中文 ( 汉语 )by: 美苏珊

Mandarin Chineseby: Suzanne Mead

• From 221 B.C. until 1912, China did not have a single national language• Rather, the Chinese spoke many different languages and dialects

that developed organically over the course of several millennia.  • In February 1913, the newly established Republic of China convened a

“Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation” in Beijing in order to develop a phonetic system and national language for China• After years of extensive research and debate, the Commission

adopted the Zhuyin (pinyin) alphabet as China’s official alphabet in 1918, deeming it to be the most effective method of teaching Chinese pronunciation.

Language Spread

• The language began with the Zhuyin (pinyin) alphabet a Dictionary of National Pronunciation 

• Was created from the different languages and dialects that developed organically over the course of several millennia• Mandarin was used to combat widespread illiteracy and help

unify the country• Mandarin was used by the People’s Republic of China as a political

tool to help unify the country and bring the people together• Mandarin has been one of the fastest growing languages, which is

why a lot of businesses are investing in interpreters in order to keep up with the business going to China

Language Change

• Standard Form• Mandarin, also called 普通話

• Variant Forms: can be between 7 and 14 subgroups, over 400 dialects• Traditional classification:

• Gan → Jiangxinese• Guan → Mandarin or Beifanghua• Kejia → Hakka• Min → Including the Hokkien and Taiwanese variants• Wu → Including the Shanghainese variant• Xiang → Hunanese• Yue → Including the Cantonese and Taishanese variants

• Modern linguistic classification:• Mandarin → Jin• Wu → Huizhou• Yue → Pinghua• Min• Xiang• Hakka → Kejia• Gan

Standard vs. Variant Languages

• In 1932 the Republic of China officially adopted the Commission’s product, known as Guoyu or Mandarin, as the national language of China and the first definitive dictionary of the Mandarin language was published in that year.  

• In 1982, the People’s Republic of China amended their constitution making Mandarin the official language of China.

• Today over 70% of native Chinese people speak Mandarin

Official Languages

• Nationalism• It’s considered a source of pride to know Mandarin and one of

the local dialects• Mandarin was used to make the country become closer and

more united

• Territory• The PROC used Mandarin to ensure that its citizens were apart

of the country, spread Mandarin to help gain territory

Language and Territory

• 23 Provinces of China• Anhui ( 安徽 ) • Fujian ( 福建 ) • Gansu ( 甘肃 )• Guangdong ( 广东 ) • Guizhou ( 贵州 ) • Hainan ( 海南 ) • Hebei ( 河北 ) • Heilongjiang ( 黑龙江 ) • Henan ( 河南 ) • Hubei ( 湖北 ) • Hunan ( 湖南 )

• Jiangsu ( 江苏 ) • Jiangxi ( 江西 ) • Jilin ( 吉林 ) • Liaoning ( 辽宁 ) • Qinghai ( 青海 ) • Shaanxi ( 陕西 ) • Shandong ( 山东 ) • Shanxi ( 山西 ) • Sichuan ( 四川 ) • Yunnan ( 云南 )• Zhejiang ( 浙江 )

Toponyms

• Beijing holds importance as it is the capital• The Chinese name for China is 中国 meaning middle country• Many city names hold importance to the local cultures

• The main reasons for the movement of the dialects were that the people farmed by the rivers, so the dialects traveled along there

• Mandarin spread from Beijing outward to the edges of the country when the Republic of China adopted Mandarin

• There are still many dialects locked into the various regions, and Mandarin is still being spread throughout the country through different means

Geographic Patterns

Timeline of Mandarin

221 B.C.: Different dialects

1912: China’s last imperial dynasty falls

1913: Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation

begins

1918: Pinyin alphabet is adopted

1920: The Commission published a Dictionary of National Pronunciation

1932: Republic of China makes Mandarin official language

Timeline of Mandarin

1949: The newly installed People’s Republic

of China1958: PROC begins to promote

Mandarin earnestly

1982: PROC amended constitution to make Mandarin

the official language

Isogloss

• Allowed the country to become united

• Created an easier way to communicate

• Did cause the loss of some dialects

• Overall had a positive impact on the country

Results of Diffusion

1. Chinese as a second language is growing in popularity (CCTV)1. In 2010 alone, 750,000 people from around the world took the

Official Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK). 2. Today, there are Chinese programs in more than 550

elementary, junior high and senior high schools, a 100% increase in two years.

3. While at the college level, enrolment in Chinese-language classes has increased 51% since 2002.

2. Chinese speakers use more of their brain than English speakers (Quartz)1. According to a recent study published in the Proceedings for

the National Academy of Sciences. 2. The report is the first to conclude that those who speak tonal

languages like Mandarin exhibit a very different flow of information during speech comprehension, using both hemispheres of the brain rather than just the left, which has long been seen as the primary neurological region for processing language.

2 Current Events