Some Simple Facts Regarding the Chinese Language

Today, the most standard form of Chinese that is spoken is known as Standard Mandarin, which is based on a dialect spoken in Beijing.  It is also the official language now used by the people of China, as well as those in Taiwan, and one of 4 official languages spoken by those people from Singapore.  

Also, you will find that this language has now become one of the six official languages used by the United Nations.  

Another standard language that is spoken by Hong Kong and Macau, which are also part of China, is Standard Cantonese.  

But in this book, we will be looking closely at how to learn Standard Mandarin.

Most of the dialects now spoken by the Chinese people will often consist of words spoken by their ancestors, back when China was made up of various different ethnic groups.  

It was only after these groups had come together under the Chinese Empire, did they start to unite the languages that they spoke.

However, as the Chinese use a standard formal written language, no matter what dialect they speak, often people will regard these dialects as being equal.  But in fact, they are like any other country, their own individuals; they just use a standardized form of writing.

It was during the latter part of the 19th Century that Beijing Mandarin became the more standard form of Chinese language to be used.  But it was at this time many Chinese did speak variations of Mandarin, though they were very limited.  

However, things changed when the education system in China was based on Standard Mandarin and was to be used as the language for carrying out instructions.  Today, nearly every person in mainland China speaks Mandarin.  

It is important to note that the various different dialects of spoken Chinese use tones.  Some areas of China (in the North) will only use as many as 3 tonnes, while in Southern China, they can use between 6 or 10 tones as they speak.

Today, more and more people are looking to learn Mandarin in the Western hemisphere of the world.  Up until about 10 years ago, it was proving to be extremely difficult to find someone who could teach others this language.  

Today, there are quite a number of schools across the US, and across the rest of the world, where this language is now being taught.

Back in 1991, there were only 2,000 people taking China’s official Chinese language proficiency test, and this figure had risen to 117,660 by 2005.  In fact, the Ministry of Education in China believe that there are over 30 million people around the world who are learning Mandarin.

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