Sinitic languages

Sinitic languages form a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Min, Hakka, and Xiang. Their varieties differ substantially in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

Sino-Tibetan languages: A language family encompassing Sinitic languages and several branches spoken across East and Southeast Asia. Sinitic languages are classified as one branch of this larger family.
Mandarin Chinese: The largest Sinitic language group, including Standard Chinese and numerous regional varieties. Mandarin is the most widely spoken Sinitic group and the basis of China’s national standard.
Old Chinese: The earliest reconstructable stage of Chinese, spoken during the late Zhou period and earlier. Reconstructions of Old Chinese provide a starting point for tracing Sinitic language history.
Standard Chinese: The standardized form of Mandarin used as China’s national language and in education and media. It is one standardized variety, not a synonym for all Sinitic languages.
Chinese characters: Logographic symbols used to write Chinese and historically adapted for other languages in East Asia. Shared character traditions connect written Sinitic varieties despite major differences in speech.
Yue Chinese: A Sinitic branch including Cantonese and other varieties spoken mainly in southern China and diaspora communities. Yue demonstrates that a major Sinitic branch can differ sharply from Mandarin in speech.
Middle Chinese: A reconstructed historical stage of Chinese recorded in rhyme dictionaries from the Sui and Tang periods. Its sound categories illuminate later differences among Sinitic varieties.
Chinese dialect: A conventional label for regional Chinese speech varieties, including varieties that are not mutually intelligible. The word “dialect” can obscure the linguistic distance among Sinitic branches.
Tonal language: A language in which pitch distinctions can distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning. Tone is a prominent feature of many, though not all, Sinitic varieties.
Wu Chinese: A Sinitic branch spoken mainly in Shanghai, Zhejiang, and nearby parts of Jiangsu. Wu is a major eastern branch with distinctive regional sound patterns.

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