by
David K. Jordan
Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, U California, San Diego
[the rest of his article here]
Mandarin. The expression "Chinese language" designates a number of mutually unintelligible but historically related languages (groups of dialects) spoken by the Hàn 漢 people of China and by Hàn in overseas Chinese communities. Because Chinese governments are rather sensitive about the possibility of local autonomy, it is politically incorrect to describe any of these Hàn languages as independent languages (although they are that by any non-politicized definition), and accordingly they are conventionally called "dialects." Each contains very considerable internal dialectical variation. Most are named after the present or past names of the places where they are spoken.
The most widespread Chinese language, known as "Mandarin" or Guānhuà 官話, is spoken in north, central, and west China. The Mandarin dialect of Bĕijīng has for centuries been the language of government. Important non-Mandarin dialect groups (languages) are:
Cantonese or Guăngdōnghuà 廣東話, sometimes also referred to as the Yuè 粵 dialects, spoken in Guăngdōng province. The English name "Cantonese" derives from the city of "Canton," (Guăngzhōu 廣州, the provincial capital.) One of the most often mentioned of the Cantonese dialects is Táishān 台山, variously spelled Taishan, Toisan, Toishan, Hoisan, &c. It is the dialect of the coastal district of Tánshān, to the southwest of Guăngzhōu, and was once the most common kind of Chinese spoken in the Chinatowns of North America.
Hakka or Kèjiāhuà 客家話, spoken in some parts of Guăngdōng and Fújiàn provinces.
Hokkien or Southern Mĭn or Mĭnnánhuà 閩南話 of southern Fújiàn and Táiwān provinces. The English dialect name "Hokkien" is derived from the local pronunciation of the province name. Other names used for this group of dialects are "Fukienese," "Taiwanese," and "Amoy" (from the former Romanized spelling of Xiàmén [locally pronounced 廈門 ē-mnĝ], the coastal city near the center of this dialect region).
Foochow or Northern Mĭn or Mĭnbĕihuà 閩北話 of northern Fújiàn province, sometimes referred to in Chinese as Fúzhōuhuà 福州話, after Fúzhōu 福州, the provincial capital; hence the English name Foochow (or occasionally Hokchiu).
Shanghainese or Wúhuà 吳話 or Wúyŭ 吳語 of lower Yángzi valley, including Shànghăi, sometimes referred to in English as "the Wú dialects." (Because of the overwhelming importance of Shanghai as the center of China's publishing industry, Shanghainese speech has traditionally dictated the way foreign names are represented in Chinese characters, which explains why many of them seem so improbable to foreign students of Mandarin.)
Xiāng or Xiānghuà 湘話 of Húnán province.
Overseas Chinese normally speak dialects of Hokkien (Mĭnnán) or Cantonese. Taken together, the groups of dialects constituting spoken Chinese are spoken by about 94% of the population of political China. The remaining 6% speak Tibetan, Mongol, Yao-Miao, Thai, Uigur, and other non-Hàn languages. In the far south, Hàn dialects seem (to me) to grade into northern Vietnamese dialects.
In the XXth century the dialect of Bĕijīng was chosen as the official national language, and succeeding Chinese governments promoted it (in very slightly different variants) under the names "National Language" Guóyŭ 國語 and "Common Speech" Pŭtōnghuà 普通話. In Singapore it is called "Chinese Speech" Huáyŭ 華語. This language is official throughout China and is what is usually taught under the name of "Chinese" in schools outside China, including Chinese serving Cantonese- or Hokkien-speaking people. (It is ironic that elderly Cantonese in Fiji, say, seek to keep their Chinese heritage alive by forcing the kids to study Mandarin, a language which the elderly people themselves do not speak, but never mind that. Nationalism is a remarkable thing.)
The English name "Mandarin" comes from the Portuguese. The speech of Bĕijīng, having been as close as the Imperial régime came to an official language, was therefore referred to as Guānhuà, or "officials' speech." (Guān means an official.) But the word guān never got borrowed into English. Instead, English borrowed the Portuguese translation (mandarim). (The Portuguese word in turn came apparently from the Malay mantrī or menteri, meaning "minister of state." And Malay had borrowed it from Sanskrit mantrin "counselor," ultimately derived from the Sanskrit root man, meaning "to think." Now you know.)
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