Mandarin, also known as Standard Chinese, Putonghua, or Guoyu, refers to the Sino-Tibetan languages family dialect that has been adopted as the official language of China. It serves as the lingua franca among the various Chinese dialects and is the most widely spoken language in the world by the number of native speakers.
The origins of Mandarin can be traced back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, where the northern dialect, influenced by the Middle Chinese, began to take shape. Over time, especially during the Ming Dynasty and later the Qing Dynasty, the dialect spoken in the Beijing area gained prestige and was adopted for use in the imperial court. This version of Mandarin became the standard when the Republic of China was established in 1912, promoting it as the national language (Guoyu). After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, it was further standardized and renamed Putonghua (common speech).
Mandarin is characterized by:
Today, Mandarin serves as:
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