A country with a comprehensive history, China sure has a linguistic diversity present even to this day. Other than standard Chinese or Mandarin, more languages are spoken, written and signed in the country. Other than just that, the Chinese language is also spoken by at least 20% of the entire world’s population. Other than If this interests you, then definitely look at what we are about to unveil.
The Number of Spoken Languages in China
If we have to officiate things, then there are around 302 working dialects in China. But if you don’t know much, then the numbers might fluctuate up to a certain degree.
The number of speakers in the minority groups of China has come down lately, and a lot of them are almost endangered. The population of China is home to at least 56 ethnic groups, and they have all played an enormous role in the development of the language.
Other than spoken and written language, there is also sign language, used by 20 million deaf people in the country. So without much further ado, we must look into the scenario of the Chinese language.
History
Being the oldest spoken and written language globally, it has a legacy of over six thousand years. Scholars found Chinese characters encrypted on the back of turtle shells dated to 1766 BC (Shang Dynasty). This proves that the Chinese language has existed for over 3000 years!
Even though people now speak in standard Mandarin in mainland China, people conversed in Archaic Chinese back in the 11th to 7th centuries (mid-Zhou Dynasty). And in these inscriptions, one could find bronze artifacts, the poetry and history of “Shujing”, and little information about Yijing.
However, the origin of the Chinese language is still under view, but scholars believe it is derived from two separate languages. And if that isn’t fascinating, then you must learn that they found no written record as to whether the Chinese language came from the Sino-Tibetan styles or not.
The Top 10 Main Languages in China
These official variants of the Chinese language are called Chinese dialects or Hànyǔ fāngyán. Please remember that linguists consider these dialects as separate languages. However, in mainland China, it is inclusive to call them dialects.
These variants of the Chinese language are known as Sinitic speeches, which belong to the Sino-Tibetan linguistics tree, and we have placed each in this list:
Standard Mandarin
This Mandarin language is the official/main language in China and is also referred to as Standard Chinese. It is also known as Putonghua in China and happens to be the predominant language.
65.7% of the Chinese inhabitants speak this language which makes it the most spoken language in China. And people study standard Mandarin all around the world when they’re learning Chinese language.
Min
This dialect is a group of vocabularies that the people of the coastal territory of Fujian speak. 6.2% of China’s populace are local Min speakers. Maybe this language has various assortments because of the topographic.
Wu Chinese
Shanghai has speakers mainly in and about. But it is derived from Suzhou, and 6.1% of China’s population speaks the lingo. Some people also call it Shanghainese.
Yue/Cantonese
Other than the official Chinese language, many people around the world are also familiar with Cantonese. Even though it is used by 5.6% of the Chinese population, its relationship with action movies and the Chinese exodus has increased permeability abroad, particularly contrasted with large numbers of the supplementary scarce notable Chinese variations.
Jin Chinese
Among all the Chinese dialects, Jin Chinese or Jìnyǔ only comprise 5.2% Chinese populace. And most people speaking Jin reside in areas of China that include Shanxi Province, just as portions of Interior Mongolia, Hebei, Henan, and Shaanxi.
Gan Chinese
Only 3.9% of the population speak this dialect, and you can find speakers in Hunan, Hubei, Fujian and Anhui. Some people say it has a proximity to Hakka.
Hakka Chinese
You may know it because of the cuisine, but it is also the third most spoken language in China and overseas communities. However, only 3.5% of China speaks chinese language. You can also find speakers in Southeast Asia and also in China towns throughout the planet.
Xiang Chinese
This language is the most common in the Hunan province. But you can also find speakers of this dialect in the Southwest areas. A lot of people call the language Hunanese because of the large concentration of speakers in Hunan.
Huizhou Chinese
The scattered communities of Eastern China speak in this small group of dialects. Only 0.3% of Chinese speak this dialect from all the languages spoken in China. That is why the language gets dropped from the list usually.
Pinghua Chinese
This dialect also has a small number of speakers, i.e., 0.6%, which is why this language also gets left off language lists. You may find speakers in parts of the Far South Sovereign District.
Bottom Line
We could delve more into the other types of languages spoken, but readers can only take information in limits. China’s incredible phonetic variety makes it a heaven for anybody enthusiastic concerning language and etymology. Concentrating on the Chinese language gives an intriguing window into the country’s rich history, colossal topography, and marvellous social and ethnic variety.
