Varieties of Chinese
family of local language varieties / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chinese is a branch of the Han-Tibetan language family. It has hundreds of local languages, many of which are not mutually understandable. There is more variation in the mountainous southeast. There are main seven groups: Mandarin, Wu, Min, Xiang, Gan, Hakka and Yue. But more research is being done.
Chinese | |
---|---|
Sinitic | |
Ethnicity: | Han Chinese |
Geographic distribution: | Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and other regions with historic immigration from China |
Linguistic classification: | Sino-Tibetan
|
Subdivisions: |
Jin
Hui
Gan
Xiang
Min
Ping
|
ISO 639-5: | zhx |
Primary branches of Chinese according to the Language Atlas of China |
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 China, one of the four official languages of Singapore, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations.