Chinese- Mandarin

Mandarin Chinese- 普通话

History of Mandarin- 历史


Mandarin Chinese, also known as Huayu ("language of the Chinese"), Guyou ("national language"), or Putonghua ("common language") is the official language of mainland China since 1982 and ROC Taiwan since 1932.  Mandarin is also an official language of Singapore and of the United Nations.

For the vast majority of China's history, ranging from 221 B.C. until the end of the last imperial dynasty in 1912, China did not have  a single national language.  Instead there were many different languages and dialect that just developed naturally over the course of several centuries.  By the start of the 20th Century, many agreed that China was in need of a common language in order for better communication and to also fight the plague of illiteracy.  

February 1913 is when the newly established Republic of China convened a "Commission of the Unification of Pronunciation" conference in Beijing in order to come up with a useable phonetic system and establish a national language for China.  Each province of China, Tibet, Mongolia, and overseas Chinese communities sent linguists and educators to help establish the Commission.

The Commission realized that many people did not know how to read or write, which is what heavily influenced their new plan for a common Chinese language.  They wanted to develop one that was simple, easy to learn, and phonetically made sense.  After years of research and debate, including deciding whether or not to use the Roman alphabet, the Zhuyin alphabet was adopted as the official alphabet of China in 1918.  It wasn't until 1920 that the Commission was able to publish a Dictionary of National Pronunciation that included a standardized version of the language with use of the Zhuyin alphabet.  Instead of being modeled after the speech of the citizens, Mandarin was created after how a hypothetical educated Beijing resident might speak.  

After years of debate the Republic of China in 1932 officially adopted this new form of Chinese, now known as Mandarin.  That year they also published the first definitive dictionary of the Mandarin language. Then in 1958 after the People's Republic of China earnestly promoted Mandarin, but it was in 1955 that the Chinese name of Mandarin changed from Guoyo to Puntonghua.  

The People's Republic of China in 1982 amended their constitution in order to make Mandarin the official language of mainland China.  Even though the law from 1932 stated that Mandarin was China's official language, it was not in legal effect.  Currently roughly 70% of Chinese citizens speak Mandarin fluently.  

(History of Mandarin Chinese, 2014)

Common Areas in the World that Mandarin is spoken- 在哪里找到普通话

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Spoken by more than 1 billion people, Mandarin is the most widely spoken language.  Officially the language of Mainland China and Taiwan, it is also one of the official languages of Singapore and even a vital language of the United Nations.  Around the World also reside many Chinese communities, estimating to be around 40 million outside of China itself.  Roughly 30 million in Asian countries, 6 million in the Americas including North and South America, 2 million residing in Europe, 1 million on islands spread throughout the many oceans, and 100,000 in Africa!

Mandarin Chinese found in the United States- 美国

Chinese as studied in the U.S. ranks 6th as the most studied language at universities, and more and more companies are seeking students that have previous knowledge of the Chinese language or have studied it at University levels.

The following areas have a significant population of Chinese-Americans, equaling to at least 1% of the general population. (These lists are not conclusive but are to give ideas of different locations that the Mandarin language can be found)

California Cities- Orange, San Francisco, Irvine, Los Angeles, Westchester, San Mateo, Rowland Heights, City of Industry, Fremont, Oxnard, Chino, San Jose, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Santa Monica, Chula Vista, Pollock Pines, and Oceanside.

New York Cities- New York City, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, Syracuse, Bronx, Flushing, Troy, Farmingdale, Jamaica, Elmhurst, Saint Albans, Fort Hamilton

Texas Cities-  Plano, Houston, Austin, Frisco, Pearland, Carrolton, Denton, Garland, Sugar Land, New Territory, Bellaire, Richardson, Stafford, Jollyville

New Jersey- Jersey City, Holmdel, West Windsor, Plainsboro, Englewood, Marlboro, Harrison, East Brunswick, Livingston, Montgomery, Edison, Parisppany-Troy Hills, Montville, Fort Lee, Alpine, East Hanover

Massachusetts- Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, Woburn, Waltham, Lakeville, New Bedford, Quincy, Watertown, Brighton, East Walpole, West Springfield

Illinois- Chicago, Naperville, Schiller Park, Westmont, Schaumburg, Crestville, Schiller Park, Arlington Heights, False, Elgin, Hindsdale, Long Grove

Jobs in the US that require Mandarin - 工作

(These are only a few of the Jobs that were found, and do not contain the actual job listing itself)

Food Service: 

• Waiter in Brooklyn, NY
• Resturaunt Manager in Oakland, CA
• Supplies Coordinator in Los Angeles, CA
• Health Inspector in New York, NY

Communications: 

• Retail Specialist for AT&T in Daly City, CA
• Call Representative for AppleOne in New York, NY 
• Linguist/ Translator in Bethesda, MD
• Logistics Coordinator in Buckingham, TX;  

Sales: 

• Sales Representative for RecruitX in Torrance, CA
• Real Estate Agent in San Jose, CA
• Globe Marketing Specialist for Phenomenex in Torrance, CA
• Retail Banking Business Analyst in Los Angeles, CA

Healthcare:  

• In-home nurse in Oakland, CA
• Medical Administration Assistant in Brooklyn, NY
• Outpatient Care Provider in San Francisco, CA

Business:  

• Personal Assistant in New York, NY  
• Financial Business Analyst/ Accountant in Compton, CA
• Cost Reduction Engineer in Oxnard, CA
• Airline Corporate Trainer in Westchester, CA
• Insurance claims associate in Tempe, AZ
• Project Manager for Synerfac in New York, NY  

Education:  

• Academic Counselor in Troy, NY
• School Teacher in Fairfield, CT
• Mandarin TA in San Jose, CA

Bibliography

• "History of Mandarin Chinese." Learning Chinese is Fun at A Little Dynasty! 2014. Accessed February 03, 2017. http://www.alittledynasty.com/history-of-mandarin-chinese.html.
• Qiu Gui Su Mandarin Language Expert. "Where in the World Is Mandarin Chinese Spoken?" About.com Education. February 29, 2016. Accessed February 03, 2017. http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/where_Mandarin_spoken.htm.
•  "Chinese language and varieties in the United States." Wikipedia. Accessed February 03, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language_and_varieties_in_the_United_States
• "List of U.S. cities with significant Chinese-American populations." Wikipedia. February 14, 2017. Accessed February 14, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_significant_Chinese-American_populations.
• Luca. "What are the Most Studied Languages in the World?" Apps to quickly learn Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese on iPhone, iPad and Android - MosaLingua. June 15, 2016. Accessed February 14, 2017. http://www.mosalingua.com/en/most-studied-languages-in-the-world/.
• "Mandarin Jobs." Monster. Accessed March 02, 2017. https://www.monster.com/jobs/search/?q=mandarin.