Mandarin Chinese - Wikipedia

Linguists use the term "Mandarin" to refer to the diverse group of dialects spoken in northern and southwestern China, which Chinese linguists call Guānhuà. The ... MandarinChinese FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch MajorbranchofChinesespokenacrossmostofnorthernandsouthwesternChina ThisarticleisabouttheentiregroupofMandarinChineselanguagevarieties.ForStandardMandarin,theofficialvariety,seeStandardChinese.FortheadministrativelanguageofChinaduringtheMingandQingdynasties,seeMandarin(lateimperiallinguafranca). Mandarin官話/官话GuānhuàGuānhuà(Mandarin)writteninChinesecharacters(simplifiedChineseontheleft,traditionalChineseontheright)Native toChina,Taiwan,Singapore,andoverseascommunitiesRegionmostofNorthernandSouthwesternChina(seealsoStandardChinese)Nativespeakers920million (2017)[1]L2speakers:200million(nodate)[1]LanguagefamilySino-Tibetan SiniticMandarinEarlyformsOldChinese MiddleChinese OldMandarin Standardforms StandardMandarin(Putonghua,Guoyu) Dialects Northeastern Beijing Ji–Lu Jiao–Liao LowerYangtze CentralPlains Lan–Yin Southwestern Jin(sometimesaseparategroup) Huizhou(disputed) Dungan Writingsystem Chinesecharacters(Simplified,Traditional) MainlandChineseBraille TaiwaneseBraille Two-CellChineseBraille Transcriptions: Pinyin(Latin) Zhuyin Xiao'erjing(Arabic) Dungan(Cyrillic) SignedformsWenfaShouyu[2]OfficialstatusOfficiallanguage in China Singapore TaiwanLanguagecodesISO639-3cmnGlottologmand1415Linguasphere79-AAA-bMandarinareainmainlandChinaandTaiwan,withJin(sometimestreatedasaseparategroup)inlightgreenThisarticlecontainsIPAphoneticsymbols.Withoutproperrenderingsupport,youmayseequestionmarks,boxes,orothersymbolsinsteadofUnicodecharacters.ForanintroductoryguideonIPAsymbols,seeHelp:IPA. MandarinChineseSimplifiedChinese官话Traditional Chinese官話LiteralmeaningOfficials'speechTranscriptionsStandardMandarinHanyuPinyinGuānhuàWade–GilesKuan1-hua4Yue:CantoneseYaleRomanizationGūnwáNorthernChineseSimplifiedChinese北方话Traditional Chinese北方話LiteralmeaningNorthernspeechTranscriptionsStandardMandarinHanyuPinyinBěifānghuàWade–GilesPei3-fang1-hua4Yue:CantoneseYaleRomanizationBākfōngwá PlaymediaAspeakerfromTanghe(CentralPlainsMandarin) Mandarin(/ˈmændərɪn/(listen);simplifiedChinese:官话;traditionalChinese:官話;pinyin:Guānhuà;lit.'speechofofficials')isagroupofSinitic(Chinese)languagesnativelyspokenacrossmostofnorthernandsouthwesternChina.ThegroupincludestheBeijingdialect,thebasisofthephonologyofStandardChinese.BecauseMandarinoriginatedinNorthChinaandmostMandarindialectsarefoundinthenorth,thegroupissometimesreferredtoasNorthernChinese(simplifiedChinese:北方话;traditionalChinese:北方話;pinyin:Běifānghuà;lit.'northernspeech').ManyvarietiesofMandarin,suchasthoseoftheSouthwest(includingSichuanese)andtheLowerYangtze,arenotmutuallyintelligibleorareonlypartiallyintelligiblewiththestandardlanguage.Nevertheless,Mandarinisoftenplacedfirstinlistsoflanguagesbynumberofnativespeakers(withnearlyabillion). MandarinisbyfarthelargestofthesevenortenChinesedialectgroups,spokenby70percentofallChinesespeakersoveralargegeographicalarea,stretchingfromYunnaninthesouthwesttoXinjianginthenorthwestandHeilongjianginthenortheast.ThisisgenerallyattributedtothegreatereaseoftravelandcommunicationintheNorthChinaPlaincomparedtothemoremountainoussouth,combinedwiththerelativelyrecentspreadofMandarintofrontierareas. MostMandarinvarietieshavefourtones.ThefinalstopsofMiddleChinesehavedisappearedinmostofthesevarieties,butsomehavemergedthemasafinalglottalstop.ManyMandarinvarieties,includingtheBeijingdialect,retainretroflexinitialconsonants,whichhavebeenlostinsouthernvarietiesofChinese. TheChinesecapitalhasbeenwithintheMandarin-speakingareaformostofthelastmillennium,makingthesedialectsveryinfluential.SomeformofMandarinhasservedasalinguafrancaforgovernmentofficialsandthecourtssincethe14thcentury.[3]Bytheearly20thcentury,astandardformbasedontheBeijingdialect,withelementsfromotherMandarindialects,wasadoptedasthenationallanguage.StandardMandarinChineseistheofficiallanguageofthePeople'sRepublicofChina[4]andTaiwan,[5]aswellasoneofthefourofficiallanguagesofSingapore.ItisalsousedasoneoftheofficiallanguagesoftheUnitedNations.[6]RecentincreasedmigrationfromMandarin-speakingregionsofChinaandTaiwanhasnowresultedinthelanguagebeingoneofthemorefrequentlyusedvarietiesofChineseamongChinesediasporacommunities.ItisalsothemostcommonlytaughtChinesevariety. Contents 1Name 2History 2.1OldMandarin 2.2Vernacularliterature 2.3KoinéoftheLateEmpire 2.4StandardMandarinChinese 3Geographicdistribution 3.1MainlandChina 3.2Taiwan 3.3SoutheastAsia 3.3.1Singapore 3.3.2Malaysia 3.3.3Myanmar 4Subgroups 5Phonology 5.1Initials 5.2Finals 5.3Tones 6Vocabulary 7Grammar 8Seealso 9Notes 10References 10.1Citations 10.2Sources 11Furtherreading 11.1HistoricalWesternlanguagetexts 12Externallinks Name[edit] TheEnglishword"mandarin"(fromPortuguesemandarim,fromMalaymenteri,fromSanskritmantrī,mantrin,meaning'ministerorcounsellor')originallymeantanofficialoftheMingandQingempires.[7][8][a] Sincetheirnativevarietieswereoftenmutuallyunintelligible,theseofficialscommunicatedusingaKoinélanguagebasedonvariousnorthernvarieties.WhenJesuitmissionarieslearnedthisstandardlanguageinthe16thcentury,theycalledit"Mandarin",fromitsChinesenameGuānhuà(官话/官話)or'languageoftheofficials'.[10] IneverydayEnglish,"Mandarin"referstoStandardChinese,whichisoften(buterroneously)calledsimply"Chinese".StandardMandarinChineseisbasedontheparticulardialectspokeninBeijing,withsomelexicalandsyntacticinfluencefromotherMandarindialects.ItistheofficialspokenlanguageofthePeople'sRepublicofChina(PRC)andTaiwan(RepublicofChina,ROC),aswellasoneofthefourofficiallanguagesofSingapore.ItalsofunctionsasthelanguageofinstructioninMainlandChinaandTaiwan.ItisoneofthesixofficiallanguagesoftheUnitedNations,underthename"Chinese".Chinesespeakersrefertothemodernstandardlanguageas Pǔtōnghuà(普通话/普通話,literally'commonspeech')inMainlandChina, Guóyǔ(国语/國語,literally'nationallanguage')inTaiwanor Huáyǔ(华语/華語,literally'Hua(Chinese)language')inMalaysiaandSingapore, butnotasGuānhuà.[3] Linguistsusetheterm"Mandarin"torefertothediversegroupofdialectsspokeninnorthernandsouthwesternChina,whichChineselinguistscallGuānhuà.ThealternativetermBěifānghuà(北方话/北方話)or"Northerndialects",isusedlessandlessamongChineselinguists.Byextension,theterm"OldMandarin"or"EarlyMandarin"isusedbylinguiststorefertothenortherndialectsrecordedinmaterialsfromtheYuandynasty. Nativespeakerswhoarenotacademiclinguistsmaynotrecognizethatthevariantstheyspeakareclassifiedinlinguisticsasmembersof"Mandarin"(orso-called"Northerndialects")inabroadersense.WithinChinesesocialorculturaldiscourse,thereisnotacommon"Mandarin"identitybasedonlanguage;rather,therearestrongregionalidentitiescentredonindividualdialectsbecauseofthewidegeographicaldistributionandculturaldiversityoftheirspeakers.SpeakersofformsofMandarinotherthanthestandardtypicallyrefertothevarietytheyspeakbyageographicname—forexampletheSichuandialectandtheHebeidialectorNortheasterndialect,allbeingregardedasdistinctfromthestandardlanguage. History[edit] Seealso:HistoryoftheChineselanguage ThehundredsofmodernlocalvarietiesofChinesedevelopedfromregionalvariantsofOldChineseandMiddleChinese.Traditionally,sevenmajorgroupsofdialectshavebeenrecognized.AsidefromMandarin,theothersixareWu,Gan,andXiangincentralChinaandMin,Hakka,andYueonthesoutheastcoast.[11]TheLanguageAtlasofChina(1987)distinguishesthreefurthergroups:Jin(splitfromMandarin),HuizhouintheHuizhouregionofAnhuiandZhejiang,andPinghuainGuangxiandYunnan.[12][13] OldMandarin[edit] Mainarticle:OldMandarin ApageoftheMengguZiyun,coveringthesyllablestsimtolim AfterthefalloftheNorthernSong(959–1126)andduringthereignoftheJin(1115–1234)andYuan(Mongol)dynastiesinnorthernChina,acommonformofspeechdevelopedbasedonthedialectsoftheNorthChinaPlainaroundthecapital,alanguagereferredtoasOldMandarin.Newgenresofvernacularliteraturewerebasedonthislanguage,includingverse,dramaandstoryforms,suchasthequandsanqupoetry.[14] TherhymingconventionsofthenewversewerecodifiedinarimedictionarycalledtheZhongyuanYinyun(1324).Aradicaldeparturefromtherimetabletraditionthathadevolvedoverthepreviouscenturies,thisdictionarycontainsawealthofinformationonthephonologyofOldMandarin.Furthersourcesarethe'Phags-pascriptbasedontheTibetanalphabet,whichwasusedtowriteseveralofthelanguagesoftheMongolempire,includingChineseandtheMengguZiyun,arimedictionarybasedon'Phags-pa.Therimebooksdifferinsomedetails,butoverallshowmanyofthefeaturescharacteristicofmodernMandarindialects,suchasthereductionanddisappearanceoffinalplosivesandthereorganizationoftheMiddleChinesetones.[15] InMiddleChinese,initialstopsandaffricatesshowedathree-waycontrastbetweentenuis,voicelessaspiratedandvoicedconsonants.Therewerefourtones,withthefourthor"enteringtone",acheckedtonecomprisingsyllablesendinginplosives(-p,-tor-k).SyllableswithvoicedinitialstendedtobepronouncedwithalowerpitchandbythelateTangdynasty,eachofthetoneshadsplitintotworegistersconditionedbytheinitials.WhenvoicingwaslostinalllanguagesexcepttheWusubfamily,thisdistinctionbecamephonemicandthesystemofinitialsandtoneswasrearrangeddifferentlyineachofthemajorgroups.[16] TheZhongyuanYinyunshowsthetypicalMandarinfour-tonesystemresultingfromasplitofthe"even"toneandlossoftheenteringtone,withitssyllablesdistributedacrosstheothertones(thoughtheirdifferentoriginismarkedinthedictionary).Similarly,voicedplosivesandaffricateshavebecomevoicelessaspiratesinthe"even"toneandvoicelessnon-aspiratesinothers,anotherdistinctiveMandarindevelopment.However,thelanguagestillretainedafinal-m,whichhasmergedwith-ninmoderndialectsandinitialvoicedfricatives.Italsoretainedthedistinctionbetweenvelarsandalveolarsibilantsinpalatalenvironments,whichlatermergedinmostMandarindialectstoyieldapalatalseries(renderedj-,q-andx-inpinyin).[17] TheflourishingvernacularliteratureoftheperiodalsoshowsdistinctivelyMandarinvocabularyandsyntax,thoughsome,suchasthethird-personpronountā(他),canbetracedbacktotheTangdynasty.[18] Vernacularliterature[edit] Untiltheearly20thcentury,formalwritingandevenmuchpoetryandfictionwasdoneinLiteraryChinese,whichwasmodeledontheclassicsoftheWarringStatesperiodandtheHandynasty.Overtime,thevariousspokenvarietiesdivergedgreatlyfromLiteraryChinese,whichwaslearnedandcomposedasaspeciallanguage.Preservedfromthesoundchangesthataffectedthevariousspokenvarieties,itseconomyofexpressionwasgreatlyvalued.Forexample,翼(yì,"wing")isunambiguousinwrittenChinese,buthasover75homophonesinStandardChinese. Theliterarylanguagewaslessappropriateforrecordingmaterialsthatweremeanttobereproducedinoralpresentations,materialssuchasplaysandgristfortheprofessionalstory-teller'smill.FromatleasttheYuandynastyplaysthatrecountedthesubversivetalesofChina'sRobinHoodstotheMingdynastynovelssuchasWaterMargin,ondowntotheQingdynastynovelDreamoftheRedChamberandbeyond,theredevelopedaliteratureinwrittenvernacularChinese(白話/白话,báihuà).Inmanycases,thiswrittenlanguagereflectedMandarinvarietiesandsincepronunciationdifferenceswerenotconveyedinthiswrittenform,thistraditionhadaunifyingforceacrossalltheMandarin-speakingregionsandbeyond.[19] HuShih,apivotalfigureofthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury,wroteaninfluentialandperceptivestudyofthisliterarytradition,entitledBáihuàWénxuéshǐ("AHistoryofVernacularLiterature"). KoinéoftheLateEmpire[edit] Mainarticle:Mandarin(lateimperiallinguafranca) ZhongguoGuanhua(中國官話),orMediiRegniCommunisLoquela("MiddleKingdom'sCommonSpeech"),usedonthefrontispieceofanearlyChinesegrammarpublishedbyÉtienneFourmont(withArcadioHuang)in1742[20] TheChinesehavedifferentlanguagesindifferentprovinces,tosuchanextentthattheycannotunderstandeachother....[They]alsohaveanotherlanguagewhichislikeauniversalandcommonlanguage;thisistheofficiallanguageofthemandarinsandofthecourt;itisamongthemlikeLatinamongourselves....Twoofourfathers[MicheleRuggieriandMatteoRicci]havebeenlearningthismandarinlanguage...— AlessandroValignano,HistoriadelprincipioyprogressodelaCompañíadeJesúsenlasIndiasOrientales,I:28(1542–1564)[21] Untilthemid-20thcentury,mostChinesepeoplelivinginmanypartsofSouthChinaspokeonlytheirlocalvariety.Asapracticalmeasure,officialsoftheMingandQingdynastiescarriedouttheadministrationoftheempireusingacommonlanguagebasedonMandarinvarieties,knownasGuānhuà.Knowledgeofthislanguagewasthusessentialforanofficialcareer,butitwasneverformallydefined.[3] Officialsvariedwidelyintheirpronunciation;in1728,theYongzhengEmperor,unabletounderstandtheaccentsofofficialsfromGuangdongandFujian,issuedadecreerequiringthegovernorsofthoseprovincestoprovidefortheteachingofproperpronunciation.AlthoughtheresultingAcademiesforCorrectPronunciation(正音書院;ZhèngyīnShūyuàn)wereshort-lived,thedecreedidspawnanumberoftextbooksthatgivesomeinsightintotheidealpronunciation.Commonfeaturesincluded: lossoftheMiddleChinesevoicedinitialsexceptforv- mergerof-mfinalswith-n thecharacteristicMandarinfour-tonesysteminopensyllables,butretainingafinalglottalstopin"enteringtone"syllables retentionofthedistinctionbetweenpalatalizedvelarsanddentalaffricates,thesourceofthespellings"Peking"and"Tientsin"formodern"Beijing"and"Tianjin".[22] Asthelasttwoofthesefeaturesindicate,thislanguagewasakoinébasedondialectsspokenintheNanjingarea,thoughnotidenticaltoanysingledialect.[23]ThisformremainedprestigiouslongafterthecapitalmovedtoBeijingin1421,thoughthespeechofthenewcapitalemergedasarivalstandard.Aslateas1815,RobertMorrisonbasedthefirstEnglish–Chinesedictionaryonthiskoinéasthestandardofthetime,thoughheconcededthattheBeijingdialectwasgainingininfluence.[24]Bythemiddleofthe19thcentury,theBeijingdialecthadbecomedominantandwasessentialforanybusinesswiththeimperialcourt.[25] StandardMandarinChinese[edit] Mainarticle:StandardChinese ThevariantofMandarinasspokenbyeducatedclassesinBeijingwasmadetheofficiallanguageofChinabytheQingdynastyintheearly1900sandthesuccessiveRepublicangovernment.IntheearlyyearsoftheRepublicofChina,intellectualsoftheNewCultureMovement,suchasHuShihandChenDuxiu,successfullycampaignedforthereplacementofLiteraryChineseasthewrittenstandardbywrittenvernacularChinese,whichwasbasedonnortherndialects.Aparallelprioritywasthedefinitionofastandardnationallanguage(traditionalChinese:國語;simplifiedChinese:国语;pinyin:Guóyǔ;Wade–Giles:Kuo²-yü³).Aftermuchdisputebetweenproponentsofnorthernandsoutherndialectsandanabortiveattemptatanartificialpronunciation,theNationalLanguageUnificationCommissionfinallysettledontheBeijingdialectin1932.ThePeople'sRepublic,foundedin1949,retainedthisstandard,callingitpǔtōnghuà(simplifiedChinese:普通话;traditionalChinese:普通話;lit.'commonspeech').[26]Some54%ofspeakersofMandarinvarietiescouldunderstandthestandardlanguageintheearly1950s,risingto91%in1984.Nationally,theproportionunderstandingthestandardrosefrom41%to90%overthesameperiod.[27] Thisstandardlanguageisnowusedineducation,themedia,andformaloccasionsinbothMainlandChinaandTaiwan,aswellasamongtheChinesecommunityofSingapore.HoweverinotherpartsoftheChinese-speakingworld,namelyHongKongandMacau,thestandardformofChineseusedineducation,themedia,formalspeech,andeverydayliferemainsthelocalCantonesebecauseoftheircolonialandlinguistichistory.WhileStandardMandarinisnowthemediumofinstructioninschoolsthroughoutChina,itstillhasyettogaintractionasacommonlanguageamongthelocalpopulationinareaswhereMandarindialectsarenotnative.[28]Intheseregions,peoplemaybeeitherdiglossicorspeakthestandardlanguagewithanotableaccent.Howeversincethe21stcentury,therehasbeenaneffortofmasseducationinStandardMandarinChineseanddiscouragementoflocallanguageusagebytheChinesegovernmentinordertoerasetheseregionaldifferences.[29] Fromanofficialpointofview,themainlandChineseandtheTaiwanesegovernmentsmaintaintheirownformsofthestandardunderdifferentnames.Technically,bothPǔtōnghuàandGuóyǔbasetheirphonologyontheBeijingaccent,thoughPǔtōnghuàalsotakessomeelementsfromothersources.Comparisonofdictionariesproducedinthetwoareaswillshowthattherearefewsubstantialdifferences.However,bothversionsof"school-standard"ChineseareoftenquitedifferentfromtheMandarinvarietiesthatarespokeninaccordancewithregionalhabits,andneitheriswhollyidenticaltotheBeijingdialect.PǔtōnghuàandGuóyǔalsohavesomedifferencesfromtheBeijingdialectinvocabulary,grammar,andpragmatics. ThewrittenformsofStandardChinesearealsoessentiallyequivalent,althoughsimplifiedcharactersareusedinmainlandChinaandSingapore,whiletraditionalcharactersremaininuseinTaiwan,HongKong,andMacau.OverseascommunitiesalsotendtousetraditionalChinesecharacters,althoughyoungergenerationsinMalaysiaincreasinglyusesimplifiedcharactersduetoinfluencefromSingaporeandmainlandChina.[30] Geographicdistribution[edit] MainlandChina[edit] MostHanChineselivinginnorthernandsouthwesternChinaarenativespeakersofadialectofMandarin.TheNorthChinaPlainprovidedfewbarrierstomigration,leadingtorelativelinguistichomogeneityoverawideareainnorthernChina.Incontrast,themountainsandriversofsouthernChinahavespawnedtheothersixmajorgroupsofChinesevarieties,withgreatinternaldiversity,particularlyinFujian.[31][32] However,thevarietiesofMandarincoverahugeareacontainingnearlyabillionpeople.Asaresult,therearepronouncedregionalvariationsinpronunciation,vocabulary,andgrammar,[33]andmanyMandarinvarietiesarenotmutuallyintelligible.[b] MostofnortheasternChina,exceptforLiaoning,didnotreceivesignificantsettlementsbyHanChineseuntilthe18thcentury,[39]andasaresulttheNortheasternMandarindialectsspokentheredifferlittlefromtheBeijingdialect.[40]TheManchupeopleoftheareanowspeakthesedialectsexclusively;theirnativelanguageisonlymaintainedinnorthwesternXinjiang,whereXibe,amoderndialect,isspoken.[41] ThefrontierareasofNorthwestChinawerecolonizedbyspeakersofMandarindialectsatthesametime,andthedialectsinthoseareassimilarlycloselyresembletheirrelativesinthecoreMandarinarea.[40]TheSouthwestwassettledearly,butthepopulationfelldramaticallyforobscurereasonsinthe13thcentury,anddidnotrecoveruntilthe17thcentury.[40]Thedialectsinthisareaarenowrelativelyuniform.[42]However,long-establishedcitiesevenveryclosetoBeijing,suchasTianjin,Baoding,Shenyang,andDalian,havemarkedlydifferentdialects. WhileStandardMandarinwasadoptedasChina'sofficiallanguageintheearly1900s,locallanguagescontinuedtobedominantintheirrespectiveregionsuntiltheestablishmentofthePeople'sRepublicin1949anditspromotionofthisstandardvariant.[43]StartingintheCulturalRevolutionandintensifyingafterwards,theChineseCommunistParty(CCP)hasadoptedalanguagepolicythatpushesfortheusageofStandardMandarinattheexpenseofotherChinesevarieties,includingtheprohibitionoftheiruseinmostpublicsettings.[44][page needed]Asaresult,Mandarinisnowwidespreadthroughoutthecountry,includinginregionswherethelanguageisnotnative. Thislanguagepolicyhasproventobelargelysuccessful,withover80%oftheChinesepopulationbeingabletospeakStandardMandarinasof2020.[45]Nevertheless,despiteactivediscouragementbytheCCP,localChineseandotherethniclanguagescontinuetobetheprimarymediumofcommunicationindailylifeinahandfulofregions,mostnotablyGuangdong(whereCantonesepredominates)andTibet.[46][47]ElsewhereinChina,StandardMandarinhasheavilyinfluencedlocallanguagesthroughdiglossiaorinsomecases,replacedthementirely(especiallyamongyoungergenerationsinurbanareas).[48]TheChinesegovernment'scurrentgoalistohave85%ofChinaspeakStandardMandarinby2025andforvirtuallytheentirecountrytospeakthelanguageby2035.[49] Unliketheircompatriotsonthesoutheastcoast,fewMandarinspeakersengagedinoverseasemigrationuntilthelate20thcentury,buttherearenowsignificantcommunitiesofthemincitiesacrosstheworld.[42] Taiwan[edit] Mainarticle:TaiwaneseMandarin StandardMandarinistheofficiallanguageofTaiwan.TheTaiwanesestandardofMandarindiffersverylittlefromthatofmainlandChina,withdifferenceslargelyinsometechnicalvocabularydevelopedfromthe1950sonwards.[50] MandarinstartedtobecomewidelyspokeninTaiwanfollowingtheKuomintang'srelocationandinfluxofrefugeesfromthemainlandattheendoftheChineseCivilWarin1949.AtthetimeTaiwaneseHokkien,andtoalesserextentHakka,weretheChineselanguagesusedamongthelocalHanChinesepopulation,whiletheFormosanlanguageswerenativelyspokenbymanyAboriginalpopulations.Theselanguageswereheavilydiscouragedfromusethroughoutthemartiallawperiodfrom1949to1987,resultinginMandarinreplacingTaiwaneseasthelinguafranca.[51]Startinginthe2000s,theTaiwanesegovernmenthasmadeeffortstorecognizetheselocallanguagesandtheyarenowpresentinpublicspheressuchasmediaandeducation,althoughMandarinremainsthecommonlanguage.[52] WhilethespokenstandardofTaiwaneseMandarinisnearlyidenticaltothatofmainlandChina,thecolloquialformhasbeenheavilyinfluencedbyotherlocallanguages,especiallyTaiwanese.Notabledifferencesinclude:themergerofretroflexsounds(zh,ch,sh,r)withthealveolarseries(z,c,s),frequentmergersofthe"neutraltone"withaword'soriginaltone,andabsenceoferhua.[53]Code-switchingbetweenMandarinandTaiwaneseHokkieniscommon,asthemajorityofthepopulationcontinuestoalsospeakthelatterasanativelanguage.[54] SoutheastAsia[edit] Singapore[edit] Mainarticle:SingaporeanMandarin MandarinisoneofthefourofficiallanguagesofSingaporealongwithEnglish,Malay,andTamil.Historically,itwasseldomusedbytheChineseSingaporeancommunity,whichprimarilyspoketheSouthernChineselanguagesofHokkien,Teochew,Cantonese,orHakka.[55]ThelaunchoftheSpeakMandarinCampaignin1979bythegovernmentprioritizedthelanguageovertraditionalvernacularsinanattempttocreateacommonethniclanguageandfostercloserconnectionstoChina.[56]ThishasledtoasignificantincreaseandpresenceofMandarinusageinthecountry,coupledwithastrongdeclineinusageofotherChinesevariants. StandardSingaporeanMandarinisnearlyidenticaltothestandardsofChinaandTaiwan,withminorvocabularydifferences.ItistheMandarinvariantusedineducation,media,andofficialsettings.Meanwhile,acolloquialformcalledSingdarinisusedininformaldailylifeandisheavilyinfluencedintermsofbothgrammarandvocabularybylocallanguagessuchasCantonese,Hokkien,andMalay.Instancesofcode-switchingwithEnglish,Hokkien,Cantonese,Malay,oracombinationofanyoftheseisalsocommon. Malaysia[edit] Mainarticle:MalaysianMandarin InMalaysia,MandarinhasbeenadoptedbylocalChinese-languageschoolsasthemediumofinstructionwiththestandardbasedonthatofSingapore.However,itisnotaswidespreadindailylifeamongtheMalaysianChinesecommunity,asHokkienspeakerscontinuetoformapluralityamongtheethnicChinesepopulationandCantoneseservesasthecommonlanguage(especiallyincommerceandlocalmedia).[57]AnexceptionisinthestateofJohor,whereMandarinisincreasinglyusedalongsideCantoneseasalinguafrancainpartduetoSingaporeaninfluence.[58]AsinSingapore,thelocalcolloquialvariantofMandarinexhibitsinfluencesfromCantoneseandMalay. Myanmar[edit] Seealso:ChinesepeopleinMyanmar InnorthernMyanmar,aSouthwesternMandarinvariantclosetotheYunnanesedialectisspokenbylocalChineseandotherethnicgroups.Insomerebelgroup-controlledregions,Mandarinalsoservesasthelinguafranca.[59] Subgroups[edit] Seealso:ListofvarietiesofChinese DistributionoftheeightsubgroupsofMandarinplusJinChinese,whichmanylinguistsincludeaspartofMandarin,accordingtotheLanguageAtlasofChina(1987)[60] TheclassificationofChinesedialectsevolvedduringthe20thcentury,andmanypointsremainunsettled.Earlyclassificationstendedtofollowprovincialboundariesormajorgeographicalfeatures.[61] In1936,WangLiproducedthefirstclassificationbasedonphoneticcriteria,principallytheevolutionofMiddleChinesevoicedinitials.HisMandaringroupincludeddialectsofnorthernandsouthwesternChina,aswellasthoseofHunanandnorthernJiangxi.[62] LiFang-Kuei'sclassificationof1937distinguishedthelattertwogroupsasXiangandGan,whilesplittingtheremainingMandarindialectsbetweenNorthern,LowerYangtzeandSouthwesternMandaringroups.[63] Thewidelyacceptedseven-groupclassificationofYuanJiahuain1960keptXiangandGanseparate,withMandarindividedintoNorthern,Northwestern,SouthwesternandJiang–Huai(LowerYangtze)subgroups.[64][65] OfYuan'sfourMandarinsubgroups,theNorthwesterndialectsarethemostdiverse,particularlyintheprovinceofShanxi.[42]ThelinguistLiRongproposedthatthenorthwesterndialectsofShanxiandneighbouringareasthatretainafinalglottalstopintheMiddleChineseenteringtone(plosive-final)categoryshouldconstituteaseparatetop-levelgroupcalledJin.[66]HeusedthisclassificationintheLanguageAtlasofChina(1987).[12]ManyotherlinguistscontinuetoincludethesedialectsintheMandaringroup,pointingoutthattheLowerYangtzedialectsalsoretaintheglottalstop.[67][68] ThesouthernboundaryoftheMandarinarea,withthecentralWu,GanandXianggroups,isweaklydefinedduetocenturiesofdiffusionofnorthernfeatures.Manybordervarietieshaveamixtureoffeaturesthatmakethemdifficulttoclassify. TheboundarybetweenSouthwesternMandarinandXiangisparticularlyweak,[69]andinmanyearlyclassificationsthetwowerenotseparated.[70]ZhouZhenheandYouRujieincludetheNewXiangdialectswithinSouthwesternMandarin,treatingonlythemoreconservativeOldXiangdialectsasaseparategroup.[71] TheHuizhoudialectshavefeaturesofbothMandarinandWu,andhavebeenassignedtooneorotherofthesegroupsortreatedasseparatebyvariousauthors.LiRongandtheLanguageAtlasofChinatreateditasaseparatetop-levelgroup,butthisremainscontroversial.[72][73] TheLanguageAtlasofChinacallstheremainderofMandarina"supergroup",dividedintoeightdialectgroupsdistinguishedbytheirtreatmentoftheMiddleChineseenteringtone(seeTonesbelow):[74][c] NortheasternMandarin(98million),spokeninManchuriaexcepttheLiaodongPeninsula.[76]ThisdialectiscloselyrelatedtoStandardChinese,withlittlevariationinlexiconandveryfewtonaldifferences. BeijingMandarin(27million),spokeninBeijingandenvironssuchasChengdeandnorthernHebei,aswellassomeareasofrecentlarge-scaleimmigration,suchasnorthernXinjiang.[77]TheBeijingdialectformsthebasisofStandardChinese.Thisclassificationiscontroversial,asanumberofresearchersviewBeijingandNortheasternMandarinasasingledialectgroup.[78] JiluMandarin(89million),spokeninHebei("Ji")andShandong("Lu")provincesexcepttheShandongPeninsula,aswellasinfew countiesof Heilongjiang,duetomigration.IncludesTianjindialect.[79]Tonesandvocabularyaremarkedlydifferent.Ingeneral,thereissubstantialintelligibilitywithBeijingMandarin. JiaoliaoMandarin(35million),spokeninShandong(Jiaodong)andLiaodongPeninsulas,aswellasinfew countiesof Heilongjiang,duetomigration.[80]Verynoticeabletonalchanges,differentin"flavour"fromJi–LuMandarin,butwithmorevariance.ThereismoderateintelligibilitywithBeijing. CentralPlainsMandarin(186million),spokeninHenanprovince,thecentralpartsofShaanxiintheYellowRivervalley,easternGansu,aswellassouthernXinjiang,duetorecentmigration.[81]Therearesignificantphonologicaldifferences,withpartialintelligibilitywithBeijing.TheDunganlanguagespokeninKazakhstanandKyrgyzstanbelongstothisgroup.DunganspeakerssuchasthepoetIasyrShivazahavereportedbeingunderstoodbyspeakersoftheBeijingdialect,butnotviceversa.[82] LanyinMandarin(17million),spokenincentralandwesternGansuprovince(withcapitalLanzhou)andNingxiaautonomousregion(withcapitalYinchuan),aswellasnorthernXinjiang.[83] LowerYangtzeMandarin(orJiang–Huai,86million),spokeninthepartsofJiangsuandAnhuionthenorthbankoftheYangtze,aswellassomeareasonthesouthbank,suchasNanjinginJiangsu,JiujianginJiangxi,etc.[84]Therearesignificantphonologicalandlexicalchangestovaryingdegrees,andintelligibilitywithBeijingislimited.LowerYangtzeMandarinhasbeensignificantlyinfluencedbyWuChinese. SouthwesternMandarin(260million),spokenintheprovincesofHubei,Sichuan,Guizhou,Yunnan,andtheMandarin-speakingareasofHunan,GuangxiandsouthernShaanxi.[85]Therearesharpphonological,lexical,andtonalchanges,andintelligibilitywithBeijingislimitedtovaryingdegrees.[36][37] TheAtlasalsoincludesseveralunclassifiedMandarindialectsspokeninscatteredpocketsacrosssoutheasternChina,suchasNanpinginFujianandDongfangonHainan.[86] AnotherMandarinvarietyofuncertainclassificationisapparentlyGyami,recordedinthe19thcenturyintheTibetanfoothills,whotheChineseapparentlydidnotrecognizeasChinese.[87] Phonology[edit] Seealso:StandardChinesephonology Thissectionneedsadditionalcitationsforverification.Pleasehelpimprovethisarticlebyaddingcitationstoreliablesources.Unsourcedmaterialmaybechallengedandremoved.(July2011)(Learnhowandwhentoremovethistemplatemessage) Asyllableconsistsmaximallyofaninitialconsonant,amedialglide,avowel,acoda,andtone.Inthetraditionalanalysis,themedial,vowelandcodaarecombinedasafinal.[88] Notallcombinationsoccur.Forexample,StandardChinese(basedontheBeijingdialect)hasabout1,200distinctsyllables.[89] PhonologicalfeaturesthataregenerallysharedbytheMandarindialectsinclude: thepalatalizationofvelarconsonantsandalveolarsibilantswhentheyoccurbeforepalatalglides; onesyllablecontainsmaximumfourphonemes(maximumthreevowelsandnoconsonantcluster) thedisappearanceoffinalstopconsonantsand/-m/(althoughinmanyLowerYangtzeMandarinandJinChinesedialects,anechoofthefinalstopsispreservedasaglottalstop); thepresenceofretroflexconsonants(althoughtheseareabsentinmanySouthwesternandNortheasternMandarindialects); thehistoricaldevoicingofstopsandsibilants(alsocommontomostnon-Mandarinvarieties). Initials[edit] ThemaximalinventoryofinitialsofaMandarindialectisasfollows,withbracketedpinyinspellingsgivenforthosepresentinthestandardlanguage:[90] Labial Apical Retroflex Palatal Velar Stops /p/⟨b⟩ /t/⟨d⟩ /k/⟨g⟩ /pʰ/⟨p⟩ /tʰ/⟨t⟩ /kʰ/⟨k⟩ Nasals /m/⟨m⟩ /n/⟨n⟩ /ŋ/    Affricates /t͡s/⟨z⟩ /ʈ͡ʂ/⟨zh⟩ /t͡ɕ/⟨j⟩ /t͡sʰ/⟨c⟩ /ʈ͡ʂʰ/⟨ch⟩ /t͡ɕʰ/⟨q⟩ Fricatives /f/⟨f⟩ /s/⟨s⟩ /ʂ/⟨sh⟩ /ɕ/⟨x⟩ /x/⟨h⟩ Sonorants /w/⟨w⟩ /l/⟨l⟩ /ɻ~ʐ/⟨r⟩ /j/⟨y⟩ MostMandarin-speakingareasdistinguishbetweentheretroflexinitials/ʈʂʈʂʰʂ/fromtheapicalsibilants/tstsʰs/,thoughtheyoftenhaveadifferentdistributionthaninthestandardlanguage.Inmostdialectsofthesoutheastandsouthwesttheretroflexinitialshavemergedwiththealveolarsibilants,sothatzhibecomeszi,chibecomesci,andshibecomessi.[91] Thealveolo-palatalsibilants/tɕtɕʰɕ/aretheresultofmergerbetweenthehistoricalpalatalizedvelars/kjkʰjxj/andpalatalizedalveolarsibilants/tsjtsʰjsj/.[91]Inabout20%ofdialects,thealveolarsibilantsdidnotpalatalize,remainingseparatefromthealveolo-palatalinitials.(TheuniquepronunciationusedinPekingoperafallsintothiscategory.)Ontheotherside,insomedialectsofeasternShandong,thevelarinitialsdidnotundergopalatalization. ManysouthwesternMandarindialectsmix/f/and/xw/,substitutingonefortheotherinsomeorallcases.[92]Forexample,fei/fei/"tofly"andhui/xwei/"grey"maybemergedintheseareas. Insomedialects,initial/l/and/n/arenotdistinguished.InSouthwesternMandarin,thesesoundsusuallymergeto/n/;inLowerYangtzeMandarin,theyusuallymergeto/l/.[92] PeopleinmanyMandarin-speakingareasmayusedifferentinitialsoundswhereBeijingusesinitialr-/ɻ/.Commonvariantsinclude/j/,/l/,/n/and/w/.[91] Somedialectshaveinitial/ŋ/correspondingtothezeroinitialofthestandardlanguage.[91]ThisinitialistheresultofamergeroftheMiddleChinesezeroinitialwith/ŋ/and/ʔ/. ManydialectsofNorthwesternandCentralPlainsMandarinhave/pfpfʰfv/whereBeijinghas/tʂwtʂʰwʂwɻw/.[91]Examplesinclude/pfu/"pig"forstandardzhū豬/tʂu/,/fei/"water"forstandardshuǐ水/ʂwei/,/vã/"soft"forstandardruǎn軟/ɻwan/. Finals[edit] MostMandarindialectshavethreemedialglides,/j/,/w/and/ɥ/(spelledi,uandüinpinyin),thoughtheirincidencevaries. Themedial/w/,islostafterapicalinitialsinseveralareas.[91] ThusSouthwesternMandarinhas/tei/"correct"wherethestandardlanguagehasdui/twei/. SouthwesternMandarinalsohas/kaikʰaixai/insomewordswherethestandardhasjieqiexie/tɕjɛtɕʰjɛɕjɛ/.ThisisastereotypicalfeatureofsouthwesternMandarin,sinceitissoeasilynoticeable.E.g.hai"shoe"forstandardxie,gai"street"forstandardjie. Mandarindialectstypicallyhaverelativelyfewvowels.Syllabicfricatives,asinstandardziandzhi,arecommoninMandarindialects,thoughtheyalsooccurelsewhere.[93] TheMiddleChineseoff-glides/j/and/w/aregenerallypreservedinMandarindialects,yieldingseveraldiphthongsandtriphthongsincontrasttothelargersetsofmonophthongscommoninotherdialectgroups(andsomewidelyscatteredMandarindialects).[93] TheMiddleChinesecoda/m/wasstillpresentinOldMandarin,buthasmergedwith/n/inthemoderndialects.[91]Insomeareas(especiallythesouthwest)final/ŋ/hasalsomergedwith/n/.Thisisespeciallyprevalentintherhymepairs-en/-eng/ənəŋ/and-in/-ing/iniŋ/.Asaresult,jīn"gold"andjīng"capital"mergeinthosedialects. TheMiddleChinesefinalstopshaveundergoneavarietyofdevelopmentsindifferentMandarindialects(seeTonesbelow).InLowerYangtzedialectsandsomenorth-westerndialectstheyhavemergedasafinalglottalstop.Inotherdialectstheyhavebeenlost,withvaryingeffectsonthevowel.[91]Asaresult,BeijingMandarinandNortheasternMandarinunderwentmorevowelmergersthanmanyothervarietiesofMandarin.Forexample: Character Meaning Standard(Beijing) Beijing,HarbinColloquial Jinan(Ji–Lu) Xi'an(CentralPlains) Chengdu(Southwestern) Yangzhou(LowerYangtze) MiddleChineseReconstructed Pinyin IPA 课 lesson kè kʰɤ kʰɤ kʰə kʰwo kʰo kʰo kʰɑ 客 guest tɕʰie[d] kʰei kʰei kʰe kʰəʔ kʰɰak 果 fruit guǒ kwo kwo kwə kwo ko ko kwɑ 国 country guó kwe kwe kɔʔ kwək R-coloring,acharacteristicfeatureofMandarin,worksquitedifferentlyinthesouthwest.WhereasBeijingdialectgenerallyremovesonlyafinal/j/or/n/whenaddingtherhoticfinal-r/ɻ/,inthesouthwestthe-rreplacesnearlytheentirerhyme. Tones[edit] ThefourmaintonesofStandardMandarin,pronouncedwiththesyllablema. Ingeneral,notwoMandarin-speakingareashaveexactlythesamesetoftonevalues,butmostMandarin-speakingareashaveverysimilartonedistribution.Forexample,thedialectsofJinan,Chengdu,Xi'anandsoonallhavefourtonesthatcorrespondquitewelltotheBeijingdialecttonesof[˥](55),[˧˥](35),[˨˩˦](214),and[˥˩](51).Theexceptiontothisruleliesinthedistributionofsyllablesformerlyendinginastopconsonant,whicharetreateddifferentlyindifferentdialectsofMandarin.[94] MiddleChinesestopsandaffricateshadathree-waydistinctionbetweentenuis,voicelessaspirateandvoiced(orbreathyvoiced)consonants. InMandarindialectsthevoicingisgenerallylost,yieldingvoicelessaspiratesinsyllableswithaMiddleChineseleveltoneandnon-aspiratesinothersyllables.[42] OfthefourtonesofMiddleChinese,thelevel,risinganddepartingtoneshavealsodevelopedintofourmoderntonesinauniformwayacrossMandarindialects;theMiddleChineseleveltonehassplitintotworegisters,conditionedonvoicingoftheMiddleChineseinitial,whilerisingtonesyllableswithvoicedobstruentinitialshaveshiftedtothedepartingtone.[95] ThefollowingexamplesfromthestandardlanguageillustratetheregulardevelopmentcommontoMandarindialects(recallthatpinyinddenotesanon-aspirate/t/,whiletdenotesanaspirate/tʰ/): ReflexesofMiddleChineseinitialsandtonesinmodernMandarin MiddleChinesetone "leveltone"(píng平) "risingtone"(shǎng上) "departingtone"(qù去) Example 丹 灘 蘭 彈 亶 坦 懶 但 旦 炭 爛 彈 MiddleChinese tan tʰan lan dan tan tʰan lan dan tan tʰan lan dan StandardChinese dān tān lán tán dǎn tǎn lǎn dàn dàn tàn làn dàn ModernMandarintone 1(yīnpíng) 2(yángpíng) 3(shǎng) 4(qù) IntraditionalChinesephonology,syllablesthatendedinastopinMiddleChinese(i.e./p/,/t/or/k/)wereconsideredtobelongtoaspecialcategoryknownasthe"enteringtone". ThesefinalstopshavedisappearedinmostMandarindialects,withthesyllablesdistributedovertheotherfourmoderntonesindifferentwaysinthevariousMandarinsubgroups. IntheBeijingdialectthatunderliesthestandardlanguage,syllablesbeginningwithoriginalvoicelessconsonantswereredistributedacrossthefourtonesinacompletelyrandompattern.[96]Forexample,thethreecharacters积脊迹,alltsjekinMiddleChinese(WilliamH.Baxter'stranscription),arenowpronouncedjī,jǐandjìrespectively.OlderdictionariessuchasMathews'Chinese-EnglishDictionarymarkcharacterswhosepronunciationformerlyendedwithastopwithasuperscript5;however,thistonenumberismorecommonlyusedforsyllablesthatalwayshaveaneutraltone(seebelow). InLowerYangtzedialects,aminorityofSouthwesterndialects(e.g.Minjiang)andJinChinese(sometimesconsiderednon-Mandarin),formerfinalstopswerenotdeletedentirely,butwerereducedtoaglottalstop/ʔ/.[96](ThisincludesthedialectofNanjingonwhichthePostalRomanizationwasbased;ittranscribestheglottalstopasatrailingh.)ThisdevelopmentissharedwithWuChineseandisthoughttorepresentthepronunciationofOldMandarin.InlinewithtraditionalChinesephonology,dialectssuchasLowerYangtzeandMinjiangarethussaidtohavefivetonesinsteadoffour.However,modernlinguisticsconsidersthesesyllablesashavingnophonemictoneatall. ReflexesoftheMiddleChineseenteringtoneinMandarindialects[97] subgroup MiddleChineseinitial voiceless voicedsonorant voicedobstruent Beijing 1,3,4 4 2 Northeastern Jiao–Liao 3 Ji–Lu 1 CentralPlains 1 Lan–Yin 4 Southwestern 2 LowerYangtze markedwithfinalglottalstop(rù) AlthoughthesystemoftonesiscommonacrossMandarindialects,theirrealizationastonecontoursvarieswidely:[98] PhoneticrealizationofMandarintonesinprincipaldialects Tonename 1(yīnpíng) 2(yángpíng) 3(shǎng) 4(qù) markedwithglottalstop(rù) Beijing Beijing ˥(55) ˧˥(35) ˨˩˦(214) ˥˩(51) Northeastern Harbin ˦(44) ˨˦(24) ˨˩˧(213) ˥˨(52) Jiao–Liao Yantai ˧˩(31) (˥(55)) ˨˩˦(214) ˥(55) Ji–Lu Tianjin ˨˩(21) ˧˥(35) ˩˩˧(113) ˥˧(53) Shijiazhuang ˨˧(23) ˥˧(53) ˥(55) ˧˩(31) CentralPlains Zhengzhou ˨˦(24) ˦˨(42) ˥˧(53) ˧˩˨(312) Luoyang ˧˦(34) ˦˨(42) ˥˦(54) ˧˩(31) Xi'an ˨˩(21) ˨˦(24) ˥˧(53) ˦(44) Tianshui ˩˧(13) ˥˧(53) ˨˦(24) Lan–Yin Lanzhou ˧˩(31) ˥˧(53) ˧(33) ˨˦(24) Yinchuan ˦(44) ˥˧(53) ˩˧(13) Southwestern Chengdu ˦(44) ˨˩(21) ˥˧(53) ˨˩˧(213) Xichang ˧(33) ˥˨(52) ˦˥(45) ˨˩˧(213) ˧˩ʔ(31) Kunming ˦(44) ˧˩(31) ˥˧(53) ˨˩˨(212) Wuhan ˥(55) ˨˩˧(213) ˦˨(42) ˧˥(35) Liuzhou ˦(44) ˧˩(31) ˥˧(53) ˨˦(24) LowerYangtze Yangzhou ˧˩(31) ˧˥(35) ˦˨(42) ˥(55) ˥ʔ(5) Nantong ˨˩(21) ˧˥(35) ˥(55) ˦˨(42),˨˩˧(213)* ˦ʔ(4),˥ʔ(5)* *DialectsinandaroundtheNantongareatypicallyhavemanymorethan4tones,duetoinfluencefromtheneighbouringWudialects. Mandarindialectsfrequentlyemployneutraltonesinthesecondsyllablesofwords,creatingsyllableswhosetonecontourissoshortandlightthatitisdifficultorimpossibletodiscriminate.Theseatonalsyllablesalsooccurinnon-Mandarindialects,butinmanysoutherndialectsthetonesofallsyllablesaremadeclear.[96] Vocabulary[edit] TherearemorepolysyllabicwordsinMandarinthaninallothermajorvarietiesofChineseexceptShanghainese[citationneeded].ThisispartlybecauseMandarinhasundergonemanymoresoundchangesthanhavesouthernvarietiesofChinese,andhasneededtodealwithmanymorehomophones.Newwordshavebeenformedbyaddingaffixessuchaslao-(老),-zi(子),-(e)r(儿/兒),and-tou(头/頭),orbycompounding,e.g.bycombiningtwowordsofsimilarmeaningasincōngmáng(匆忙),madefromelementsmeaning"hurried"and"busy". AdistinctivefeatureofsouthwesternMandarinisitsfrequentuseofnounreduplication,whichishardlyusedinBeijing.InSichuan,onehearsbāobāo(包包)"handbag"whereBeijingusesbāo'r(包儿). TherearealsoasmallnumberofwordsthathavebeenpolysyllabicsinceOldChinese,suchashúdié(蝴蝶)"butterfly". ThesingularpronounsinMandarinarewǒ(我)"I",nǐ(你or妳)"you",nín(您)"you(formal)",andtā(他,她or它/牠)"he/she/it",with-men(们/們)addedfortheplural.Further,thereisadistinctionbetweenthepluralfirst-personpronounzánmen(咱们/咱們),whichisinclusiveofthelistener,andwǒmen(我们/我們),whichmaybeexclusiveofthelistener.DialectsofMandarinagreewitheachotherquiteconsistentlyonthesepronouns.WhilethefirstandsecondpersonsingularpronounsarecognatewithformsinothervarietiesofChinese,therestofthepronominalsystemisaMandarininnovation(e.g.,Shanghainesehasnon侬/儂"you"andyi伊"he/she").[99] BecauseofcontactwithMongolianandManchurianpeoples,Mandarin(especiallytheNortheasternvarieties)hassomeloanwordsfromtheselanguagesnotpresentinothervarietiesofChinese,suchashútòng(胡同)"alley".SouthernChinesevarietieshaveborrowedfromTai,[100]Austroasiatic,[101]andAustronesianlanguages. TherearealsomanyChinesewordswhichcomefromforeignlanguagessuchasgāo'ěrfū(高尔夫)fromgolf;bǐjīní(比基尼)frombikini;hànbǎobāo(汉堡包)fromhamburger. Ingeneral,thegreatestvariationoccursinslang,inkinshipterms,innamesforcommoncropsanddomesticatedanimals,forcommonverbsandadjectives,andothersucheverydayterms.Theleastvariationoccursin"formal"vocabulary—termsdealingwithscience,law,orgovernment. Grammar[edit] Seealso:Chinesegrammar Chinesevarietiesofallperiodsareconsideredprimeexamplesofanalyticlanguages,relyingonwordorderandparticlesinsteadofinflectionoraffixestoprovidegrammaticalinformationsuchasperson,number,tense,mood,orcase. Althoughmodernvarieties,includingtheMandarindialects,useasmallnumberofparticlesinasimilarfashiontosuffixes,theyarestillstronglyanalytic.[102] Thebasicwordorderofsubject–verb–objectiscommonacrossChinesedialects,buttherearevariationsintheorderofthetwoobjectsofditransitivesentences. Innortherndialectstheindirectobjectprecedesthedirectobject(asinEnglish),forexampleintheStandardChinesesentence: 我wǒI给gěigive你nǐyou一本yìběnone-CLF书shūbook我给你一本书wǒgěinǐyìběnshūIgiveyou{one-CLF}book Insoutherndialects,aswellasmanysouthwesternandLowerYangtzedialects,theobjectsoccurinthereverseorder.[103][104] MostvarietiesofChineseusepost-verbalparticlestoindicateaspect,buttheparticlesusedvary. MostMandarindialectsusetheparticle-le(了)toindicatetheperfectiveaspectand-zhe(着/著)fortheprogressiveaspect. OtherChinesevarietiestendtousedifferentparticles,e.g.Cantonesezo2咗andgan2紧/緊respectively. Theexperientialaspectparticle-guo(过/過)isusedmorewidely,exceptinSouthernMin.[105] Thesubordinativeparticlede(的)ischaracteristicofMandarindialects.[106] Somesoutherndialects,andafewLowerYangtzedialects,preserveanolderpatternofsubordinationwithoutamarkingparticle,whileinothersaclassifierfulfilstheroleoftheMandarinparticle.[107] EspeciallyinconversationalChinese,sentence-finalparticlesaltertheinherentmeaningofasentence.Likemuchvocabulary,particlescanvaryagreatdealwithregardstothelocale.Forexample,theparticlema(嘛),whichisusedinmostnortherndialectstodenoteobviousnessorcontention,isreplacedbyyo(哟)insouthernusage. SomecharactersinMandarincanbecombinedwithotherstoindicateaparticularmeaningjustlikeprefixandsuffixinEnglish.Forexample,thesuffix-erwhichmeansthepersonwhoisdoingtheaction,e.g.teacher,personwhoteaches.InMandarinthecharacter師hasthesamefunction,itiscombinedwith教,whichmeansteach,toformthewordteacher. ListofseveralcommonChineseprefixesandsuffixes: Affix Pronunciation Meaning Example MeaningofExample -們[们] men pluralforhumannouns,sameas-s,-es 學生們[学生们]、朋友們[朋友们] students,friends 可- kě sameas-able 可信、可笑、可靠 trusty,laughable,reliable 重- chóng sameasre-(again) 重做、重建、重新 redo,rebuild,renew 第- dì sameas-th,-st,-nd 第二、第一 second,first 老- lǎo old,orshowrespecttoacertaintypeofperson 老頭[老头]、老闆[老板]、老師[老师] oldman;boss,teacher -化 huà sameas-ize,-en 公式化、制度化、強化 officialize,systemize,strengthen -家 jiā sameas-erorexpert 作家、科學家[科学家]、藝術家[艺术家] writer,scientist,artist -性 xìng sameas-ness,_-ability 可靠性、實用性[实用性]、可理解性 reliability,usability,understandability -鬼 guǐ usuallyusedinadisparagingwaysimilarto–aholic 煙鬼、酒鬼、胆小鬼 smoker,alcoholic,coward -匠 jiàng atechnicianinacertainfield 花匠、油漆匠、木匠 gardener,painter,carpenter -迷 mí anenthusiast 戲迷[戏迷]、球迷、歌迷 theaterfan,sportsfan,groupieofamusician -師[师] shī suffixforoccupations 教師[教师]、厨師[厨师]、律師[律师] teacher,cook/chef,lawyer Seealso[edit] Chinaportal Languageportal Chinesedictionary TranscriptionintoChinesecharacters WrittenChinese LanguagesofChina ListofvarietiesofChinese LinguisticAtlasofChineseDialects Listoflanguagesbynumberofnativespeakers Notes[edit] ^AfolketymologyderivingthenamefromMǎndàrén(满大人;滿大人;'Manchubigman')iswithoutfoundation.[9] ^Forexample: Intheearly1950s,only54%ofpeopleintheMandarin-speakingareacouldunderstandStandardChinese,whichwasbasedontheBeijingdialect.[34] "HenceweseethatevenMandarinincludeswithinitanunspecifiednumberoflanguages,veryfewofwhichhaveeverbeenreducedtowriting,thataremutuallyunintelligible."[35] "thecommontermassignedbylinguiststothisgroupoflanguagesimpliesacertainhomogeneitywhichismorelikelytoberelatedtothesociopoliticalcontextthantolinguisticreality,sincemostofthosevarietiesarenotmutuallyintelligible."[36] "AspeakerofonlystandardMandarinmighttakeaweekortwotocomprehendevensimpleKunminghuawithease—andthenonlyifwillingtolearnit."[37] "withoutpriorexposure,speakersofdifferentMandarindialectsoftenhaveconsiderabledifficultyunderstandingeachother'slocalvernaculareveniftheycomefromthesameprovince,providedthattwoormoredistinctgroupsofMandarinarespokentherein.Insomecases,mutualintelligibilityisnotguaranteedeveniftheMandarindialectsconcernedbelongtothesamegroupandarespokenwithinthesameprovince.AsreportedbyanativespeakeroftheZhenjiangdialect(aJianghuai(LowerYangtze)MandarindialectspokenintheJiangsuprovince),itisimpossibleforhertounderstandtheNantongdialect(anotherJianghuaiMandarindialectspokenaround140kilometersawayinthesameprovince)."[38] ^SpeakernumbersareroundedtothenearestmillionfromfiguresintherevisededitionoftheLanguageAtlasofChina.[75] ^Thedevelopmentispurelyduetothepreservationofanearlyglidewhichlaterbecame/j/andtriggeredpatalization,anddoesnotindicatetheabsenceofavowelmerger. 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ChenZhangtai(陈章太);LiXingjian(李行健)(1996).普通话基础方言基本词汇集[Mandarinbasicdialectsbasicwordscollection](inChinese).语文出版社[LanguagesPress].pp. 1–5. HistoricalWesternlanguagetexts[edit] Balfour,FredericHenry(1883),IdiomaticDialoguesinthePekingColloquialfortheUseofStudent,Shanghai:OfficesoftheNorth-ChinaHerald. Grainger,Adam(1900),WesternMandarin:orthespokenlanguageofwesternChina,withsyllabicandEnglishindexes,Shanghai:AmericanPresbyterianMissionPress. MacGillivray,Donald(1905),AMandarin-RomanizeddictionaryofChinese,Shanghai:PresbyterianMissionPress. Mateer,CalvinWilson(1906),AcourseofMandarinlessons,basedonidiom(revised2nd ed.),Shanghai:AmericanPresbyterianMissionPress. Meigs,F.E.(1904),TheStandardSystemofMandarinRomanization:Introduction,SoundTableanSyllabary,Shanghai:EducationalAssociationofChina. Meigs,F.E.(1905),TheStandardSystemofMandarinRomanization:RadicalIndex,Shanghai:EducationalAssociationofChina. Stent,GeorgeCarter;Hemeling,Karl(1905),ADictionaryfromEnglishtoColloquialMandarinChinese,Shanghai:StatisticalDepartmentoftheInspectorateGeneralofCustoms. Whymant,A.NevilleJ.(1922),ColloquialChinese(northern)(2nd ed.),London:KeganPaul,Trench,Trubner&Company. Externallinks[edit] WikimediaCommonshasmediarelatedtoMandarinChinese. TonesinMandarinDialects :Comprehensivetonecomparisonchartsfor523Mandarindialects.(CompiledbyJamesCampbell)–InternetArchivemirror vteSino-TibetanbranchesWesternHimalayas(Himachal,Uttarakhand,Nepal,Sikkim) WestHimalayish Tamangic Newaric Newar Baram–Thangmi Kiranti Dhimalish Dhimal Toto Lhokpu Lepcha GreaterMagaric Magaric Magar Kham Chepangic Chepang Bhujel Raji–Raute Dura Tandrange EasternHimalayas(Tibet,Bhutan,Arunachal) Bodish Tibetic EastBodish Tshangla Basum Nam? Gongduk ʼOle Tani Chamdo MyanmarandIndo-Burmeseborder Karbi Kuki-Chin Mruic Mru Hkongso Pyu Taman "Naga" Ao Angami–Pochuri Meitei Tangkhulic Zeme Sal Boro–Garo Konyak Jingpho–Luish EastandSoutheastAsia Sinitic Bai Tujia Nungish Karenic Gong Kathu Cai–Long Caijia Longjia Luren Burmo-Qiangic Qiangic Gyalrongic Ersuic Naic Lolo-Burmese Mondzish Burmish Loloish Dubious(possibleisolates)(Arunachal) Hrusish Hruso Miji Kho-Bwa Puroik Miju–Meyor GreaterSiangic Siangic Koro Milang Idu–Taraon Proposedgroupings CentralTibeto-Burman GreaterBai Mahakiranti Rung Tibeto-Burman Tibeto-Kanauri Proto-languages Proto-Tibeto-Burman Proto-Loloish Proto-Karenic Proto-Min Italicsindicatessinglelanguagesthatarealsoconsideredtobeseparatebranches. vteChineselanguageMajorsubdivisionsMandarin Northeastern Harbin Shenyang Taz Beijing Beijing Ji–Lu Tianjin Jinan Jiao–Liao Dalian Qingdao Weihai CentralPlains Gangou Guanzhong Luoyang Xuzhou Dungan Lan–Yin Southwestern Sichuanese Minjiang(?) Kunming Wuhan Wuming LowerYangtze Nanjing Xinjiang Nanping Wu Taihu Shanghainese Suzhou Wuxi Changzhou Hangzhou Shaoxing Ningbo Jinxiang Jiangyin Shadi TaizhouWu Taizhou Tiantai Oujiang Wenzhou Wuzhou Jinhua Chu–Qu Quzhou Jiangshan Qingtian Xuanzhou Gan Chang–Du Yi–Liu Ying–Yi Da–Tong Xiang Changyi Changsha Loushao Shuangfeng Xiangxiang Ji–Xu Yong–Quan Qiyang MinEastern Fuzhou Fuqing Fu'an Manjiang Southern Hokkien Quanzhou Zhangzhou Amoy Taiwanese PhilippineHokkien MedanHokkien PenangHokkien SingaporeanHokkien SouthernPeninsularMalaysianHokkien Zhenan Longyan Chaoshan Teochew Shantou Haifeng Zhongshan Nanlang Sanxiang Other Northern Jian'ou Jianyang Central Pu–Xian Shao–Jiang Leizhou Zhanjiang Hainan Hakka Meixian Wuhua Huizhou Tingzhou Changting TaiwaneseHakka Sixian Hailu Raoping Yue Yuehai Cantonese Xiguan Jiujiang Shiqi Weitou Dapeng Gao–Yang Siyi Taishan Goulou Wu–Hua Yong–Xun Luo–Guang Qin–Lian Proposed Huizhou Jin Hohhot Pinghua Unclassified BadongYao Danzhou Junjiahua Mai ShaozhouTuhua Shehua Waxiang XiangnanTuhua Yeheni Standardisedforms StandardChinese(Mandarin) Sichuanese Taiwanese Philippine Malaysian Singaporean Cantonese TaiwaneseHokkien Phonology Historical Old OldNational Cantonese Mandarin Literaryandcolloquialreadings Grammar Chinesegrammar Chinesenumerals Chineseclassifier Chinesehonorifics ChineseIdiom Setphrase Chengyu(ChineseFourCharacterIdiom) Xiehouyu Inputmethod Pinyininputmethod Bopomofo Cangjieinputmethod Four-Cornermethod Boshiamymethod Wubimethod History OldChinese EasternHan MiddleChinese OldMandarin MiddleMandarin Proto-Min Ba–Shu Gan LiteraryformsOfficial Classical Adoption inVietnam Vernacular Othervarieties WrittenCantonese WrittenDungan WrittenHokkien WrittenSichuanese ScriptsStandard Simplified Traditional Chinesepunctuation Strokeorder Styles Oraclebone Bronze Seal Clerical Semi-cursive Cursive Braille CantoneseBraille MainlandChineseBraille TaiwaneseBraille Two-cellChineseBraille Phonetic Cyrillization DunganCyrillic Romanization GwoyeuRomatzyh HanyuPinyin MPSII Postal TongyongPinyin Wade–Giles Yale Bopomofo CantoneseBopomofo TaiwanesePhoneticSymbols Taiwanesekana TaiwaneseHangul Xiao'erjing Nüshu ListofvarietiesofChinese vteLanguagesofChinaOfficial StandardMandarin RegionalARs/SARs CantoneseHK/MC EnglishHK MongolianNM PortugueseMC TibetanXZ UyghurXJ ZhuangGX Prefecture Hmong Kam Bouyei Tujia Korean Qiang Yi Kyrgyz Kazakh TaiNüa TaiLü Zaiwa Lisu Bai Hani Zhuang Counties/BannersnumerousIndigenousSino-TibetanlanguagesLolo-BurmeseMondzish Kathu Maang Manga Mango Maza Mondzi Muangphe Burmish Achang Xiandao Pela Lashi Chashan LhaoVo Zaiwa LoloishHanoish Akeu Akha Amu Angluo Asuo Baihong Bisu Budu Bukong Cosao Duoni Duota Enu Habei Hani Honi Jino Kabie Kaduo Lami Laomian Laopin Mpi Muda Nuobi Nuomei Phana’ Piyo Qidi Sadu Sangkong Suobi Tsukong Woni Yiche Lisoish Eka Hlersu Kua-nsi Kuamasi Laizisi Lalo Lamu Lavu Lawu Limi Lipo Lisu Lolopo Mangdi Micha Mili Sonaga Toloza Xuzhang Yangliu Zibusi Nisoish Alingpo Alugu Aluo Axi Azha Azhe Bokha Gepo Khlula Lope Moji Muji Muzi Nasu Nisu Nuosu Phala Phola Phowa Phukha Phuma Phupa Phupha Phuza Samei Sani Thopho Zokhuo Other Gokhy Katso Kucong Lahu Naruo Namuyi Naxi Nusu Samu Sanie Zauzou Qiangic Baima Choyo Ersu Guiqiong Horpa Japhug Khroskyabs Laze Lizu Na Muya Namuyi Naxi Pumi NorthernQiang SouthernQiang Shixing Situ Tshobdun Zbu Zhaba Tibetic Amdo Baima Basum CentralTibetan Choni Dao Dongwang Drugchu Groma Gserpa Khalong Khams Kyirong Ladakhi Tseku Zhongu Zitsadegu Other Bai Caijia Derung Jingpho Longjia Nung Tujia Waxianghua OtherlanguagesAustroasiatic Bit Blang Bolyu Bugan Bumang Hu Kuan Mang ManMet MuakSa-aak Palaung Riang U Va Wa Hmong-MienHmongic A-Hmao Bu-Nao Gejia Guiyang HmNai Hmong Hmu Huishui KiongNai Luobohe Mashan Pa-Hng PaNa Pingtang QoXiong Raojia She SmallFlowery Xixiu Younuo Mienic BiaoMin DzaoMin IuMien KimMun Mongolic Bonan Buryat Daur EasternYugur Kangjia Khamnigan Monguor Oirat Ordos Santa Torgut Kra-DaiZhuang Bouyei Dai Min Ningming Nong TaiDam TaiDón TaiHongjin TaiLü TaiNüa TaiYa Yang Yei Other Ai-Cham Biao Buyang CaoMiao Chadong Cun Gelao Hlai Jiamao Kam Lakkja Mak Maonan Mulam NaxiYao OngBe Paha Qabiao Sui Then Tungusic Evenki Manchu Nanai Oroqen Xibe Turkic Äynu FuyuKyrgyz IliTurki Lop Salar WesternYugur Other Sarikoli(Indo-European) Tsat(Austronesian) Formosanlanguages(Austronesian) Minority Kazakh Korean Kyrgyz Russian Tatar Tuvan Uzbek Vietnamese(Kinh) Wakhi VarietiesofChinese Mandarin Southwestern Dongbei JiangHuai Gan Hakka Hui Jin Min varieties Ping Wu Wenzhounese Xiang Yue Cantonese Creole/Mixed E Hezhou Lingling Macanese Maojia Qoqmončaq Sanqiao Tangwang Wutun Extinct Ba-Shu Jie Khitan OldYue Ruan-ruan Saka Tangut Tocharian Tuoba Tuyuhun Xianbei Zhang-Zhung Sign ChineseSign HongKongSignHK/MC TibetanSignXZ GX=Guangxi HK=HongKong MC=Macau NM=InnerMongolia XJ=Xinjiang XZ=Tibet vteLanguagesofSingaporeMainlanguagesNational Malay Official English Malay Mandarin Tamil Indigenouslanguages 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