Editing Standard Chinese (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Standard Chinese}}

The [[Chinese language]] has had considerable dialectal variation throughout its history, including [[prestige dialect]]s and [[linguae francae]] used throughout the territory controlled by the dynastic states of China. For example, [[Confucius]] is thought to have used a dialect known as ''[[yayan]]'' rather than regional dialects; during the [[Han dynasty]], texts also referred to {{transliteration|zh|tōngyǔ}} ({{zhi|t={{linktext|通語}}|l=common language}}). The [[rime book]]s that were written starting in the [[Northern and Southern dynasties|Northern and Southern period]] may have reflected standard systems of pronunciation. However, these standard dialects were mostly used by the educated elite, whose pronunciation may still have possessed great variation. For these elites, the Chinese language was unified in [[Literary Chinese]], a form that was primarily written, as opposed to spoken.

=== Late empire ===
{{main|Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca)}}
[[File:Fourmont-Zhongguo-Guanhua.png|thumb|right|''Zhongguo Guanhua'' ({{zhi|s=中国官话|t=中國官話|first=t}}), or {{lang|la|Medii Regni Communis Loquela}} ('Middle Kingdom's Common Speech'), used on the [[book frontispiece|frontispiece]] of an early Chinese grammar published by [[Étienne Fourmont]] (with [[Arcadio Huang]]) in 1742<ref>{{Citation |last=Fourmont|first=Étienne|title=Linguæ Sinarum Mandarinicæ Hieroglyphicæ Grammatica Duplex|trans-title=Grammar of the Mandarin Chinese Hieroglyphics|language=la|author-link=Étienne Fourmont|year=1742|url=https://archive.org/details/b30448955/page/n7/mode/2up|location=Paris|publisher=Hippolyte-Louis Guérin}}</ref>]]

The term ''Guanhua'' ({{zhi|t=官話|s=官话|first=t|l=official speech}}) was used during the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties to refer to [[Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca)|the lingua franca]] spoken within the imperial courts. The term "Mandarin" is borrowed directly from the Portuguese word {{lang|pt|mandarim}}, in turn derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word {{transliteration|sa|[[mantri]]n}} ('minister')—and was initially used to refer to Chinese [[scholar-official]]s. The Portuguese then began referring to ''Guanhua'' as "the language of the mandarins".{{sfnp|Coblin|2000|p=537}}

{{blockquote|text=The Chinese have different languages in different provinces, to such an extent that they cannot understand each other.... [They] also have another language which is like a universal and common language; this is the official language of the mandarins and of the court; it is among them like Latin among ourselves.... Two of our fathers [Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci] have been learning this mandarin language...|author=[[Alessandro Valignano]]|source={{lang|es|Historia del Principio y Progresso de la Compañia de Jesus en las Indias Orientales}} (1542–1564)<ref>Translation quoted in {{harvp|Coblin|2000|p=539}}</ref>}}

During the 17th century, the state had set up [[orthoepy]] academies ({{zhi|t=正音書院|p=zhèngyīn shūyuàn}}) in an attempt to conform the speech of bureaucrats to the standard. These attempts had little success: as late as the 19th century, the emperor had difficulty understanding some of his ministers in court, who did not always follow a standard pronunciation.

Before the 19th century, the lingua franca was based on the [[Nanjing dialect]], but later the [[Beijing dialect]] became increasingly influential, despite the mix of officials and commoners speaking various dialects in the capital, [[Beijing]].{{sfnp|Coblin|2000|pp=549–550}} By some accounts, as late as 1900 the position of the Nanjing dialect was considered by some to be above that of Beijing; the [[postal romanization]] standards established in 1906 included spellings that reflected elements of Nanjing pronunciation.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Richard |first1=Louis |title=Comprehensive geography of the Chinese empire and dependencies |year=1908 |url=http://archive.org/details/lrichardscompreh00rich |access-date=2024-03-06 |place=Shanghai |publisher=Tusewei Press |last2=Kennelly |first2=M. |page=iv}}</ref> The sense of ''Guoyu'' as a specific language variety promoted for general use by the citizenry was originally borrowed from Japan; in 1902 the Japanese Diet had formed the [[National Language Research Council]] to standardize a form of the Japanese language dubbed {{tlit|ja|kokugo}} ({{lang|ja|国語}}).{{sfnp|Tam|2020|p=76}} Reformers in the Qing bureaucracy took inspiration and borrowed the term into Chinese, and in 1909 the Qing education ministry officially proclaimed [[Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca)|imperial Mandarin]] as ''Guoyu'' ({{zhi|s=国语|t=國語}}), the 'national language'.

=== Republican era ===
[[File:Madarin in Chinese Mainland EN.PNG|right|thumb|upright=1.15|Distribution of Mandarin subgroups in mainland China, as of 1987]]

After the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] was established in 1912, there was more success in promoting a common national language. A [[Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation]] was convened with delegates from the entire country.{{sfnp|Chen|1999|pp=16–17}} A ''Dictionary of National Pronunciation'' ({{zhi|s=国音字典|t=國音字典|first=t}}) was published in 1919, defining a [[Old National Pronunciation|hybrid pronunciation]] that did not match any existing speech.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=134}}{{sfnp|Chen|1999|p=18}} Meanwhile, despite the lack of a workable standardized pronunciation, colloquial literature in [[written vernacular Chinese]] continued to develop.{{sfnp|Ramsey|1987|p=10}}

Gradually, the members of the National Language Commission came to settle upon the Beijing dialect, which became the major source of standard national pronunciation due to its prestigious status. In 1932, the commission published the ''Vocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use'' ({{zhi|s=国音常用字汇|t=國音常用字彙|first=t}}), with little fanfare or official announcement. This dictionary was similar to the previous published one except that it normalized the pronunciations for all characters into the pronunciation of the Beijing dialect. Elements from other dialects continue to exist in the standard language, but as exceptions rather than the rule.{{sfnp|Ramsey|1987|p=15}}

Following the end of the [[Chinese Civil War]], the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) continued standardisation efforts on the mainland, and in 1955 officially began using ''Putonghua'' ({{zhi|s=普通话|t=普通話|l=common speech}}) instead of ''Guoyu'', which remains the name used in [[Taiwan]]. The forms of Standard Chinese used in China and Taiwan have diverged somewhat since the end of the Civil War, especially in newer vocabulary, and a little in pronunciation.{{sfnp|Bradley|1992|pp=313–314}}

In 1956, the PRC officially defined Standard Chinese as "the standard form of Modern Chinese with the Beijing phonological system as its norm of pronunciation, and Northern dialects as its base dialect, and looking to exemplary modern works in [[written vernacular Chinese]] for its grammatical norms."<ref name="langlaw">{{Citation |title=Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37) |date=31 October 2000 |url=http://www.gov.cn/english/laws/2005-09/19/content_64906.htm |access-date=27 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724204951/http://www.gov.cn/english/laws/2005-09/19/content_64906.htm |archive-date=24 July 2013 |url-status=live |publisher=Gov.cn |trans-quote=For purposes of this Law, the standard spoken and written Chinese language means Putonghua (a common speech with pronunciation based on the Beijing dialect) and the standardized Chinese characters.|script-quote=zh:普通话就是现代汉民族共同语，是全国各民族通用的语言。普通话以北京语音为标准音，以北方话为基础方言，以典范的现代白话文著作语法规范}}</ref>{{sfnp|Chen|1999|p=24}} According to the official definition, Standard Chinese uses:
* The [[phonology]] of the Beijing dialect, if not always with each phoneme having the precise [[phonetic]] values as those heard in Beijing.
* The [[vocabulary]] of [[Mandarin dialects]] in general, excepting what are deemed to be [[slang]] and regionalisms. The vocabulary of all Chinese varieties, especially in more technical fields like science, law, and government, is very similar—akin to the profusion of [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] vocabulary in European languages. This means that much of the vocabulary of Standard Chinese is shared with all varieties of Chinese. Much of the [[colloquialism|colloquial]] vocabulary of the Beijing dialect is not considered part of Standard Chinese, and may not be understood by people outside Beijing.{{sfnp|Chen|1999|pp=37–38}}
* The [[grammar]] and idioms of exemplary modern [[Chinese literature]], a form known as [[written vernacular Chinese]]. Written vernacular Chinese is loosely based upon a synthesis of predominantly northern grammar and vocabulary, with southern and Literary elements. This distinguishes Standard Chinese from the dialect heard on the streets of Beijing.

Proficiency in the new standard was initially limited, even among Mandarin speakers, but increased over the following decades.{{sfnp|Chen|1999|pp=27–28}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Percentage of population of China proficient in Standard Chinese{{sfnp|Chen|1999|p=28}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! Early 1950s
! colspan="2" | 1984
|-
! Comprehension
! Comprehension
! Speaking
|-
! Mandarin-speaking areas
| 54 || 91 || 54
|-
! non-Mandarin areas
| 11 || 77 || 40
|-
! whole country
| 41 || 90 || 50
|}

A 2007 survey conducted by the Chinese Ministry of Education indicated that 53.06% of the population were able to effectively communicate using Standard Chinese.<ref>{{Citation |title=More than half of Chinese can speak Mandarin |date=7 March 2007 |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/education/201946.htm |publisher=[[Xinhua News Agency|Xinhua]] |access-date=10 November 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204232341/http://www.china.org.cn/english/education/201946.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2020, this figure had risen to over 80%.<ref>{{Citation|title=Over 80 percent of Chinese population speak Mandarin|language=en|work=People's Daily|url=http://en.people.cn/n3/2020/1016/c90000-9769716.html|last=E'nuo|first=Zhao|last2=Wu|first2=Yue|date=16 October 2020|access-date=22 December 2021|archive-date=30 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930021445/http://en.people.cn/n3/2020/1016/c90000-9769716.html|url-status=live}}</ref>