Linguistic classification of Chinese

The International Language Coding Standard ISO639-3 formulated by the International Organization for Standardization divides Chinese into nine first-class dialects: Min dialect (cdo), Jin dialect (cjy), Mandarin (cmn), Hui dialect (czh), Gan dialect, hakka dialect (Hak), Xiang dialect (hsn), Wu dialect and Yue dialect.

1, min dialect (cdo)

Min dialect is a language title divided by region, not a language classification. In fact, the five major Chinese dialects referred to by Min Dialect are independent in language, namely, Northern Min Dialect, Southern Min Dialect, Eastern Min Dialect, Chinese Min Dialect and Puxian Dialect.

Minnan dialect is distributed in 24 counties in southern Fujian, Chaoshan area in Taiwan Province Province and Guangdong Province, Leizhou Peninsula in Hainan Province and southern Zhejiang Province, with Xiamen dialect as the representative.

2. Jin language

Jin dialect is the only unofficial dialect in northern China. Shanxi-Henan region starts from Taihang Mountain in the east, is close to Helan Mountain in the west, reaches Yinshan Mountain in the north, and reaches the Wei Fen Valley of the Yellow River in the south, which is an important birthplace of Chinese civilization. ?

The biggest feature of Jin dialect, which is different from Putonghua, is that it retains the entering tone. The New Chinese Atlas named all northern regional dialects with Rusheng as "Jin dialect" and distinguished them from modern Mandarin. Most dialects of Jin dialect have five tones, and some areas have six, seven or four tones.

There is a complex tone sandhi phenomenon in Jin dialect. There are four different ways of evolution of Jin dialect. There are many distinctive words and archaic words in Jin dialect that are quite different from those in Putonghua.

3. Mandarin dialect

That is, Putonghua, a modern standard Chinese with northern dialect (Mandarin) as the basic dialect and typical modern vernacular as the grammatical norm. As one of the working languages of the United Nations, Mandarin has become an important bridge for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and the first choice for foreigners to learn Chinese.

4. Hui dialect

Anhui dialect does not refer to a single dialect system, but consists of various dialects in Anhui Province. There are Putonghua areas and non-Putonghua areas. Dialects in Anhui Province can be roughly divided into four categories: Mandarin, Gan dialect, Wu dialect and Hui dialect.

Mandarin areas, including Central Plains Mandarin and Jianghuai Mandarin, can basically communicate with each other, but Gan dialect and Wu dialect in non-Mandarin areas can basically communicate with each other, while Hui dialect has great differences, making it difficult to communicate.

Hefei dialect is the representative of Jianghuai Mandarin in Anhui Province, Fuyang dialect is the representative of Central Plains Mandarin, Huaining dialect is the representative of Gan dialect, Jingxian dialect is the representative of Wu dialect, and Shexian dialect is the representative of Hui dialect.

5. Gan dialect.

Commonly known as Jiangxi dialect, it is the main language used by Jiangyou people. Most users are in Jiangxi Province, mainly distributed in the middle and lower reaches of Ganjiang River, Fuhe River Basin, Poyang Lake Basin and its surrounding areas, eastern Hunan and northwestern Fujian, southwestern Anhui, southeastern Hubei and southwestern Hunan. In addition, there are a few Gan-speaking islands in Zhejiang and Shaanxi.

Gan dialect can be divided into nine phrases. Gan dialect is represented by Nanchang dialect, Fuzhou dialect and Yichun dialect. There is a high degree of intercommunication between Gan dialects.

Gan dialect generally has 4-7 tones. Nanchang dialect of Gan dialect has 19 initials. Vowels are divided into three categories: opening rhyme, closing rhyme and promoting rhyme, with 67 vowels.

6. Hakka dialect

Hakka (Hak-k? -ng？ ), referred to as Hakka (Hak-ng? ), the main language used by Hakkas in Han nationality, is one of the seven major dialects of Chinese.

Hakka dialect is also called Hakka dialect in informal occasions, which can be divided into Meizhou dialect, Huiyang dialect, Huizhou dialect, Heyuan dialect, Gannan dialect and Tingzhou dialect according to different accents.

Some areas are also called Shuiyuanyin, Yayu, Xinmin dialect, Moge dialect, Cantonese (Tukan dialect), Huaiyuan dialect, Sixian dialect, Luhai dialect, Raoping dialect, Zhaoan dialect and Pingpo dialect.

Hakka is one of the official languages (official business language) in Taiwan Province province of China, and also one of the official languages in Surinam and China. It is a kind of tonal language in the Sino-Tibetan Chinese language family, and its international code is Yinke.

7. Hunan dialect

Refers to the dialects in Hunan, among which Chinese dialects include Xiang dialect, Southwest Mandarin, Gan dialect and Hakka dialect, as well as some unique island dialects such as Xiangnan dialect and Waxiang dialect.

Hunan is a region with complicated dialects. In areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, many people can not only speak their own language, but also communicate in Chinese dialects.

8. Wu dialect

Also known as Jiangdong dialect, Jiangnan dialect, Jiangsu and Zhejiang dialect and wuyue dialect. The Zhou Dynasty has a long history of more than 3,000 years and profound connotation. In China, it is distributed in Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, southern Anhui, northeastern Jiangxi and northern corner of Fujian, with a population of more than 90 million. Wu dialect is a branch of Sino-Tibetan language family and one of the seven dialects in China.

9. Cantonese (Cantonese)

That is, Cantonese, also known as Cantonese and Guangfu dialect, commonly known as vernacular Chinese, is called Tang dialect overseas. It is one of the seven dialects of Chinese tonal language and Chinese, belongs to Sino-Tibetan language family, and is also the mother tongue of Guangfu people of Han nationality.

Cantonese originated from the elegant language in the northern part of the Central Plains (that is, Henan). After a long period of language exchange, integration and adjustment, it matured in the Tang Dynasty and developed into the Song Dynasty, which is not far from modern Cantonese.

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