Geographic distribution of Sinitic language families within the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China

The following is a list of Chinese dialects and languages. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (449x942, 48 KB) ShareAlike by en:user:Nishishei, from en:Image:Sinitic Languages0. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (449x942, 48 KB) ShareAlike by en:user:Nishishei, from en:Image:Sinitic Languages0. ... 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. ... Today the country officially known as the Republic of China (ROC) is commonly known by the international community as Taiwan and occasionally as Chinese Taipei. It should not be confused with the other country officially known as the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), which is commonly known as China. ... Spoken Chinese The Chinese spoken language(s) comprise(s) many regional variants. ...

Classification

Linguists classify these languages as the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Within this broad classification, linguistics identify between seven and fourteen subgroups. The Great Wall of China, stretching over 6700 km, was first erected in the 3rd century B.C. to protect the north from nomadic invaders and has been rebuilt several times since. ... Sino-Tibetan languages in red. ...

Tradition classification

Traditional Chinese classification lists seven groups, including:

(shown here with the romanized Standard Mandarin names of the categories, ordered alphabetically). Hokkien is a Min nan word corresponding to Standard Mandarin Fujian. It can refer to: Min Nan, a Chinese language/dialect, also called Minnan, Min Nan or Minnanyu (meaning Southern Fujian). ... Taiwanese (pe̍h-oē-jī: Tâi-oân-oē or Tâi-gí; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Táiyǔ, Táiwānhuà) is a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken by about 70% of Taiwans population. ... In linguistics, romanization (or Latinization, also spelled romanisation or Latinisation) is the representation of a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Singapore. ...

Modern linguistic classification

James Matisoff's widely accepted classification includes: James A. Matisoff (born July 14, 1937) is a professor emeritus of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley and noted authority on Tibeto-Burman languages and other languages of mainland Southeast Asia. ...

Matisoff's list uses the common English names of the groups, ordered by decreasing number of speakers of languages within the group. Mandarin, or Beifanghua (Chinese: 北方話; Pinyin: BÄ›ifānghuà; literally Northern Dialect(s)), or Guanhua (Traditional Chinese: 官話; Simplified Chinese: 官话; Pinyin: Guānhuà; literally official speech) is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Singapore. ... Jin may refer to: In Chinese history: Jin (廑), a ruler of the Xia dynasty (2033 BC–1562 BC) Jin (state) (746 BC-403 BC) (晉), a state in northern China during the Spring and Autumn Period Jin Dynasty, used to refer to a number of Chinese dynastic kingdoms: Jìn Dynasty... Shanghainese (上海言话 [] in Shanghainese), sometimes referred to as the Shanghai dialect, is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai. ... The Hui (徽) dialects are unrelated to the Hui (回) ethnic group of China. ... Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Pinghua (平話/平话), also Guangxi Nanning, is a subdivision of spoken Chinese. ... Min (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; POJ: Bân hong-giân; BUC: Mìng huŏng-ngiòng) is a general term for a group of dialects of the Chinese language spoken in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as well as by migrants from this province in Guangdong (around Chaozhou-Swatou... Taiwanese (pe̍h-oÄ“-jÄ«: Tâi-oân-oÄ“ or Tâi-gí; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: TáiyÇ”, Táiwānhuà) is a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken by about 70% of Taiwans population. ... Xiang (湘語/湘语), also Hunan, Hunanese, or Hsiang, is a subdivision of spoken Chinese. ... Hakka (Simplified Chinese: 客家话, Traditional Chinese: 客家話, Hakka: Hak-ka-fa/-va, pinyin: Kèjiāhuà) is a Chinese dialect/language spoken predominantly in southern China by the Hakka ethnic group and descendants in diaspora throughout East and Southeast Asia and around the world. ... Gan (赣语) is one of the major divisions of spoken Chinese, concentrated in and typical of Jiangxi Province. ... James A. Matisoff (born July 14, 1937) is a professor emeritus of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley and noted authority on Tibeto-Burman languages and other languages of mainland Southeast Asia. ...

Ethnologue

The Ethnologue lists 14 language groups,^[1] including: Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian linguistic service organization which studies lesser-known languages primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language. ...

See also Campbell's article on classifying Chinese dialects^[2] and ChinaDC's chart of Sino-Tibetan languages.^[3] The Hui (徽) dialects are unrelated to the Hui (回) ethnic group of China. ... Jin may refer to: In Chinese history: Jin (廑), a ruler of the Xia dynasty (2033 BC–1562 BC) Jin (state) (746 BC-403 BC) (晉), a state in northern China during the Spring and Autumn Period Jin Dynasty, used to refer to a number of Chinese dynastic kingdoms: Jìn Dynasty... Mandarin, or Beifanghua (Chinese: 北方話; Pinyin: BÄ›ifānghuà; literally Northern Dialect(s)), or Guanhua (Traditional Chinese: 官話; Simplified Chinese: 官话; Pinyin: Guānhuà; literally official speech) is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. ... Min (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; POJ: Bân hong-giân; BUC: Mìng huŏng-ngiòng) is a general term for a group of dialects of the Chinese language spoken in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as well as by migrants from this province in Guangdong (around Chaozhou-Swatou... Min Bei is a subcategory of Min, which is a Chinese language. ... Min (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; POJ: Bân hong-giân; BUC: Mìng huŏng-ngiòng) is a general term for a group of dialects of the Chinese language spoken in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as well as by migrants from this province in Guangdong (around Chaozhou-Swatou... Min Dong Language (or Eastern Min Language, Chinese: 閩東語, SLC: Mỉng Tòyng ngỹ) is the language mainly spoken in the eastern part of Fujian Province (Chinese: 福建, SLC: Huk Kyŏng). ... Min (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; POJ: Bân hong-giân; BUC: Mìng huŏng-ngiòng) is a general term for a group of dialects of the Chinese language spoken in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as well as by migrants from this province in Guangdong (around Chaozhou-Swatou... Mǐn N n (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name B ; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ... Min (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; POJ: Bân hong-giân; BUC: Mìng huŏng-ngiòng) is a general term for a group of dialects of the Chinese language spoken in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as well as by migrants from this province in Guangdong (around Chaozhou-Swatou... Min Zhong (Simplified Chinese: 闽中; Traditional Chinese: 閩中; pinyin: Mǐnzhōng) is a subcategory of Min, which is a Chinese language. ... Min (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; POJ: Bân hong-giân; BUC: Mìng huŏng-ngiòng) is a general term for a group of dialects of the Chinese language spoken in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as well as by migrants from this province in Guangdong (around Chaozhou-Swatou... Mandarin, or Beifanghua (Chinese: 北方話; Pinyin: BÄ›ifānghuà; literally Northern Dialect(s)), or Guanhua (Traditional Chinese: 官話; Simplified Chinese: 官话; Pinyin: Guānhuà; literally official speech) is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. ... Dungan (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Russian: ) is a term used in territories of the former Soviet Union to refer to a Muslim people of Chinese origin. ...

As the above categories illustrate, there are three common approaches to naming categories and languages in English:

• A Romanization of the name in Standard Mandarin (e.g. "Gan" or "Xiang")
• The common English name, where there is one (e.g. "Cantonese" or "Mandarin")
• A Romanization of the name in the principal language of the group (e.g. "Hakka" or "Hokkien")

The classification used here is a combination of the classifications given above. In linguistics, romanization (or Latinization, also spelled romanisation or Latinisation) is the representation of a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Singapore. ... In linguistics, romanization (or Latinization, also spelled romanisation or Latinisation) is the representation of a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system. ...

Dialects and languages

In addition to the languages and dialects given below, it is customary to speak informally of languages and dialects belonging to each province, e.g. Sichuan dialect, Henan dialect. These designations do not always correspond to classifications used by linguists, but each nevertheless has approximate characteristics of its own. Sichuan dialect sometimes means a dialect belonging to the Southeast Mandarin group, spoken in Sichuan China, and sometimes it means all dialects spoken in Sichuan. ...

The question of whether these should be called dialects or languages in their own right is particularly interesting in Chinese. On the one hand, the designation seems to be as much socio-political as linguistic, reflecting Max Weinreich's comment that "a language is a dialect with an army and a navy." Purely from a linguistic point of view, many of these idioms seem to meet the criteria of a language. On the other hand, to a large degree the various Chinese idioms share a common written language and literature, lending weight to calling them "dialects". Because the written language is grammatically closest to Standard Mandarin, many Chinese speakers view Standard Mandarin as "the Chinese language", and everything else as dialects. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... Max Weinreich (1893/94 Goldingen(Kuldiga), Courland (Latvia) - 1969 New York) was a Yiddish linguist. ... A written language is a language that uses a writing system to convey meaning, or more generally the written form of any language that has such written components. ... Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Singapore. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Singapore. ...

Gan

(赣语/贛語) Gan (赣语) is one of the major divisions of spoken Chinese, concentrated in and typical of Jiangxi Province. ...

• Dongkou dialect 洞口方言
• Funing dialect
• Fuzhou (Jiangxi) dialect 撫州話
• Ji'an (Jiangxi) dialect 吉安話
• Nanchang dialect 南昌話
• Xianning dialect
• Yichun dialect 宜春話
• Yingtan dialect 鷹潭話

Nanchang dialect (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a dialect of the Gan language family, which in turn constitutes one of the Sinitic language families. ...

Guan (Mandarin/Beifang)

(官话/官話 / 北方话/北方話) Mandarin, or Beifanghua (Chinese: 北方話; Pinyin: BÄ›ifānghuà; literally Northern Dialect(s)), or Guanhua (Traditional Chinese: 官話; Simplified Chinese: 官话; Pinyin: Guānhuà; literally official speech) is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. ...

Beijing Mandarin 北京官話

• Beijing dialect 北京话/北京話
• Standard Mandarin, also known as Putonghua (which is also the official name in English) 普通话 in the People's Republic of China, Guoyu (also spelt Kuo-yü) 國語 in the Republic of China, Huayu 华语 in Singapore.
  The official sanction of Standard Mandarin as an official language has also given rise to the following varieties of Standard Mandarin in areas that did not originally speak any dialect of the Mandarin group:
  • Cantonese Mandarin
  • Singaporean Mandarin
  • Taiwanese Mandarin
• Chengde dialect 承德話
• Chifeng dialect
• Hailar dialect
• Karamay dialect

Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Singapore. ... Today the country officially known as the Republic of China (ROC) is commonly known by the international community as Taiwan and occasionally as Chinese Taipei. It should not be confused with the other country officially known as the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), which is commonly known as China. ... Taiwanese Mandarin (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Táiwān Guóyŭ; also 台灣華語, Táiwān Huáyŭ) is the dialect of Mandarin Chinese spoken on Taiwan. ...

Ji Lu Mandarin 冀魯官話

• Baoding dialect 保定話
• Jinan dialect 濟南話
• Shijiazhuang dialect 石家莊話
• Tianjin dialect 天津話

Ji Lu Mandarin (Simplified Chinese: 冀鲁官话; Traditional Chinese: 冀魯官話; pinyin: jìlǔguānhuà) is a Mandarin dialect spoken in the Chinese provinces of Hebei and Shandong. ... Jinan dialect (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a dialect of the Mandarin language family, which in turn constitutes one of the Sinitic language families. ... Tianjin dialect (天津话, pinyin: Tiānjīnhuà) is the dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Tianjin, China. ...

Jianghuai Mandarin 江准官話

• Hefei dialect 合肥話
• Hainan Junjiahua 軍家話
• Nanjing dialect 南京話
• Nantong dialect 南通話
• Xiaogan dialect
• Yangzhou dialect 揚州話

Jiao Liao Mandarin 膠遼官話

• Dalian dialect 大连话/大連話
• Qingdao dialect 青岛话/青島話
• Weihai dialect 威海話
• Yantai dialect 烟台话/煙台話

Dalian dialect is the dialect spoken on the Liaodong Peninsula, including the City of Dalian and part of Dandong and Yingkou. ... Qingdao dialect is the local dialect of the city of Qingdao, in Chinas Shandong Province. ... Weihai dialect is a variant of Mandarin spoken in and around the city of Weihai, in eastern Shandong province. ...

Lan Yin Mandarin 蘭銀官話

• Dungan language 東干語
• Lanzhou dialect 蘭州話
• Urumqi dialect of Chinese
• Xining dialect 西宁话/西寧話
• Yinchuan dialect 银川话/銀川話

The Dungan language (autonym: Хуэйзў йүян [Huėyzŭ yüyan]; 东干语 [東干語] in Chinese) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the 50,000 Dungan or (Hui) of Central Asia. ...

Northeast China Mandarin 东北官话/東北官話

• Changchun dialect 长春话/長春話
• Harbin dialect 哈尔浜话/哈爾濱話
• Qiqihar dialect 斉斉哈尔话/齊齊哈爾話
• Shenyang dialect 沈阳话/瀋陽話

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Harbin dialect (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) refers to the variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken in and around the city of Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province. ... Shenyang Dialect (瀋陽話) is the language used by people in Shenyang, the biggest city of Manchuria. ...

Shandong Mandarin 山東話

Used informally to refer to either Ji Lu Mandarin, spoken in northwest Shandong or Zhongyuan Mandarin, spoken in the southwest.^[4] Ji Lu Mandarin (Simplified Chinese: 冀鲁官话; Traditional Chinese: 冀魯官話; pinyin: jìlÇ”guānhuà) is a Mandarin dialect spoken in the Chinese provinces of Hebei and Shandong. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ...

Southwestern Mandarin 西南官话/西南官話

• Changde dialect
• Chengdu dialect 成都话/成都話
• Chongqing dialect 重慶話
• Dali dialect 大理話
• Guiyang dialect 貴陽話
• Kunming dialect 昆明話
• Liuzhou dialect 柳州話
• Wuhan dialect 武漢話
• Xichang dialect 西昌話
• Yichang dialect 宜昌話

Also known as Huguang (湖广), it is the varient of Mandarin Chinese widely spoken south of the Yangtze River, and east of the Tibetan Plateau. ... The Kunming dialect of standard Chinese (Mandarin), known as Kunminghua (昆明话), is spoken by the inhabitants of Kunming city and the surrounding areas of Yunnan province in the southwest of China. ...

Zhongyuan Mandarin 中原官話

• Hanzhong dialect 漢中話
• Kaifeng dialect 開封話
• Kashgar dialect of Chinese 喀什話
• Luoyang dialect 洛陽話
• Nanyang dialect
• Qufu dialect 曲埠話
• Tianshui dialect 天水話
• Xi'an dialect 西安話
• Xuzhou dialect 徐州話
• Yan'an dialect 延安話
• Zhengzhou dialect 郑州话/鄭州話

The Luoyang Dialect is a dialect of Zhongyuan Mandarin spoken in Luoyang and nearby parts of Henan province. ...

Hui

(徽语/徽語) The Hui (徽) dialects are unrelated to the Hui (回) ethnic group of China. ...

Hui is sometimes considered a subcategory of Gan. Gan (赣语) is one of the major divisions of spoken Chinese, concentrated in and typical of Jiangxi Province. ...

• Jixi (Anhui) dialect
• Shexian (Anhui) dialect 歙縣話
• Tunxi dialect 屯溪話
• Yixian (Anhui) dialect

Jin

(晋语/晉語) Jin (simplified: 晋语; traditional: 晉語; pinyin: jìnyǔ), or Jin-yu, is a subdivision of spoken Chinese. ...

Jin is sometimes considered the ninth division of Mandarin (Guan/Beifang). Mandarin, or Beifanghua (Chinese: 北方話; Pinyin: Běifānghuà; literally Northern Dialect(s)), or Guanhua (Traditional Chinese: 官話; Simplified Chinese: 官话; Pinyin: Guānhuà; literally official speech) is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. ...

• Baotou dialect 包頭話
• Datong dialect 大頭話
• Handan dialect 邯郸话
• Hohhot dialect 呼市話
• Taiyuan dialect 太原話
• Xinxiang dialect 新乡话

Hohhot dialect (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a dialect of Jin, one of the subdivisions of Chinese spoken language. ...

Kejia (Hakka)

(客家話) Hakka (Simplified Chinese: 客家话, Traditional Chinese: 客家話, Hakka: Hak-ka-fa/-va, pinyin: Kèjiāhuà) is a Chinese dialect/language spoken predominantly in southern China by the Hakka ethnic group and descendants in diaspora throughout East and Southeast Asia and around the world. ...

• Huizhou (Guangdong) Hakka dialect 惠州客家話
• Meizhou Hakka dialect 梅州客家話
• Wuhua Hakka dialect 五華客家話
• Xingning Hakka dialect 興寧客家話
• Pingyuan Hakka dialect 平遠客家話
• Jiaoling Hakka dialect 蕉嶺客家話
• Dapu Hakka dialect 大埔客家話
• Fengshun Hakka dialect 豐順客家話
• Longyan Hakka dialect 龍岩客家話
• Waitau dialect 圍頭話/畬話

Pronunciation for Waitau and Standard Cantonese in this article is in Jyutping, those for Hakka are in IPA. Waitau, or Waitau Wah (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; literally walled (village) language), can refer generally to any Chinese language/dialect spoken in the villages of Shenzhen and Hong Kong in southern China...

Min

(闽语/閩語) Min (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; POJ: Bân hong-giân; BUC: Mìng huŏng-ngiòng) is a general term for a group of dialects of the Chinese language spoken in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as well as by migrants from this province in Guangdong (around Chaozhou-Swatou...

Min Bei 闽北语

(Northern Min) Min Bei is a subcategory of Min, which is a Chinese language. ...

• Jian'ou dialect 建瓯话/建甌話

Jianou dialect (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a dialect of the northern Min language family, which in turn constitutes one of the Sinitic language families. ...

Min Dong 闽东语

(Eastern Min) Min Dong Language (or Eastern Min Language, Chinese: 閩東語, SLC: Mỉng Tòyng ngỹ) is the language mainly spoken in the eastern part of Fujian Province (Chinese: 福建, SLC: Huk Kyŏng). ...

• Fuqing dialect (Hók-chiăng-uâ)
• Fuzhou dialect (Hók-ciŭ-uâ) 福州話

Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...

Min Nan 闽南语/閩南語

(Southern Min) Mǐn N n (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name B ; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ...

• Chaoshan division
  • Shantou dialect (Swatow) 汕头话/汕頭話
  • Chaozhou dialect (Teochew) 潮州话/潮州話
  • Haifeng dialect (Hailufeng dialect/Lufeng dialect) 海豐話 (海陸豐話/陸豐話)
• Mintai division 閩台片
  • Lan-nang
  • Quanzhou dialect 泉州話
  • Penang Hokkien
  • Taiwanese (see regional variations) 臺灣話/台湾话
    • Central Taiwanese
    • Northeastern coastal Taiwanese
    • Northern Taiwanese
    • Southern Taiwanese
  • Xiamen dialect (Amoy/Hokkien) 厦门话/廈門話
  • Zhangzhou dialect 漳州話

The Chaozhou language , also called Teochew, Teochiu, Tiuchiu, or Diojiu, is a dialect of the Chinese spoken variant of Minnan 閩南, spoken in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong. ... Lan-nang, or more properly known as Lan-nang-oé, is the Philippine variant of Min Nan, also known as Southern Fujianese or Hokkienese. ... Penang Hokkien is a local variant of Minnan (Southern Min) spoken in Penang, Malaysia. ... Taiwanese (pe̍h-oÄ“-jÄ«: Tâi-oân-oÄ“ or Tâi-gí; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: TáiyÇ”, Táiwānhuà) is a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken by about 70% of Taiwans population. ... Taiwanese (pe̍h-oÄ“-jÄ«: Tâi-oân-oÄ“ or Tâi-gí; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: TáiyÇ”, Táiwānhuà) is a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken by about 70% of Taiwans population. ... Mǐn Nán (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name Bân-lâm-gú; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ...

Min Zhong 闽中语

(Central Min) Min Zhong (Simplified Chinese: 闽中; Traditional Chinese: 閩中; pinyin: Mǐnzhōng) is a subcategory of Min, which is a Chinese language. ...

• Sanming dialect 三明話

Pu Xian

• Putian dialect (Henghwa/Hinghwa) 莆田話
• Xianyou dialect

Hinghwa (兴化話) or Putian (莆田話) is a Chinese dialect. ...

Qiong Wen 瓊文片

• Hainan dialect (Hainanese) 海南話
• Zhanjiang dialect 湛江話
• Leizhou dialect 雷州話

... Hainanese is a dialect of the Min Nan group spoken in the southern Chinese province of Hainan. ... Leizhou dialect (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a dialect of the Min language family, which in turn constitutes one of the Sinitic language families. ...

Shao Jiang

Chinese military rank of Shao Jiang Shao Jiang is a general officer rank within the Peoples Liberation Army. ...

Ping

(平话/平話) Pinghua (平話/平话), also Guangxi Nanning, is a subdivision of spoken Chinese. ...

Pinghua is sometimes considered a subset of Cantonese (Yue). Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

• Nanning dialect 南寧話

Wu

(吴语/吳語) Wu (吳方言 pinyin wú fāng yán; 吳語 pinyin wú yÇ”; Latin method wu gnu(niu)) is one of the major divisions of the Chinese language. ...

Taihu division 太湖片

• Changzhou dialect 常州話/常州话
• Suzhou dialect 苏州话/蘇州話
• Wuxi dialect 无锡话/無錫話
• Hangzhou dialect 杭州話/杭州话
• Huzhou dialect 湖州話/湖州话
• Jiaxing dialect 嘉興話/嘉兴话
• Shaoxing dialect 紹興話/绍兴话
• Ningbo dialect 寧波話/宁波话
• Shanghai dialect (Shanghainese) 上海話/上海话

Suzhou dialect (蘇州話 / 苏州话; pinyin: sū zhōu huà) is a dialect of Wu, one of the subdivisions of Chinese spoken language. ... The Hangzhou dialect (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is spoken in the city of Hangzhou and its immediate suburbs, but excluding areas further away from Hangzhou such as Xiāoshān è•­å±± Yúháng 余杭. The number of speakers of the Hangzhou dialect has been estimated to be about 1. ... Shanghainese (上海話; pinyin: Shànghǎihuà, Shanghainese in SAMPA: [ zA~ hE hE wo ]) is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai. ...

Taizhou division 婺州片

• Taizhou (Zhejiang) dialect 台州話

Oujiang division

• Wenzhou dialect 溫州話

Wenzhou dialect (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a dialect of the Wu language family, which in turn constitutes one of the Sinitic language families. ...

Wuzhou division

• Jinhua dialect 金華話
• Yiwu dialect 義烏話
• Yongkang dialect 永康話

Chu Qu division

• Lishui dialect 麗水話
• Quzhou dialect 衢州話
• Shangrao dialect 上饒話

Quzhou Dialect is a sub-dialect of the Wu Dialect cluster of the Sinitic linguistic family. ...

Xuanzhou division

• Xuancheng dialect 宣城話

Xiang

(湘语/湘語) Xiang (湘語/湘语), also Hunan, Hunanese, or Hsiang, is a subdivision of spoken Chinese. ...

Chang Yi division

• Changsha dialect 长沙话
• Hengyang dialect 衡阳话
• Yiyang dialect 益阳话
• Zhuzhou dialect 珠洲话
• Changde dialect 常德话

Changsha dialect (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a dialect of the Xiang language family, which in turn constitutes one of the Sinitic language families. ...

Lou Shao division

• Loudi dialect 楼底话
• Shaoyang dialect 绍阳话
• Shuangfeng dialect 双凤话

Shuangfeng dialect (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a dialect of the Xiang language family, which in turn constitutes one of the Sinitic language families. ...

Chen Xu division

• Chenxi dialect
• Xupu dialect

Yue (Cantonese)

(粵語/粤语) Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

Yue Hai division 粤海片/粵海片

• Standard Cantonese (Guangfu) 广府话/廣府話
  • Guangzhou dialect 广州/廣州
  • Hong Kong dialect 香港
  • Macau dialect 澳门/澳門
• Sam-yap 三邑/南番順
  • Nanhai dialect 南海話
  • Panyu dialect 番禺話
  • Shunde dialect 順德話
• Zhaoqing dialect 肇庆话/肇慶話
• Zhongshan dialect 中山話
• Zhuhai dialect 珠海話
• Jiujiang dialect 九江話
• Qingyuan dialect 庆元话/慶元話

Standard Cantonese is a variant, and is generally considered the prestige dialect of Cantonese Chinese. ... Standard Cantonese refers to the most prominent dialect of Cantonese (Yue), a subdivision of spoken Chinese. ... Hong Kong Cantonese (香港廣東話, 香港粵語, 港式粵語) is a variant of Standard Cantonese spoken by Hongkongers. ...

Guan Bao division 莞寶片

• Dongguan dialect 东莞话/東莞話
• Bao'an dialect 寶安話

Luoguang division 罗岗片/羅崗片

Seiyap division (Siyi) 四邑片

• Enping dialect 恩平話
• Heshan dialect 鶴山話
• Jiangmen dialect 江门话/江門話
• Kaiping dialect 开平话/開平話
• Taishan dialect (Hoisanese, Toisanese) 台山話
• Xinhui dialect 新會話

Sze Yup, Sze Yap, Seiyap or Siyi (Chinese characters: ; Cantonese Yale: Sei3 yap1; Mandarin pinyin: Sìyì) are the four counties of Sun Wui, Toi Shan, Hoi Ping and Yan Ping in the Pearl River Delta, in southern Kwangtung Province, China. ... Taishanese (台山話 Taishanese: Hoi4 saan6 wa1, Cantonese: toi4 saan1 wa6), or Seiyap, is a Chinese dialect (or group of very similar dialects) spoken in and around Taishan, in Guangdong province. ...

Gouyeung division 高阳片/高陽片

• Maoming dialect 茂名話
• Yeunggong dialect 阳江话/陽江咶

Gwainaam division (Cancerese) 桂南片

• Beihai dialect 北海話
• Nanning dialect of Yue (Naamning) 南宁话/南寧話
• Moujau (Guangxi) dialect 婺州話
• Yuklam dialect 郁林话/鬱林話

Mouchyun dialect 武川話

Danjia dialect 蜑家話

The Boat people or Tanka (Chinese: (vermin families), corruption: 蛋家 (egg families); sometimes 艇家 (lit. ...

Unclassified

• Danzhou dialect
• Linghua
• Maojiahua
• Pingdi Yaohua
• Shaozhou Tuhua
• Wutunhua
• Xianghua

Danzhouhua (hua = language) 儋州話 / 儋州话 is an unclassified Chinese dialect spoken in the area of Danzhou on the island Hainan. ... Linghua (more proper: Linglinghua) is a local dialect in Yongzhou (province of Hunan). ... Maojiahua (hua = language) is an unclassified Chinese language spoken by about 20,000 people of the Miao or Hmong nationality in the southwest of Hunan, in the norteast of Guangxi and in some areas of Hubei. ... Pingdi Yaohua is an unclassified Chinese language spoken by the Pingdi Yao, a branch of the Yao nationality in the provinces of Guangxi and Hunan. ... Shaozhou Tuhua ( 韶州土話 / 韶州土话 ) is an unclassified Chinese language spoken in the border region of the provinces Guangdong, Hunan and Guangxi. ... Wutunhua (hua = language) is an unclassified Chinese language spoken by about 2,000 people of a branch of the Tu nationality in the eastern part of the Quinghai province in the west of China. ...

See also

• Chinese language
• Chinese spoken language
• Chinese written language
• Dialects of Mandarin
• Dialect (discussion of "dialect" or "language")
• Identification of the varieties of Chinese

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. ... Spoken Chinese The Chinese spoken language(s) comprise(s) many regional variants. ... Various styles of Chinese calligraphy. ... Mandarin, when used in the broad sense to refer to most of the Chinese dialects spoken over northern and southwestern China, covers many variations. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... Chinese forms part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

Min Bei is a subcategory of Min, which is a Chinese language. ... Min Dong Language (or Eastern Min Language, Chinese: 閩東語, SLC: Mỉng Tòyng ngỹ) is the language mainly spoken in the eastern part of Fujian Province (Chinese: 福建, SLC: Huk Kyŏng). ... Mǐn N n (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name B ; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ... Min Zhong (Simplified Chinese: 闽中; Traditional Chinese: 閩中; pinyin: Mǐnzhōng) is a subcategory of Min, which is a Chinese language. ... Hainanese (海南話) or Qiongwen (琼文片) is a variant of the Min Nan group of Chinese spoken in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. ... Northeastern Mandarin or Northeast Chinese Dialect is a variety of Mandarin Chinese, known collectively as Dongbeihua (Traditional Chinese: 東北話; Simplified Chinese: 东北话; pinyin: DōngbÄ›ihuà; literally Northeast Speech/Language). Northeastern dialect is very similar to the Beijing dialect, upon which Standard Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua) is based. ... Ji Lu Mandarin (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: jìlÇ”guānhuà) is a Mandarin dialect spoken in the Chinese provinces of Hebei and Shandong. ... Also known as Huguang (湖广), it is the varient of Mandarin Chinese widely spoken south of the Yangtze River, and east of the Tibetan Plateau. ... The Dungan language (autonym: Хуэйзў йүян [HuÄ—yzÅ­ yüyan]; 东干语 [東干語] in Chinese) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the 50,000 Dungan or (Hui) of Central Asia. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Singapore. ... Standard Cantonese is a variant, and is generally considered the prestige dialect of Cantonese Chinese. ... Historical Chinese Phonology deals with reconstructing the sounds of Chinese from the past. ... The Seal script characters for harvest (later year) and person. ... Middle Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 中古漢語; Pinyin: zhōnggÇ” HànyÇ”), or Ancient Chinese as used by linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties (6th century - 10th century). ... Proto-Mandarin is an ancient language based on an older form of Mandarin before it was Mandarin. ... The Haner language (漢兒言語) was a Chinese language heavily influenced by non-Chinese languages, especially Mongolian. ... Various styles of Chinese calligraphy. ... 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. ... Vernacular Chinese (pinyin: báihuà; Wade-Giles: paihua) is a style or register of the written Chinese language essentially modeled after the spoken language and associated with Standard Mandarin. ... Written Cantonese refers to the written language used to write colloquial standard Cantonese using Chinese characters. ...

References

1. ^ Ethnologue report for Chinese. Retrieved on 2006-09-04.
2. ^ James Campbell. Chinese Dialect Classification. Glossika. Retrieved on 2006-08-30. Includes descriptions of the dialects spoken in over 2,500 cities and counties in China. Includes interactive map.
3. ^ Linguistic chart of Sino-Tibetan Languages. ChineseDC.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-30. In Chinese.
4. ^ See Shandong#Culture