [[Southeast Asia]] (where it is called [[Hokkien]]) and Taiwan (where it is called Taiwanese Hokkien).{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=232–233}}
:* Also spoken in [[Hainan]], Leizhou Peninsula, and throughout southern China.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=233}}
; [[Hakka language|Hakka]] 客家
:* The [[Hakka people|Hakka]] ("guest families") live in the hills of Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, and many other parts of southern China. They have also moved to [[Singapore]], [[Malaysia]] and [[Indonesia]].{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=224}}
:* Words end with -m -n -ŋ and endings -p -t -k.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=217}}
; [[Cantonese language|Yue]]
:* Spoken in [[Guangdong]], [[Guangxi]], [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]]
:* Common among migrants to Southeast Asia and many other parts of the world.
:* The prestige variety and by far most commonly spoken variety is Cantonese from the city of [[Guangzhou]] (historically called "Canton")
:* Cantonese is also the native language of the majority in [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]].{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=215}}
:* Use the same endings as Hakka ({{IPA|/p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/}})
:* Many tones (typically 6 - 9){{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=217}}

=== Relationships between groups ===
The different Chinese varieties are sometimes divided into three groups: Northern (Mandarin), Central (Wu, Gan, and Xiang) and Southern (Hakka, Yue, and Min).

The Southern Group may come from the Yangzi River during the [[Han dynasty]] (206 BC – 220 AD). This is sometimes called the Old Southern Chinese.

The Central group was transitional between the Northern and Southern groups.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=182–183}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}
=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin|35em|indent=yes}}
* {{citation
  | author = Beijing University
  | title = Hànyǔ fāngyīn zìhuì | script-title = zh:汉语方音字汇
  | trans-title = Dictionary of Dialect Pronunciations of Chinese Characters
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  | isbn = 978-7-80029-000-8
  | postscript = .
  }}
* {{citation
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  | postscript = .
  | url = https://archive.org/details/modernchinesehis00chen
  }}
* {{citation
  | author = Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
  | script-title = zh:中国语言地图集(第2版):汉语方言卷
  | title = Zhōngguó yǔyán dìtú jí (dì 2 bǎn): Hànyǔ fāngyán juǎn
  | trans-title = Language Atlas of China (2nd edition): Chinese dialect volume
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  | isbn = 978-7-100-07054-6
  | postscript = .
  }}
* {{citation
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  | location = Honolulu | publisher = [[University of Hawaii Press]] | year = 1984
  | isbn = 978-0-8248-1068-9
  | postscript = .
  | title-link = The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy
  }}
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  | type = PhD thesis | publisher = University of Texas at Austin | year = 2007
  | postscript = .
  | hdl = 2152/3598
  }}
* {{citation
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  | surname = Iwata
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  | year = 2010
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  | postscript = .
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  | given = Maria 
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  | postscript = .
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* {{citation
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  | editor-given3 = Charles D.
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  | given = Sihua
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  | year = 1991
  | pages = 1–31
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* {{citation
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  | given = Victor H.
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  | chapter = The Classification of Sinitic Languages: What Is 'Chinese'?
  | chapter-url = http://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/Files/LL/Docments/Monographs/Breaking%20Down%20the%20Barriers/ISCLB-35-Mair%20130419.pdf
  | pages = 735–754
  | title = Breaking Down the Barriers: Interdisciplinary Studies in Chinese Linguistics and Beyond
  | editor-given1 = Guangshun
  | editor-surname1 = Cao
  | editor-given2 = Redouane
  | editor-surname2 = Djamouri
  | editor-given3 = Hilary
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* {{citation
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* {{citation
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* {{citation
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  | given1 = Chaoju
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* {{citation
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* {{citation
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  }}
{{refend}}

{{Languages of China}}
{{Chinese language}}

[[Category:Pages with unreviewed translations]]
[[Category:Chinese language]]