A growing number of UK business owners look towards China as a potentially rewarding international market to enter.
Although China is indeed an attractive destination for businesses and brands to expand, cultural and linguistic differences are only some of the obstacles you need to pay close attention to during your internationalisation process.
In fact, have you ever wondered how many languages people in China speak? In a country with more than 1.4 billion people, China takes pride in owning 302 living languages. This means that more than 20% of the world’s population speaks or knows a Chinese language.
Consequently, many based businesses decide to work with a UK translation agency to translate their documents and content and carefully localise their campaigns to ensure cultural suitability reliably and accurately.
With an old and profuse history, China is considered a multi-linguistic country. In fact, China is home to 56 ethnic groups, which have played a vital role in creating various variations of Classical Chinese.
Whether you wish to live in China or launch a business, knowing the local languages will help you in more ways than you can imagine. Read below to find more.
Dialects or Languages?
When learning about different Chinese languages, you might often encounter the term ‘dialect.’ The meaning of this word is quite different for Chinese and English speakers.
For English speakers, dialect is more like an accent or pronunciation. It could be Australian, British, or American English.
However, in China, dialects are different languages people speak in their regions. Dialects in China signal where people come from and are a substantial part of their culture.
All Chinese languages are tonal. What does that mean? This means each language comes with a tone, and when you get it wrong, the meaning of the word changes drastically. As a result, even if you wish to translate your documents yourself, this may not be the best idea…
What Are the Most Common Dialects in China?
Many professional linguistics have categorised the Chinese language into eight or ten language groups. These groups are further divided into sub-dialects which can quickly add up to 302.
Here are all the main languages that the Chinese speak in the region.
Mandarin
This is one of the most common Chinese languages and is widely spoken. Mandarin alone has several dialects and is often split into groups like Northern Mandarin, Southwestern Mandarin, South Mandarin, and North-western Mandarin.
Mandarin has four tones, and a fifth one is neutral. This is a tough language to learn and understand, especially if this is the first time you have come across it.
However, if you need to interact with Mandarin speakers, you can use Mandarin translation services for this job.
Standard Chinese
Also known as “common speech,” Standard Chinese has been China’s official language since the 19th century. It is also one of Mandrin’s dialects spoken by locals in Taiwan and Singapore.
Many government offices and schools in China use this language. However, this dialect isn’t one of the common ones practiced in households. Therefore, it is common for many rural and urban areas not to understand this dialect.
Cantonese
More than 70 million people in China speak Cantonese or Yue. Since Mandarin is one of the top languages, slowly taking over the rest, Cantonese is, unfortunately, a dying dialect.
Cantonese is quite similar to the Ancient Chinese language. The dialect has a long vowel length and features nine tones. These characteristics make the language different from Mandarin.
So, which people speak Cantonese? Since this language originated in Guangzhou, most people who speak Cantonese are usually found in the province of Guangdong. The language is also commonly used in Hong Kong and Macau, with each region owning its own dialect.
Again, it is a tricky dialect and challenging to understand, especially by non-natives. But thankfully, Cantonese translation service providers can be helpful. You can also use such services to translate all your business documents from English to Cantonese.
Hakka
According to the latest data, almost 25.66 million people in China speak Hakka. The language is quite similar to Cantonese and is spoken in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hunan, to name a few regions.
This language also has six tones and is popularly known for its distinct pronunciations.
Gan
Next up, we have Gan. This language is quite like Hakka. In fact, many people consider them as one language and are classified as a subgroup, Gan-Hakka languages.
The language is also widely spoken in China and is often common in areas like Hunan, Hubei, and primarily in the Jiangxi province. Gan has five dialects, and they are somehow or the other linked with Wu and Mandarin.
Wu
When in Shanghai, you may find locals speaking Wu languages with many different dialects. Spoken by around 90 million people, this language achieved recognition during the Ming dynasty when Shanghai became the most important and metropolitan city in China.
Min
According to an article, 67 million people in almost 42 territories commonly speak the Min language. The language is divided into two groups, Southern Min and Northern Min.
Northern Min is commonly spoken in Fuzhou and other nearby areas. The Southern Min has its hub at Amoy.
Xiang
This is a group of languages divided into Old and New Xiang. New Xiang is quite similar to Mandarin, while the older version is similar to Wu languages. Xiang is a tonal dialect with almost five tonnes.
The New Xiang language is widely spoken in a province in Southern China, Huan.
Translating Local Documents into Chinese
Suppose you want to start a venture in China, but your documents are relevant to the English market. In that case, you should seek help from either Mandarin translation services (Simplified Chinese) or Cantonese translation services Traditional Chinese) to avoid complexities of grammar, confusing writing directions, specific syntaxes, and the use of Chinese idioms.
When communicating with locals, you can also efficiently utilise interpreting services in these language pairs.
The Future of the Chinese Language
Chinese is the language of the future. Today, learning it is far easier than a few years ago. Moreover, since China is slowly becoming a great place to live and work, more and more people are willing to learn the language and its different dialects.
Besides, Mandarin is spoken in many countries other than China, like Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and the popularity of the language is unmatchable.