中文 ( 汉语 ) by: 美 苏 珊 Mandarin Chinese by: 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 China 1958: 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 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