Standard Chinese - Standard Chinese and Other Varieties of Chinese

Standard Chinese and Other Varieties of Chinese

Although Standard Chinese is now firmly established as the lingua franca of China, it differs from other dialects even in the vast Mandarin dialect group, to the point of being to some extent unintelligible. For example, the word for "sky", 天 tiān, is pronounced with a high level tone in the Beijing dialect and in Standard Chinese, but with a low falling tone in the Tianjin dialect and a high rising tone in the Chengdu dialect.

Although both mainland China and Taiwan use Standard Chinese in the official context and are keen to promote its use as a national lingua franca, there is no explicit official intent to have Standard Chinese replace the regional dialects and languages. Practically some elderly or rural Chinese-language speakers do not speak Standard Chinese fluently, if at all, but most are able to understand it. But the younger generations are almost all fluent in Standard Chinese, some to the extent of being unable to speak their local dialect.

It is common for Standard Chinese to be spoken with the speaker's regional accent, depending on factors as age, level of education, and the need and frequency to speak in official or formal situations. This appears to be changing, though, in large urban centers, as social changes, migrations, and urbanization take place.

In the predominantly Han areas in mainland China, while the use of Standard Chinese is encouraged as the common working language, the PRC has been sensitive to the status of minority languages and has not discouraged their use. Standard Chinese is commonly used for logistical reasons, as in many parts of southern China the linguistic diversity is so large that neighboring city dwellers may have difficulties communicating with each other without a lingua franca.

In Taiwan, the relationship between Standard Chinese and other varieties, particularly Taiwanese Hokkien, has been more politically heated. During the martial law period under the Kuomintang (KMT) between 1949 and 1987, the KMT government revived the Mandarin Promotion Council and discouraged or, in some cases, forbade the use of Hokkien and other dialects. This produced a political backlash in the 1990s. Under the administration of Chen Shui-Bian, other Taiwanese varieties were taught in schools. The former President, Chen Shui-Bian, often spoke in Hokkien during speeches, while after late 1990s, former President Lee Teng-hui, also speaks Hokkien openly.

In Singapore, the government has heavily promoted a "Speak Mandarin Campaign" since the late 1970s. The use of other Chinese languages in broadcast media is prohibited and their use in any context is officially discouraged. This has led to some resentment amongst the older generations, as Singapore's migrant Chinese community is made up almost entirely of south Chinese descent. Lee Kuan Yew, the initiator of the campaign, admitted that to most Chinese Singaporeans, Mandarin was a "stepmother tongue" rather than a true mother language. Nevertheless, he saw the need for a unified language among the Chinese community not biased in favor of any existing group.