Full Version: Chinese Dialects
Anyone know which dialect of Chinese is going to be spoken more in Seattle? Or the Philipines or China?
Mandarin?
I think Cantonese is the more common "lower class" chinese, the sort more likely to be psoken by imigrints.
It's a bit more complex than that, try this web page. Notice that there are several different languages while they are related (think old, middle, and modern english) you might have trouble or just not be able to understand someone speaking a different 'major dialect' Then each of the majors has 10++ more actual regional dialects...
If we are talking about SR though, we can assume that China had a media revolution and a lot the this was flattened out.
If we are talking about SR though, we can assume that China had a media revolution and a lot the this was flattened out.
| QUOTE |
| If we are talking about SR though, we can assume that China had a media revolution and a lot the this was flattened out. |
I dunno about that. With the way China balkanized in SR, the opposite may have happened, with particular dialects becoming the defacto national dialect.
Usually I'd say Cantonese might be the most common dialect to be found outside, but really, I'm not sure.
Currently, Mandarin is the most prevalent dialect spoken in Seattle's Chinatown. That's not likely to change, even with the changes the SR world has gone through. Nowadays, most Chinese people speak Mandarin plus their regional dialect as well; IIRC Mandarin is the "official" dialect.
Cantonese is recognised as the Chinese dialect by Hollywood. You must understand that even small regions in China have their own dialects, it is the proliferation of Hong Kong movies that leads people to think that Cantonese is the official dialect of Chinese immigrants but it is only because Cantonese is widely spoken in Hong Kong. If Taiwan was the Chinese movie capital, you would think that Hokkien or Fujian is the most widely spoken dialect...
I don't watch very many Hong Kong movies; most of the Chinese I've heard spoken is Mandarin. (Such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon": I had an interesting time matching up what was spoken with what the subtitles said.) That said, I'd say it's fair that it's a 50/50 split between Cantonese and Mandarin, depending on which area of China most of Seattle's population immigrated from. Heck, in the future it might be a three or four-way split if there were a lot of immigrants from Sichuan or Henan, for example.
While Seattle isn't San Francisco and vice versa, when I was able to roam through SF's Chinatown over ten years ago most of what I heard was Mandarin with a smattering of other dialects.
While Seattle isn't San Francisco and vice versa, when I was able to roam through SF's Chinatown over ten years ago most of what I heard was Mandarin with a smattering of other dialects.
What about an "buisness chinese"?
| QUOTE (Snow_Fox @ Aug 30 2004, 09:59 PM) |
| I think Cantonese is the more common "lower class" chinese, the sort more likely to be psoken by imigrints. |
Ahem, 'scuse me while I suppress the urge to pound the heck out of you...
Mandarin was decided the official language of the chinese back when the China had overthrown the Emperor and were forming a new government. One of the main contending dialects was Cantonese, it is well known from the Guangzhou province. Several notables at the time include Dr. Sun Yat-Sen who is from the Canton province. 'lower class' my arse. But in the end they chose mandarin, so that is now the main official language. But there are hundreds of dialects in China. Even Guangzhou (or Canton) province, while it is mainly Cantonese will have several other distinct dialects in it depending on the region, like some mountain groups.
The reason for the heavy influx in the beginning of cantonese speakers in the areas is because of the folks in Hong Kong and the Guangzhou province who are willing to be the first to immigrate to other areas. They are also one of the first to become more established. Many of the Chinatowns, the older more established families eventually become more successful and leave out of there. The more recent comers (mainly from the mainland) are the ones that move into the chinatowns and therefore you hear more mandarin. Now that China is more open, there are more people who are moving everywhere speaking mandarin, or whatever dialects they'll speak.
The general practice now is to use mandarin for business.
I agree with PBTHHHHT.
Mandarin is the official dialect of both China and Taiwan.
Almost every region has at least one "local" dialect or flavour. However, the written language is common. (Cantonese and Mandarin is identical when written....even the gramatical structure is similar.)
Edit - The official languages of The Phillipines are Filipino, and English. (Currently....in real life.) In the SR world, given the influx of the Japanese in the Phillipines, you could quite easily toss Japanese into the mix too.
Edit 2 - Check out this site for more on the Phillipines
Mandarin is the official dialect of both China and Taiwan.
Almost every region has at least one "local" dialect or flavour. However, the written language is common. (Cantonese and Mandarin is identical when written....even the gramatical structure is similar.)
Edit - The official languages of The Phillipines are Filipino, and English. (Currently....in real life.) In the SR world, given the influx of the Japanese in the Phillipines, you could quite easily toss Japanese into the mix too.
Edit 2 - Check out this site for more on the Phillipines
| QUOTE (Pistons) |
| I don't watch very many Hong Kong movies; . |
same for me. My take was that Mandarin was, i thought, more tied to the manchurians so the canotnese, would be forced out to the west as the mandarins were the ruling class.
| QUOTE (Snow_Fox) | ||
same for me. My take was that Mandarin was, i thought, more tied to the manchurians so the canotnese, would be forced out to the west as the mandarins were the ruling class. |
ok, that REALLY didn't make any sense.
The majority of the people in China are Han chinese even though we speak different dialects that are prevalent in our regions. The Cantonese dialect is located in the southern province of Guandong/Guangzhou/Canton. I'd really suggest that you read up on the the regions of China, the history, whatnot and not base it on Hollywood and other movies.
| QUOTE (PBTHHHHT) | ||||
ok, that REALLY didn't make any sense. The majority of the people in China are Han chinese even though we speak different dialects that are prevalent in our regions. The Cantonese dialect is located in the southern province of Guandong/Guangzhou/Canton. I'd really suggest that you read up on the the regions of China, the history, whatnot and not base it on Hollywood and other movies. |
But hollywood doesn't lie
| QUOTE (PBTHHHHT) |
| I'd really suggest that you read up on the the regions of China, the history, whatnot and not base it on Hollywood and other movies. |
What the hell are forums for?
Well okay you wanna know about chinese.
Well the many dialect. mandarin is common in China town and west coast of america.
mandarin is also the most common chinese language. Traditional Chinese can be spoken and understood by most Chinese dialects.
Well the many dialect. mandarin is common in China town and west coast of america.
mandarin is also the most common chinese language. Traditional Chinese can be spoken and understood by most Chinese dialects.
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