Chinese Language and its different dialects

[ice berg]

I presume the cultural barrier will be less in Taiwan because more people speak English than Mainland China and are used to western culture with which the Indians are more comfortable than with the Mainland Chinese culture which is a trifle coarse or so it is believed, like people hawking and all other issues mentioned in the Chinese Govt guidelines on behaviour and etiquette to be maintain during the Olympics!

The cultural barrier is more than the ability to speak English. Just my 2 cents. Not sure about the part about used to western culture. How do you measure such things? The taiwanese hold more to the chinese culture than the people from the mainland. Your post just show how little you know about them.

 

[Ray]

The cultural barrier is more than the ability to speak English. Just my 2 cents. Not sure about the part about used to western culture. How do you measure such things? The taiwanese hold more to the chinese culture than the people from the mainland. Your post just show how little you know about them.

And you do display a sort of muleheadedness is purposely not wanting to understand the connotation of culture in the context I am using the word.

However, one can understand your handicap since you do give the appearance that the language is alien to you.

Culture also means and includes the behaviours and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture, democratic culture, the free world culture, and so on.

India and Taiwan do share the same culture called democracy and the ethics and modes of the free world culture.

It does get exasperating to also teach the language for every post I make.

At the same time I will confess that I did not understand this sentence of yours - The taiwanese hold more to the chinese culture than the people from the mainland.

Pray, what Chinese culture the Taiwanese hold 'more' than the people from the mainland? If I have understood you right, are you suggesting that the Taiwanese are more Chinese in approach than those of Communist China (mainland)?

 

[nimo_cn]

Compared to the differences between Chinese language and English, how notable are those between Mandarin as spoken informally in Taiwan and official Standard Mandarin in Mainland?

 

[Ray]

Compared to the differences between Chinese language and English, how notable are those between Mandarin as spoken informally in Taiwan and official Standard Mandarin in Mainland?

Considering that Indians speak a variety of languages that have their root in Sanskrit, how notable are the differences?

 

[nimo_cn]

Considering that Indians speak a variety of languages that have their root in Sanskrit, how notable are the differences?

I meant to ask how do you presume the cultural barrier will be less in Taiwan because more people speak English than Mainland China?

If language plays a role here, Mainland and Taiwan have more in common.

 

[Ray]

On the Chinese language.

The Chinese language (汉语/漢語 Hànyǔ; 华语/華語 Huáyǔ; 中文 Zhōngwén) is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees.

Internal divisions of Chinese are usually perceived by their native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, rather than separate languages, although this identification is considered inappropriate by some linguists and Sinologists

Chinese is distinguished by its high level of internal diversity, although all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese (depending on classification scheme), of which the most spoken, by far, is Mandarin (about 850 million), followed by Wu (90 million), Cantonese (Yue) (70 million) and Min (50 million). Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and the Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms and some degree of intelligibility.

There are also sizeable Hakka and Shanghainese diaspora, for example in Taiwan, where most Hakka communities maintain diglossia by being conversant in Taiwanese and Standard Chinese.

 

[nimo_cn]

On the Chinese language.

The Chinese language (汉语/漢語 Hànyǔ; 华语/華語 Huáyǔ; 中文 Zhōngwén) is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees.

Internal divisions of Chinese are usually perceived by their native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, rather than separate languages, although this identification is considered inappropriate by some linguists and Sinologists

Chinese is distinguished by its high level of internal diversity, although all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese (depending on classification scheme), of which the most spoken, by far, is Mandarin (about 850 million), followed by Wu (90 million), Cantonese (Yue) (70 million) and Min (50 million). Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and the Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms and some degree of intelligibility.

There are also sizeable Hakka and Shanghainese diaspora, for example in Taiwan, where most Hakka communities maintain diglossia by being conversant in Taiwanese and Standard Chinese.

Are you trying to prove that differences between Chinese language and English language are more notable than those between Mandarin as spoken informally in Taiwan and official Standard Mandarin in Mainland?

 

[Ray]

Compared to the differences between Chinese language and English, how notable are those between Mandarin as spoken informally in Taiwan and official Standard Mandarin in Mainland?

The key word of Chinese language is the various dialects are MUTUALLY UNINTELLIGIBLE.

Meaning one type of Chinese CANNOT understand the other if the dialect is not similar.

They might as well be speaking Esperanto, let alone English!

 

[nimo_cn]

Hypothetically, Ray and I came across a random Taiwanese on internet, who was he/she gonna understand?

 

[nimo_cn]

The key word of Chinese language is the various dialects are MUTUALLY UNINTELLIGIBLE.

Meaning one type of Chinese CANNOT understand the other if the dialect is not similar.

They might as well be speaking Esperanto, let alone English!

So you ARE trying to prove the theory that Taiwanese can understand Indians better when in a conversation?

 

[Ray]

Primary branches of Chinese spoken in areas claimed by the People's Republic of China.

Have a look at the disparity recognised by Communist China.

Also see the colour scheme of Taiwan.

 

[Ray]

So you ARE trying to prove the theory that Taiwanese can understand Indians better when in a conversation?

Neither you nor me unless the Taiwanese spoke in your dialect or in Simplified Chinese and if he did not know English.

 

[nimo_cn]

Ray, can you understand anything in this website without Google translator?

¤¤®É¹q¤l³ø¡GÀu½èÂ×´Iªº·s»D´CÅé

 

[nimo_cn]

Ray, can you understand what people are speaking in the video?

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI5ODUxMjg=.html

 

[ice berg]

So you ARE trying to prove the theory that Taiwanese can understand Indians better when in a conversation?

I think he tried to say that chinese with different dialects cant understand each other. (Obviously he has never heard of Mandarin which is taught in PRC and ROC.)

 

[nimo_cn]

Neither you nor me unless the Taiwanese spoke in your dialect or in Simplified Chinese and if he did not know English.

This link if full of traditional Chinese, I can understand, can you?
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In this video, they are definitely not speaking my dialect, I can understand, can you?
[1204][台湾综艺][康熙来了071204][罗志祥的大审判] - 视频 - 优酷视频 - 在线观看

 

[Ray]

I think he tried to say that chinese with different dialects cant understand each other. (Obviously he has never heard of Mandarin which is taught in PRC and ROC.)

Mandarin is also taught in Tibet and Xinjiang!

They are culturally same as the Hans, right?

 

[Ray]

I think he tried to say that chinese with different dialects cant understand each other. (Obviously he has never heard of Mandarin which is taught in PRC and ROC.)

Mandarin is also taught in Tibet and Xinjiang!

They are culturally same as the Hans, right?

 

[huaxia rox]

i dont understand local languages from areas like chaozhou or wenzhou or fujian....thats true...but 99% of us speak mandarin....thats enough...and at least 80% above local languages can easily be understood by others in PRC...and the figures will surely go up a lot in han dominated areas.

what a big deal? a nation with long history is just like this....u go to the uk u can notice clear differences of how people pronounce english between england and scottland.......what a big deal? to prove they WERE not one nation???

 

[Ray]

i dont understand local languages from areas like chaozhou or wenzhou or fujian....thats true...but 99% of us speak mandarin....thats enough...and at least 80% above local languages can easily be understood by others in PRC...and the figures will surely go up a lot in han dominated areas.

what a big deal? a nation with long history is just like this....u go to the uk u can notice clear differences of how u pronounce english between england and scottland.......what a big deal? to prove they WERE not one nation???

Again obfuscating.

You understand those who speak in Standard Mandarin and not those who use their original dialects.

In the UK, they talk in English with their local accents, but the word and the meanings are the same and not like in Chinese. Go back to my post on the Chinese phonetical difference and the tones.

There is no tones in the English language.

However, if a Welshman speaks Welsh, the English will get stumped!

The fact that Scotland wants to be a separate country is adequate to answer you.

Let's get back to China or is it too prickly for you to handle?