ABSTRACT
About 70% of Chinese people in China speak Mandarin Chinese, which is the standard language spoken nationally in China. The pronunciation of Mandarin is based on the Northern dialect (which has many sub-dialects under it), which is one of the seven major dialects of the Chinese language. The other six dialects are Cantonese, Gan, Hakka, Min, Wu and Xiang. Although different dialects differ immensely in pronunciation, they share the same written form. The name for this standard form is Putonghua (common speech) in mainland China, Guoyu or Huayu (national language) in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other overseas Chinese communities, and Mandarin Chinese in English-speaking countries. Other forms such as Zhongwen (Chinese) or Hanyu (the Han language, Han Chinese speakers making up 93% of the Chinese population) are more formal and are often used among Chinese language learners. Native Chinese speakers often use the term Zhongwen rather than Putonghua when they ask non-native Chinese speakers if they speak Chinese. Putonghua is taught in schools and spoken by television and radio presenters in mainland China, and it is the kind of spoken language which is most understood by Chinese speakers. This book deals with Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese).2
