Editing Chinese language (section)

== Varieties ==
{{Main|Varieties of Chinese}}<!--This is a summary. Please add new information to [[Varieties of Chinese]].-->
{{OSM Location map
| coord = {{coord|23|112}}  <!--coordinates for map's center -->
| mark-coord1 = {{coord|22.252|112.794}}  | label1  = Taishan
| mark-coord2 = {{coord|23.477|111.279}}  | label2 = Wuzhou
| mark-coord3 = {{coord|23.13 |113.26 }}  | label3 = Guangzhou
| map-data = Q201463
| map-data-color = #0000FF
| zoom = 7
| nolabels = 1
}}
The sinologist [[Jerry Norman (sinologist)|Jerry Norman]] has estimated that there are hundreds of mutually unintelligible varieties of Chinese.{{sfnp|Norman|2003|p=72}} These varieties form a [[dialect continuum]], in which differences in speech generally become more pronounced as distances increase, though the rate of change varies immensely. Generally, mountainous South China exhibits more linguistic diversity than the [[North China Plain]]. Until the late 20th century, Chinese emigrants to Southeast Asia and North America came from southeast coastal areas, where Min, Hakka, and Yue dialects were spoken. Specifically, most Chinese immigrants to North America until the mid-20th century spoke [[Taishanese]], a variety of Yue from a small coastal area around [[Taishan, Guangdong]].{{sfnmp|Norman|1988|1pp=189–191|Ramsey|1987|2p=98}}

In parts of South China, the dialect of a major city may be only marginally intelligible to its neighbors. For example, [[Wuzhou]] and Taishan are located approximately {{cvt|260|km|mi}} and {{cvt|190|km|mi}} away from [[Guangzhou]] respectively, but the Yue variety spoken in Wuzhou is more similar to the Guangzhou dialect than is Taishanese.  Wuzhou is located directly upstream from Guangzhou on the [[Pearl River]], whereas Taishan is to Guangzhou's southwest, with the two cities separated by several river valleys.{{sfnp|Ramsey|1987|p=23}} In parts of [[Fujian]], the speech of some neighbouring counties or villages is mutually unintelligible.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=188}}

=== Grouping ===
[[File:Map of sinitic languages cropped-en.svg|upright=1.1|thumb|right|Range of dialect groups in [[China proper]] and Taiwan according to the ''Language Atlas of China''{{sfnp|Wurm|Li|Baumann|Lee|1987}}]]

Local varieties of Chinese are conventionally classified into seven dialect groups, largely based on the different evolution of [[Middle Chinese]] voiced initials:{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=181}}{{sfnp|Kurpaska|2010|pp=53–55}}
* [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], including [[Standard Chinese]], the [[Beijing dialect]], [[Sichuanese Mandarin|Sichuanese]], and also the [[Dungan language]] spoken in [[Central Asia]]
* [[Wu Chinese|Wu]], including [[Shanghainese]], [[Suzhounese]], and [[Wenzhounese]]
* [[Gan Chinese|Gan]]
* [[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]]
* [[Min Chinese|Min]], including [[Fuzhounese]], [[Hainanese]], [[Hokkien]] and [[Teochew dialect|Teochew]]
* [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]]
* [[Yue Chinese|Yue]], including Cantonese and [[Taishanese]]
{{pie chart
| caption = Proportions of first-language speakers{{sfnp|Chinese Academy of Social Sciences|2012|pp=3, 125}}
| label1 = [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] | color1 = #ac8761 | value1 = 65.7 <!-- 798.585 million -->
| label2 = [[Min Chinese|Min]] | color2 = #b1bab6 | value2 = 6.2 <!-- 75 million -->
| label3 = [[Wu Chinese|Wu]] | color3 = #c8c8a8 | value3 = 6.1 <!-- 73.79 million -->
| label4 = [[Yue Chinese|Yue]] | color4 = #bf6e7b | value4 = 5.6 <!-- 68 million -->
| label5 = [[Jin Chinese|Jin]] | color5 = #96642c | value5 = 5.2 <!-- 63.05 million -->
| label6 = [[Gan Chinese|Gan]] | color6 = #fbd98d | value6 = 3.9 <!-- 48 million -->
| label7 = [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] | color7 = #eeb36a | value7 = 3.5 <!-- 42.2 million -->
| label8 = [[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]] | color8 = #a5ae87 | value8 = 3.0 <!-- 36.37 million -->
| label9 = [[Huizhou Chinese|Huizhou]] | color9 = #9b987f | value9 = 0.3 <!-- 3.3 million -->
| label10 = [[Pinghua]], others | color10 = #946565 | value10 = 0.6 <!-- 7.78 million -->
| others = yes
}}
The classification of [[Li Rong (linguist)|Li Rong]], which is used in the ''[[Language Atlas of China]]'' (1987), distinguishes three further groups:{{sfnp|Wurm|Li|Baumann|Lee|1987}}{{sfnp|Kurpaska|2010|pp=55–56}}
* [[Jin Chinese|Jin]], previously included in Mandarin.
* [[Huizhou Chinese|Huizhou]], previously included in Wu.
* [[Pinghua]], previously included in Yue.

Some varieties remain unclassified, including the [[Danzhou dialect]] on [[Hainan]], [[Waxianghua]] spoken in western [[Hunan]], and [[Shaozhou Tuhua]] spoken in northern [[Guangdong]].{{sfnp|Kurpaska|2010|pp=72–73}}

=== Standard Chinese ===
{{Main|Standard Chinese}}
{{See also|List of countries and territories where Chinese is an official language}}
<!-- This is a SUMMARY. Please add new information to [[Standard Chinese]]. -->
Standard Chinese is the [[standard language]] of China (where it is called {{zhi|s=普通话|p=pǔtōnghuà}}) and Taiwan, and one of the four official languages of Singapore (where it is called either {{zhi|s=华语|t=華語|p=Huáyǔ}} or {{zhi|s=汉语|t=漢語|p=Hànyǔ}}). Standard Chinese is based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. The governments of both China and Taiwan intend for speakers of all Chinese speech varieties to use it as a common language of communication. Therefore, it is used in government agencies, in the media, and as a language of instruction in schools.

[[Diglossia]] is common among Chinese speakers. For example, a Shanghai resident may speak both Standard Chinese and [[Shanghainese]]; if they grew up elsewhere, they are also likely fluent in the dialect of their home region. In addition to Standard Chinese, a majority of [[Taiwanese people]] also speak [[Taiwanese Hokkien]] (also called {{zhi|t=台語|l=Taiwanese}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=何 |first1=信翰 |title=自由廣場》Taigi與台語 |url=https://talk.ltn.com.tw/amp/article/paper/1309601 |access-date=11 July 2021 |agency=自由時報 |date=10 August 2019 |archive-date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711235128/https://talk.ltn.com.tw/amp/article/paper/1309601 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfnp|Li|2010}}), [[Hakka language|Hakka]], or an [[Austronesian language]].{{sfnp|Klöter|2004}} A speaker in Taiwan may mix pronunciations and vocabulary from Standard Chinese and other [[languages of Taiwan]] in everyday speech.{{sfnp|Kuo|2005}} In part due to traditional cultural ties with [[Guangdong]], Cantonese is used as an everyday language in [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]].

=== Nomenclature ===
The designation of various Chinese branches remains controversial. Some linguists and most ordinary Chinese people consider all the spoken varieties as one single language, as speakers share a common national identity and a common written form.{{sfnp|Baxter|1992|pp=7–8}} Others instead argue that it is inappropriate to refer to major branches of Chinese such as Mandarin, Wu, and so on as "dialects" because the mutual unintelligibility between them is too great.{{sfnp|DeFrancis|1984|pp=55–57}}{{sfnp|Thomason|1988|pp=27–28}} However, calling major Chinese branches "languages" would also be wrong under the same criterion, since a branch such as Wu, itself contains many mutually unintelligible varieties, and could not be properly called a single language.{{sfnp|Norman|2003|p=72}}

There are also viewpoints pointing out that linguists often ignore mutual intelligibility when varieties share intelligibility with a central variety (i.e. prestige variety, such as Standard Mandarin), as the issue requires some careful handling when mutual intelligibility is inconsistent with language identity.{{sfnp|Campbell|2008}}

The Chinese government's official Chinese designation for the major branches of Chinese is {{zhi|c=方言|p=fāngyán|l=regional speech}}, whereas the more closely related varieties within these are called {{zhi|s=地点方言|t=地點方言|p=dìdiǎn fāngyán|l=local speech}}.{{sfnp|DeFrancis|1984|p=57}}

Because of the difficulties involved in determining the difference between language and dialect, other terms have been proposed. These include ''topolect'',{{sfnp|Mair|1991|p=7}} ''[[lect]]'',<ref>{{Harv|Bailey|1973|p=11}}, cited in {{Harvp|Groves|2010|p=531}}</ref> ''[[vernacular]]'',{{sfnp|Haugen|1966|p=927}} ''[[Regional language|regional]]'',{{sfnp|DeFrancis|1984|p=57}} and ''[[language variety|variety]]''.{{sfnp|Hudson|1996|p=22}}{{sfnp|Mair|1991|p=17}}