Languages of China
Not to be confused with the different Chinese spoken languages.\n----
The different
ethnic groups in China speak a great variety of
languages, called the
Zhongguo Yuwen (中国语文), meaning "
languages of China". These languages span six linguistic families and most of them are dissimilar morphologically and phonetically.
In addition to the above,
English and
Portuguese have official status in parts of China. English is an official language in
Hong Kong, and all laws of the HK government are published both in English and Chinese, with both versions having equal status. Portuguese has a similar status in Macao. In addition, English is a required subject for persons attending university.
Most of the languages of China have historically influenced each other. During most
dynasties, it was the
Chinese languages that
sinicized the other ethnic groups. (See
Ethnic groups in Chinese history.) But during the
Mongol Dynasty, it was the
Mongolian language that dominated. And during the last dynasty, the
Qing, the
Manchu language also had a strong influence, although some of the later Manchu royalty themselves voluntarily adopted the Chinese language as well.
As a result of these mutual influences, there is a certain amount of common vocabulary.
Not all Chinese ethnic groups have developed a separate language. For example, the
Hui Chinese and the
Han Chinese speak the same language, the
Chinese language.
However, the term
Zhongguo Yuwen is sometimes used to be synonymous with "
Chinese language". To clarify, one can use
Zhongguo de Yuwen (中国的语文), which unambiguously means "China's (several) languages".
The following are the spoken and written languages (they are not in one-to-one correspondence) used by the modern citizens of China.
Spoken
The languages of modern Chinese nationalities belong to at least seven families:
- The Sino-Tibetan family: 29 nationalities (including the Han, Tibetans, Zhuang, Miao, and Yao)\n* The Altaic family: 17 (including the Uighur, Mongols, and Manchu)\n* The Austroasiatic family: 4 (the De'ang, Blang, Gin, and Wa)\n* The Tai-Kadai family: several languages are spoken by the Dai people of Yunnan\n* The Indo-European family: 2 (the Russians and Tajiks)\n* The Austronesian family: 1 official nationality (the Gaoshan, who speak far more than 1 language)\n* Language isolate: 1 (the Koreans)
Written
The following languages have traditionally had written forms that do not involve Chinese characters (han zi):
Ten nationalities who never had a written system have, under the PRC's encouragement, developed phonetic alphabets.
See also
External link
