NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Languages of China

China's many different ethnic groups speak many different languages, collectively called Zhōngguó Yǔwén (中国语文), literally "speech and writing of China" which mainly span six linguistic families. Most of them are dissimilar morphologically and phonetically and are mutually unintelligible. Zhongguo Yuwen includes the many different Han Chinese language variants (commonly simply called Chinese) as well as non-Han minority languages such as Mongolian and Tibetan. Download high resolution version (900x1131, 195 KB)Source: Central Intelligence Agency 1990. ... Download high resolution version (900x1131, 195 KB)Source: Central Intelligence Agency 1990. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... The Peoples Republic of China officially describes itself as a multinational unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or Mínzú (民族), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. ... For other uses, see Morphology. ... Phonetic (pho-NET-ic) is a nationwide voicemail-to-text messaging service available for most digital mobile phones in which a subscriber is provided a custom voice mailbox for the purpose of receiving all incoming voice messages as actual transcribed text for reading via short messaging (also known as SMS... Mutually Unintelligible In linguistics, two or more languages or dialects are said to be mutually unintelligible when a knowledge or familiarity of one language does not preclude a knowledge or familiarity of the other(s). ... Languages Chinese languages Religions Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ... The Tibetan language is spoken primarily by the Tibetan people who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, as well as by large number of Tibetan refugees all over the world. ...

Chinese language policy in mainland China is heavily influenced by Soviet nationalities policy and officially encourages the development of standard spoken and written languages for each of the nationalities of China. However, in this schema, Han Chinese are considered a single nationality, and official policy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) treats the different varieties of the Chinese spoken language differently from the different national languages. For example, while official policies in mainland China encourage the development and use of different orthographies for the national languages and their use in educational and academic settings, the same is not true for the different Chinese spoken languages, despite the fact that they are more different from each other than, for example, the Romance languages of Europe. ... Ethnolinguistic map of China The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is a multi-ethnic unitary state and, as such, officially recognizes 56 nationalities or mÃnzÃº (æ°‘æ—), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. ... Languages Chinese languages Religions Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ... Spoken Chinese The Chinese spoken language(s) comprise(s) many regional variants. ... Spoken Chinese The Chinese spoken language(s) comprise(s) many regional variants. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, comprising all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ...

Putonghua or Standard Mandarin is the official national spoken language, although autonomous regions and special administrative regions have additional official languages. For example, Tibetan has official status within the Tibetan Autonomous Region and Mongolian has official status within the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Hong Kong and Macau not only have English and Portuguese as official languages respectively, Cantonese is a de facto official spoken Chinese variant. Standard Mandarin refers to the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. ... Standard Mandarin, also known as Modern Standard Chinese, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. ... An autonomous region or autonomous district is a subnational region with special powers of self-rule. ... Special administrative region may be: Peoples Republic of China Special administrative regions, present-day administrative divisions (as of 2006) set up by the Peoples Republic of China to administer Hong Kong (since 1997) and Macau (since 1999) Republic of China Special administrative regions, also translated as special administrative... The Tibetan language is spoken primarily by the Tibetan people who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, as well as by large number of Tibetan refugees all over the world. ... The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (Tibetan: བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་, Pö Rangyongjong; Chinese: 西藏自治区, Xīzàng Zìzhìqū), is a province-level administrative subdivision of the People... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ Öbür Mongghul-un Öbertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Standard Cantonese is a variant, and is generally considered the prestige dialect of Cantonese Chinese. ...

Unofficially, there are large economic, social and practical incentives to be functional in Putonghua, a standardised form of the Mandarin group of dialects spoken in northern and southwestern China, which serves as a lingua franca among the different groups within mainland China. In addition, it is also considered increasingly prestigious and useful to have some ability in English, which is a required subject for persons attending university. During the 1950s and 1960s, Russian had some social status among elites in mainland China as the international language of socialism. Standard Mandarin refers to the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. ... This article is on all of the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ...

The Economist, issue April 12th 2006 reported that up to one fifth of the population is learning English. Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, estimated that the total English-speaking population in China will outnumber the native speakers in the rest of the world in two decades. [1] The Economist is a weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London, UK. It has been in continuous publication since September 1843. ... For others with the same or similar names, see Gordon Brown (disambiguation). ...

Languages in history

Most of the languages of China have historically influenced each other. During most dynasties, it was the Chinese languages that sinicized the other ethnic groups. (See Ethnic groups in Chinese history.) But during the Mongol Dynasty, it was the Mongolian language that dominated. And during the last dynasty, the Qing, the Manchu language also had a strong influence. Over their two centuries of rule, the members of the Manchu dynasty gradually lost their fluency in Manchu, although until the end of the Qing dynasty all laws were promulgated in both Manchu and Classical Chinese. As a result of these mutual influences, there is a certain amount of common vocabulary. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Government of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article is about Communications in mainland China. ... Since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, the goal of health programs has been to provide care to every member of the population and to make maximum use of limited health-care personnel, equipment, and financial resources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Continuing to occupy more than half of Chinas population, Rural life in the Peoples Republic of China has a varied range in terms of standard of living and living style. ... Sexuality in China has undergone revolutionary changes and this sexual revolution still continues today. ... Social issues in the Peoples Republic of China in the 21st century are varied. ... China is the worlds oldest continuous major civilization, with written records dating back about 3,500 years and with 5,000 years being commonly used by Chinese as the age of their civilization. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Sinicization, or less commonly Sinification, is to make things Chinese. ... Any non clear-cut connection is denoted by a question mark (?) beside the equivalences. ... The Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian: Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus; Chinese: 元朝) (1271-1368), also called the Mongol Dynasty, was a significant ruling family in Asia. ... Mongolian is the best-known member of the Mongolic language family, and the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia. ... Flag (1890-1912) Anthem Gong Jinou (1911) Territory of Qing China in 1892 Capital Shengjing (1636-1644) Beijing (1644-1912) Language(s) Chinese Manchu Mongolian Government Monarchy Emperor - 1636-1643 Huang Taiji - 1908-1912 Xuantong Emperor Prime Minister - 1911 Yikuang - 1911-1912 Yuan Shikai History - Establishment of the Late... The Manchu language is a Tungusic language spoken by Manchus in Manchuria; it is the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin Chinese and there are fewer than 70 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus. ... Flag (1890-1912) Anthem Gong Jinou (1911) Territory of Qing China in 1892 Capital Shengjing (1636-1644) Beijing (1644-1912) Language(s) Chinese Manchu Mongolian Government Monarchy Emperor - 1636-1643 Huang Taiji - 1908-1912 Xuantong Emperor Prime Minister - 1911 Yikuang - 1911-1912 Yuan Shikai History - Establishment of the Late... Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of very old forms of Chinese , making it very different from any modern spoken form of Chinese. ...

Not all ethnic groups in mainland China have developed a separate language. For example, the Hui Chinese speak Mandarin Chinese, like the majority of Han Chinese. The Hui (回) ethnic group is unrelated to the Hui (徽) dialects. ... This article is on all of the Northern Chinese dialects. ... Languages Chinese languages Religions Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ...

In the 1600's, there was a boundary clash between the Chinese and Russians but neither side could speak a common language. Latin was chosen for the negotiations and translated into Chinese by Jesuit missionaries. For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ... Two Mormon missionaries A missionary is traditionally defined as a propagator of religion who works to convert those outside that community; someone who proselytizes. ...

Spoken

The spoken languages of nationalities that are a part of the People's Republic of China belong to at least seven families:

The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ... A Tibetan pilgrim The Tibetans speak the Tibetan language natively and form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), although in anthropological terms they include more than one ethnic group. ... |familycolor=Hmong-Mien |states=Sichuan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and USA. |speakers=over 4 million[1] |fam1=Hmong-Mien |iso2=hmn| |lc1=hmn|ld1=Hmong (generic)|ll1=none |lc2=mww|ld2=Hmong Daw (Laos, China)|ll2=none |lc3=hmv|ld3=Hmong Do (Vietnam)|ll3=none |lc4=hmf|ld4=Hmong Don (Vietnam... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Altaic is a proposed language family that includes 66 languages [1] spoken by about 348 million people, mostly in and around Central Asia and northeast Asia. ... For the language spoken by this ethnic group, see Uyghur language. ... The name Mongols (Mongolian: Mongol) specifies one or several ethnic groups. ... The Manchu people (Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: , Mongolian: ÐœÐ°Ð½Ð¶) are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (todays Northeastern China). ... The Austroasiatic languages are a large language family of Southeast Asia and India. ... The Deang (å¾·æ˜‚æ— : DÃ©Ã¡ng ZÃº) (also spelled Deang) people are an ethnic group. ... The Blang (å¸ƒæœ—æ— : BÃ¹lÇŽng ZÃº) (also spelled Bulong) people are an ethnic group. ... Gin, or Jing Nationality (äº¬æ—; Pinyin: JÄ«ngzÃº) is the name given to ethnic Vietnamese living in China. ... Wa redirects here, for alternate uses, see Wa (disambiguation). ... The Tai-Kadai languages are a language family found in Southeast Asia and southern China. ... The Zhuang (Simplified Chinese: å£®æ—; Traditional Chinese: å£¯æ—; Hanyu Pinyin: ; own name: BouÑ‡cueÅ‹ÑŒ/Bouxcuengh) are an ethnic group of people who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. ... Buyei minority Shitou village, west Guizhou The Buyei (also spelled Puyi, Bouyei and Buyi; self called: Buxqyaix, IPA: [], or Puzhong, Burao, Puman; Chinese: å¸ƒä¾æ—; Pinyin: BÃ¹yÄ«zÃº) are an ethnic group living in southern China. ... The Dai (or the Thai peoples of China) is the officially recognized name of an ethnic group living in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture (both in southern Yunnan Province of China), and also in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar. ... Dong Minority Bridge, Chenyang, Guangxi, China. ... Li (é»Ž; pinyin LÃ) or Hlai is a minority Chinese ethnic group. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... Tajiks in China (Chinese: å¡”å‰å…‹æ—, Pinyin: ) are one of the 56 nationalities officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. ... A Rukai villege Chief visiting Department of Anthropology in Tokyo Imperial University during the Japanese rule. ... The Utsuls are a tiny ethnic group which lives on the Chinese island of Hainan. ... Tsat (also known as Utsat, Utset, Huihui, Hui, or Hainan Cham) is a language spoken on Hainan Island in China. ... Look up Hui in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Written

The following languages have traditionally had written forms that do not involve Chinese characters (han zi): Various styles of Chinese calligraphy. ... Japanese name Kanji: Hiragana: Korean name Hangul: Hanja: Vietnamese name Quoc Ngu: Han Tu: A Chinese character or Han character (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a logogram used in writing Chinese, Japanese, sometimes Korean, and formerly Vietnamese. ...

Chinese banknotes contain several scripts in addition to Chinese script. These are: Mongolian is the best-known member of the Mongolic language family, and the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia. ... The Mongolian language historically has four writing systems that have been used over the centuries. ... The Manchu (manju in Manchu; 滿族 (pinyin: mǎnzú) in Chinese, often shortened to 滿 (pinyin: mǎn) are an ethnic group who originated in northeastern Manchuria. ... The Manchu language is a Tungusic language spoken by Manchus in Manchuria; it is the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin Chinese and there are fewer than 70 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus. ... Manchu and Chinese writing in the Forbidden City The word â€œManjuâ€ (Manchu) written in Manchu script. ... A Tibetan pilgrim The Tibetans speak the Tibetan language natively and form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), although in anthropological terms they include more than one ethnic group. ... The Tibetan language is spoken primarily by the Tibetan people who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, as well as by large number of Tibetan refugees all over the world. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For the language spoken by this ethnic group, see Uyghur language. ... Uyghur (â€Ž/Uyghurche//, or â€Ž/Uyghur tili//)[1] is a Turkic language spoken by the Uyghur people in Xinjiang (also called East Turkestan or Uyghurstan), formerly also â€œSinkiangâ€ and â€œChinese Turkestan,â€ a Central Asian region administered by China. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing languages such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and others. ... Languages Kazakh (and/or languages in country of residence) Religions Sunni Islam The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazaks, Qazaqs; Kazakh: ÒšÐ°Ð·Ð°Ò›Ñ‚Ð°Ñ€ []; Russian: ÐšÐ°Ð·Ð°Ñ…Ð¸; the English name is transliterated from Russian) are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia (largely Kazakhstan, but also found in parts of Uzbekistan, China, Russia, and... Kazakh (also Qazaq and variants[2], natively , , â€Ž) is a Western Turkic language closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing languages such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and others. ... Languages Kyrgyz Religions Sunni Islam Related ethnic groups other Turkic peoples Kyrgyz (also spelled Kirghiz) are a Turkic ethnic group found primarily in Kyrgyzstan. ... Kyrgyz or Kirghiz (ÐšÑ‹Ñ€Ð³Ñ‹Ð· Ñ‚Ð¸Ð»Ð¸) is a Northwestern Turkic language, and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing languages such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and others. ... This article is mainly about the spoken Korean language. ... Jamo redirects here. ... The Xibe ( Sibe; Chinese, éŒ«ä¼¯ XÄ«bÃ³) are an ethnic group living mostly in northeast China and Xinjiang. ... The Xibe language (also Sibo language, Xibo language) is a language of the Tungusic family spoken by members of the Xibe ethnic group in Xinjiang. ... Manchu and Chinese writing in the Forbidden City The word â€œManjuâ€ (Manchu) written in Manchu script. ... Dai or DAI can mean: DAI, the IATA airport code of Darjeeling airport in India Dai people, one of the 56 recognized ethnic minorities of China Dai (midwife), a traditional midwife in India, belonging to a lower caste Da`i (Ø¯Ø§Ø¹ÙŠ or Ø¯Ø§Ø¹) in Arabic is a missionary or caller to Islam... The Yi people (own name in the Liangshan dialect: ê†ˆêŒ , official transcription: Nuosu, IPA: ; Chinese: ; pinyin: ; the older name Lolo is now considered derogatory in China, though used officially in Vietnam as LÃ´ LÃ´ and in Thailand as Lolo) are a modern ethnic group in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. ... Yi (also Moso, Lolo, Noso, ) is a family of closely related Tibeto-Burman languages spoken by the Yi people. ... The Yi scripts, also known as Cuan or Wei, are used to write the Yi languages. ... Categories: Ethnic groups of China ... The Dongba are the shamans or priests of the Naxi people of southwestern China. ...

Ten nationalities who never had a written system have, under the PRC's encouragement, developed phonetic alphabets. According to a government white paper published in early 2005, "by the end of 2003, 22 ethnic minorities in China used 28 written languages." This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Uyghur (â€Ž/Uyghurche//, or â€Ž/Uyghur tili//)[1] is a Turkic language spoken by the Uyghur people in Xinjiang (also called East Turkestan or Uyghurstan), formerly also â€œSinkiangâ€ and â€œChinese Turkestan,â€ a Central Asian region administered by China. ... The Mongolian language historically has four writing systems that have been used over the centuries. ... PRC is a common abbreviation for: Peoples Republic of China Palestinian Red Crescent Popular Resistance Committees This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A phonetic alphabet is any of three things: A type of phonetic notation used for transcribing the sounds of human speech into writing. ...

Political controversies

Language policy within China is the subject of a number of political controversies mostly having to do with the political status of minority nationalities in China. Some critics of the Beijing government, such as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile argue that China's official multilingualism is a sham and that social pressures and political efforts result in a policy of sinicization and often term PRC policies cultural genocide. Supporters of Chinese policies argue that both in theory and in practice that Chinese policies are rather supportive of multilingualism and the development of minority languages, and that China has a far better track record in these issues than some other countries, namely the United States. Official language Tibetan Headquarters Dharamsala Head of State (Dalai Lama) Tenzin Gyatso The Government of Tibet in Exile (or Tibet in Exile for short) is a government-like entity that describes itself as the rightful and legitimate government of Tibet. ... Sinicization, Sinicisation or Sinification, is the linguistic assimilation or cultural assimilation of terms and concepts into the language and culture of China. ... Cultural genocide is a term used to describe the deliberate destruction of the cultural heritage of a people or nation for political or military reasons. ...

Contents

Languages in history

Spoken

Written

Political controversies

Further reading

See also

External links

Contents

Languages in history GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Spoken

Written

Political controversies

Further reading

See also

External links

Languages in history