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There are two elements to the Chinese language: the written language, based on individual symbols called characters, each of which represents an idea or thing; and the spoken language, which includes a number of different dialects. The written language originally had no alphabet, but literate people easily understood it no matter what dialect they spoke. There are 8 main dialects in the Chinese Language. Dialects of a certain language are mutually unintelligible and have certain similarities and differences. They may be referred to as separate languages. French and Spanish for example, are romance languages. These two languages, along with many others, may be considered dialects of the ancient Roman language. |
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Dialect' Where spoken
Cantonese (Yüeh) In the south, mainly Guangdong, southern Guangxi,
Macau, Hong Kong.
Hakka Widespread, especially between Fujian and Guangxi.
Hsiang (Hunan). South central region, in Hunan
Kan Shanxi and south-west Hebei.
Mandarin A wide range of dialects in the northern, central
and western reaions. North Mandarin, as found in
Beijing, is the basis of the modern stanaard
language.
Northern Min (Min North-west Fujian. Pei.)
Southern Min (Min The south-east, mainly in parts of, Nan) Zhejiang Fujian, Hainan Island and Taiwan.
Wu Parts of Anhui, Zhejians. and Jiangsu. |
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