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Distribution of Chinese dialect groups within the Greater China Region This video explains the differences in pronunciation and vocabulary among Mandarin Dialects (Std. Mandarin, Sichuan Mandarin and NE Mandarin) and Cantonese. The following is a list of Sinitic languages and their dialects.
Linguistically, Xiaogan dialect is a dialect of Mandarin, but the pronunciation and diction are quite different from spoken Standard Chinese. Knowing the local dialect is of considerable social benefit, and most Chinese who permanently move to a new area will attempt to pick up the local dialect.
"Cantonese" as used to refer to the language native to the city of Canton, which is the traditional English name of Guangzhou, was popularized by An English and Cantonese Pocket Dictionary (1859), a bestseller by the missionary John Chalmers. [6] Before 1859, this variant was often referred to in English as "the Canton dialect". [7] [6]
Standard Chinese, known in China as Putonghua, based on the Mandarin dialect of Beijing, [5] is the official national spoken language for the mainland and serves as a lingua franca within the Mandarin-speaking regions (and, to a lesser extent, across the other regions of mainland China).
Those with higher education also speak Mandarin and/or English. The use of non-Mandarin Chinese varieties still prevails. Hokkien (a Southern Min dialect) is mostly used in Yangon as well as in Lower Burma, while Taishanese (a Yue language akin to Cantonese) and Yunnanese Mandarin are well preserved in Upper Burma.
The number of sounds in the different spoken dialects varies, but in general, there has been a tendency to a reduction in sounds from Middle Chinese. The Mandarin dialects in particular have experienced a dramatic decrease in sounds and so have far more polysyllabic words than most other spoken varieties.
Mandarin’s four tones are enough to flummox English speakers. For example, depending on the inflection, "ma" can mean "mother," "numb," "horse" or "yell at." With nine tones, Cantonese is even ...
Guangzhou Cantonese; Hong Kong Cantonese; Malaysian Cantonese; Regional variants of the English language. British and Malaysian English differences; Regional differences in the Korean language. North–South differences in the Korean language; Regional differences in the Portuguese language. Portuguese dialects#Notable features of some dialects