What is Mandarin? 🇨🇳
Mandarin Chinese, also known as Northern Chinese, is the most commonly spoken dialect of the Chinese languages. It is spoken all over China and is the native language of two-thirds of the population.
Chinese is also the official language in five countries/territories and is the sole official language in China and Taiwan, as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
Mandarin is considered as one of the most complicated languages to learn as it is a tonal language, meaning that words can change their definition depending on the pronunciation. It also has around 50,000 characters, although there are no verb conjugations, tenses or gender-specific nouns.
The history of Mandarin 🇨🇳
There are hundreds of modern varieties of Chinese that stem from variants of Old and Middle Chinese. These are generally categorised into 6 main groups which include Mandarin, Gan, Wu, Xiang, Hakka, Yue, and Min.
Old Mandarin 🇨🇳
Old Mandarin originated after the fall of the Northern Song and the reign of the Jin and Yuan dynasties in Northern China. During this time, most people began speaking a language that was founded on the dialects of the North China plain, which was later referred to as Old Mandarin.
Vernacular Literature 📚
Literary Chinese was the main form of Chinese used in formal writing, poetry,and fiction until the early 20th century. The spoken variety of Chinese differed greatly from that of Literary Chinese, which was learned as a special language. However, Literary Chinese was less useful for materials such as plays where the primary purpose was to be produced orally. Literally Chinese generally reflected the various Mandarin varieties and, as pronunciation differences are not evident in written form, Literally Chinese could unify Mandarin speakers regardless of the different regions they lived in.
Koiné of the Late Empire 👑
Until the mid-1900s, the majority of Chinese people who lived in the South of China only spoke their local dialect of Chinese. To make it easier, officials of the Qing and Ming dynasties used a language based on Mandarin varieties called Guānhuà to carry out all of their work. In order to have an official career, it was essential to be able to speak this language.
Standard Mandarin Chinese 🇨🇳
Standard Mandarin Chinese, the dialect of Mandarin that was predominantly spoken amongst the educated classes in Beijing, became the official language of China in the early 20th century. In the years following the declaration of China as a republic, those who were a part of the New Culture Movement successfully pushed for Literary Chinese to be replaced by written vernacular Chinese as the common written standard. The standard language is the medium of instruction in education, in formal occasions, and in the media in Mainland China, as well as in Taiwan and the Chinese Singaporean community.
Myanmar 🇲🇲
In some rebel-held regions of Myanmar, Mandarin is the lingua franca. A Southwestern Mandarin dialect that is closely related to the Yunnanese dialect is spoken amongst local Chinese and other ethnic groups in Northern Myanmar.
Taiwan 🇹🇼
Standard Mandarin is the official language of Taiwan, although the standard of Mandarin spoken in Taiwan differs from that spoken in mainland China. The colloquial spoken form of Taiwanese Mandarin has been greatly influenced by Taiwanese and other local languages. Alternating between Mandarin and Taiwanese is common amongst its speakers.
Singapore 🇸🇬
As well as English, Tamil and Malay, Mandarin is one of the official languages of Singapore. Before the Singaporean government launched the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979, Mandarin was not commonly spoken amongst the Chinese Singaporean community. A more informal and colloquial form known as Singdarin is commonly spoken in everyday life and has been influenced by other local languages.
Malaysia 🇲🇾
In Malaysia, Mandarin is not as commonly spoken amongst its Malaysian Chinese community as Cantonese is the main language used in commerce and local media. However, Mandarin is the primary language used in local Chinese language schools, where it is based on the Singaporean dialect.