Mandarin Language or Dialect
Standard Mandarin, also known as Standard Spoken Chinese, is the official modern Chinese spoken language of Mainland China and Taiwan.
The phonology of Standard Mandarin is based on the Beijing dialect of the Mandarin language, a large, diverse group of Chinese dialects spoken across northern and south-western China. The vocabulary is largely drawn from these dialects.
Chinese languages have always had dialects and "prestige" dialects have always existed. Hence, convenient "standard" dialects have always been needed. However, these "lingua francae" were probably unknown outside the educated elite. Even among the elite, pronunciations were different, since the unifying factor, Classical Chinese, was a written language, not a spoken one.
The Ming (1368–1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644–1912) began to use the term "official speech", to refer to the speech used at the courts. The term "Mandarin" comes directly from Portuguese. The Portuguese mistakenly assumed that the Sanskrit word "mantri", used throughout Asia to denote "an official" was connected with the Portuguese "mandar" (to order somebody). As the Chinese bureaucratic officials all "issued orders", the Portuguese called them mandarins. The Portuguese immediately started calling the special language that these officials spoke amongst themselves (i.e. "Guanhua") "the mandarin language" or, simply, "Mandarin".
During the early part of this period, the standard was based on the Nanjing dialect of Mandarin, but later the Beijing dialect became increasingly influential. In the 17th century, academies were established in an attempt to make pronunciation conform to the Beijing standard. However, these attempts had little success. As late as the 19th century, the emperor could not understand his own ministers, who did not always follow standard pronunciation. As late as the early 20th century, the position of Nanjing Mandarin was considered by some higher than that of Beijing. Nevertheless, by 1909, the Qing Dynasty had established the Beijing dialect as the "national language".
Following the 1912 establishment of the Republic of China, there was more success in promoting a common national language. A Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation was convened with delegates all over the country. There was an attempt to introduce a standard pronunciation with elements from regional dialects. However, this proved too difficult and was abandoned in 1924. The Beijing dialect became the major source of standard pronunciation, having been a prestigious dialect since the Qing Dynasty.
In both mainland China and Taiwan, the use of Mandarin as the medium of instruction in the educational system has contributed to its spread. As a result, Mandarin is now spoken fluently by most people in Mainland China and in Taiwan. However, in Hong Kong, the language of education remains the local Standard Cantonese but Mandarin is becoming increasingly influential.
The Internet offers a wide range of Mandarin Language Courses for those interested in learning the language. Some of these are free, with audio and video, and offering online tutorials in reading and writing Mandarin, as well as the spoken language.
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