Today, it often seems like China is taking over the world, their industry is seemingly everywhere, and their language is spoken by 1.3 billion people. Yet, the languages of China are not as cut-and-dry as you may think…
Indeed, as with pretty much every other country in the world, there are numerous languages spoken in China. 302 to be exact, more so than any other country on Earth (but then again, China is the fourth largest country in the world!)
Official Language of China
According to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, there is only one official language of China:
Standard Chinese
If you live in the west, chances are that you’ve never heard of someone refer to it as “Standard Chinese”. Instead, you probably know it more by its western name, Mandarin, or perhaps even its Chinese name of Putonghua.
One of the problems with China, is that it has been ruled by foreigners and ethnic minorities for centuries. As such, China has never fully established an official state language as most other countries have.
For centuries, the Chinese government has used multiple different Chinese dialects to perform its duties. However, by the 1980’s, China’s ruling party, the Chinese Communist Party decided to start pushing for an official language in order to make everybody “equal”.
To that end, they began promoting the Beijing Mandarin dialect of Chinese (spoken in Beijing) as “Standard Chinese”. Here, Mandarin acts as the official language of education, politics, the media and so on.
As a language that has only technically “existed” since the 1980’s, Mandarin has slowly been acquiring more and more native and second language speakers, to the point where it has almost 1 billion speakers to date!
Regional Languages of China
Although Mandarin/Standard Chinese is the sole official language of China, there are numerous regional dialects spoken in China, which are languages in their own right, in all but name (in order to bolster the number of people who want to learn Mandarin).
Whilst not an exhaustive list, by far the most commonly spoken are:
Cantonese
Besides the aforementioned Mandarin, Cantonese is perhaps the other language of China you’ve heard of before today. After all, it’s a language that’s both widely spoken (by around 80 million people) and that is culturally and historically significant too!
Although there are small pockets of Cantonese speakers spread all throughout the country, the majority of China’s Cantonese speakers are located in mainland southwestern China, with the most speakers being in Guangzhou.
For the most part, Cantonese is the official language of the Yue people, who have been among the most influential Chinese ethnic groups in Chinese history…
However, Cantonese isn’t just spoken in mainland southwestern China. Indeed, the language is also one of the official languages of China’s two most famous islands: Macau and Hong Kong – where it’s spoken by the Chinese population.
On a historical note, Cantonese often served as one of the official languages of China before the promotion of Mandarin in the 1980’s, a role it had served in for as well over 1300 years (as far back as 618 AD!)
Hakka
Although Cantonese may be the most famous, it is by no means the only regional language of China. Indeed, in southern China, the Hakka dialect of Chinese is most prevalent, spoken by the Hakka subsect of the Han people.
Unlike many other Chinese dialects, Hakka were one of the first Chinese groups that interacted with European missionaries. over time, these missionaries would learn Hakka, giving the language many European words – many of which are still in use today!
In total, experts estimate that there are 47.8 million native speakers of Hakka, most of whom are located in Southern China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as neighboring countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
As with other regional dialects of Chinese, Hakka is also widely spoken by the Chinese diaspora, particularly in southern Europe, in countries such as Spain and Italy, where there are large Chinese-speaking communities.
Jin
If you’re familiar with Chinese history, you’re probably familiar with the famed Jin dynasty. Whilst the Jin haven’t ruled China for almost two millennia, their legacy on the region can still be seen today, mostly in the language they likely spoke…
Famously, the Jin came from an area that is modern north-central China, as well as parts of the Chinese autonomous community of Inner Mongolia, where the language is still spoken today.
Today, there are roughly 63 million speakers of Jin in China, most of whom also speak Mandarin, which it is closely related to (from a linguists point-of-view).
As a result of this, many linguists (backed by the Chinese government) have tried to argue that Jin is actually a dialect of Mandarin (which is the language’s official status in China) whilst others have argued it’s merely a sister language to Mandarin.
Min
If you were to travel to the southeastern coast of China, especially the province of Fuijan, you’d find that the dialect of Chinese they speak there is radically different from many of the other dialects of Chinese.
In fact, Min is so different to the other Chinese dialect that just because you speak one variety of Min, doesn’t mean you can necessarily understand the rest!
Or in other words, would be like learning American English and not understanding British English…
Whilst in reality not a part of what we call “China”, Min is also spoken on the island of Taiwan, which is claimed by China, although has essentially functioned as its own country since 1949 (although it’s only partially recognized and a contentious issue).
According to the Chinese government, there are an estimated 30 million people within China who can speak Min Chinese, as well as it being a common language spoken by Chinese immigrants to the United States.
Wu
Today, Shanghai is one of China’s largest megacities. Indeed, over the last 25 years, the city has established itself as a major financial and manufacturing hub, with the city not speaking Mandarin, but instead another language: Wu.
Historically spoken by the Wu people – a subsect of the Hans, Wu became widely spoken in the east of China, mostly due to Shanghai being one of the most important cities in ancient China…
Unlike other dialects of Chinese, Wu Chinese is one of the few Chinese dialects that gets official recognition from the Chinese government, mostly due to the historical significance fo the language.
Mostly, this historical significance is due not to the language itself, but rather the people who used it. Among its famous speakers is Chiang Kia-Shek, Cai Yuanpei and Lu Xen who all played instrumental roles in Chinese history!
To date, Wu Chinese has roughly 80 million speakers spread all throughout China, although this is beginning to decline as a result of Beijing pushing for more people to learn Mandarin over regional dialects like Wu.
Xiang
Traveling to the South Central region of China, you’ll find that the people there, the Xiang people (sometimes referred to as the Hunanese, after the region they live in) speak a language known as Xiang.
Much like Wu, Xiang has also received quite a bit of recognition in recent years, owing largely to the fact that Xiang speakers have led much of China’s crucial reforms over the last 200 years.
Currently, the Chinese government estimates that there are around 38 million native Xiang speakers. Much like Wu, however, this number is decreasing each year, as the Chinese government is pushing for the use of Mandarin over Xiang in everyday life.
Whilst this has been devastating for Wu, Xiang has adapted. Over the 40 years, there has been an increase in the New Xiang dialect of Chinese, otherwise known as the Changsha dialect, which is essentially a modernized version of “Old Xiang”.
Foreign Languages of China
As a modernizing country, China is encouraging all of its young people to learn at least foreign language, as to help expand China’s influence in all industries, both at home and abroad.
Whilst not an exhaustive list by any means, by far the most spoken second languages in China are:
Korean
Much of China’s history has been marked by it controlling its neighbors – either directly or indirectly. As one of its closest neighbors, much of Korean history has seen it be controlled by China – either directly or indirectly.
Thanks to this, the histories of the two countries are heavily intertwined, perhaps more so than you’d think. From a linguistic point-of-view, this has also seen Korean become a favorite second language of historic Chinese civil servants.
Although China no longer controls Korea, many schools continue to teach Korean as a second language due to both countries relying on one another for trade, mostly to do with the two countries’ involvement in the tech worlds.
Indeed, whilst a foreign language, Korean is one of the few languages that a Chinese school could teach in. However, these schools need special permission and are often half-Korean, half-Mandarin, mostly made up of Koreans living in China.
According to the Chinese government, there are around 2 million native Korean speakers in China, as well as a further 5 million Chinese who can speak Korean as a second language.
Russian
You may or may not know this, but China is actually one of five remaining communist countries. Prior to WWII, China had been in a state of civil war between the nationalist Kuomintang and Mao Zedong’s communists.
During the war, both sides had put their differences aside to fight the Japanese, but fighting resumed after the end of WWII. In 1949, Mao’s communists would be victorious, with the remaining Kuomintang troops fleeing to Taiwan.
Almost immediately, Mao would seek to develop international allies, in particular their northern (and fellow communist) neighbor, the Soviet Union. To that end, the two countries signed a number treaties that helped both sides greatly.
Thanks to these treaties, Russian-speaking Soviet citizens began to move to China, primarily Beijing. As a result of the two nations’ close bonds, many young Chinese people who dreamed of becoming diplomats, often learned Russian.
Despite the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Russian is still quite widely taught in China, although it’s slowly being replaced by other languages…
To date, there are roughly 10 million Russian speakers in China, most of whom are located in China’s megacities (with Beijing, Chongqing and Shanghai having the most).
English
During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Chinese leaders sought to open up the country to foreign trade, as their immense population could produce goods for the West at a much cheaper price than they could be in the West.
To that end, coupled with Sino-Soviet split of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, many Russian classes were replaced by English ones, with the Chinese government seeing how knowing English could be useful when doing business with both the US and UK.
Much to the government’s dismay, there are several industries (mostly manufacturing) where English is the lingua franca spoken between workers and/or by the higher-ups (who then communicate to their western counterparts in English).
Owing to being a former British colony, English is also one of the two official languages of Hong Kong. Even though the British left the island almost 25 years ago, English is widely used in day-to-day life on the island.
According to the Chinese government, there are roughly 10 million English speakers in China. Although some refute this, China currently have the largest number of people learning English in the world!
Japanese
Looking at a man of China, you’ll likely notice that it’s quite close to Japan. Indeed, both countries have an intertwined history, with it being difficult to talk about Chinese history without talking about Japanese history and vice-versa.
Indeed, these cultural and historic similarities (to a point) has influenced many young Chinese people to learn Japanese as a second language, either in school or at home, as to increase their employment prospects.
On a more morbid note, many older Chinese people are also able to speak Japanese to varying extents, as parts of China were conquered by Japan in the lead-up to WWII, before being returned to China after the war.
According to the Chinese government, there are roughly 7.5 to 8 million Chinese people who can speak Japanese to a high level, and about 1 million who are learning the language at home or at school.
In recent years, the need for Japanese translators and interpreters have increased in China, mostly owing to Chinese manufacturing conglomerates doing business with Japan’s “big tech” industry, which China hopes to rival and surpass.
An unintended consequence of this has been a small amount of Japanese migration to China, again, mostly in China’s megacities.
Spanish
In recent years, China has embarked on what it calls the “New Silk Road” project, otherwise known as the Belt and Road Initiative. To that end, China plan to invest over $900 billion to “kindle a new era of globalization” as they put it.
Whilst they’re investing in most countries, China have put a particular emphasis on investing in Latin America. To that end, China have spent the preceding two decades teaching millions of students how to speak Spanish.
China have done this in the hopes that at least some of these Spanish-speaking Chinese people will be involved in the Latin American part of the Belt and Road Initiative, in some regard…
Although estimates and government surveys vary, there is an estimated 1 – 2 million Spanish-speakers in China, with this number expected to grow exponentially in the coming years.
Perhaps not surprisingly, there have been a number of Latin American businessmen move to China as well, in the hopes of striking deals with the Chinese government. Inadvertently, this has resulted in some industries in China using Spanish as a lingua franca.
Portuguese
However, China isn’t just investing in Latin America. In fact, China is investing in almost every country on Earth, whilst focusing on the developing world, such as Latin America, but also Africa.
You may not know this, but countries like Cape Verde, Mozambique and Angola are all former Portuguese colonies, and thus speak Portuguese. And which countries are getting some of the most money?
You guessed it! Cape Verde. Mozambique. Angola.
Much like Spanish, China have been planning this for a long time, having taught Portuguese to millions of young Chinese people across the country in the hopes that at least a few of them will go on to help the Chinese government.
On top of this, Portuguese is also one of the two official languages of Macau (formerly a Portuguese colony, which was ceded back to China in 1997) although it’s prevalence in everyday life has been vastly reduced since 1997, replaced by Mandarin.
In fact, China have banked on Macau’s Portuguese heritage, getting the Macau government to stimulate interest in the Portuguese language in Macau, who then go on to work for the Chinese government in Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and so on.
Today, the Chinese government estimate that there are between 10 and 20 million Portuguese speakers in China, 95% of whom are in either Macau or Beijing. Most of the rest are scattered throughout China, mostly in the country’s megacities.
Which are your favorite languages of China? Do you speak any (besides English of course)? Tell me in the comments!