Mandarin, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Cantonese

table 1

Type	Languages	Areas
Writing Chinese	Traditional Chinese	Tai Wan, Hong Kong
	Simplified Chinese	China (PRC, including Guangdong), Singapore
Speaking Chinese	Mandarin	Tai Wan, North China, and China (PRC, including Guangdong)
	Cantonese	Hong Kong, Guangdong
	other Various odd languages	South provinces of China

table 2 - sort by area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Areas                                   type                              languages                           School language
North China                         writing Chinese            simplified Chinese             simplified Chinese
North China                        speaking Chinese           Mandarin                           Mandarin
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South China                         writing Chinese            simplified Chinese                same as above
South China                        speaking Chinese           Mandarin, various odd languages   same as above
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guanddong                        writing Chinese             simplified Chinese                 simplified Chinese
Guanddong                         speaking Chinese           Mandarin, Cantonese              Mandarin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hongkong                         writing Chinese             Traditional Chinese                  Traditional Chinese
Hongkong                         speaking Chinese             Cantonese                               English Cantonese
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taiwan                               writing Chinese             Traditional Chinese                 Traditional Chinese
Taiwan                                speaking Chinese          Mandarin                                 Mandarin

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



China Languages Map

Q1: Do Taiwanese &Hong Kong people and China (PRC) can read opposite writing language?
Usually, well educated people (with high school education) can know opposite writing language. It’s easier for a Traditional Chinese user to understand Simplified Chinese.

Simplified Chinese is a simplified Writing form of Chinese (Traditional Chinese) by reducing strokes, it caused by people find it take long time to write a Traditional Chinese during their daily life. The first simplified Chinese maybe go back to 2,000 years ago.

Q2: What are Cantonese and other odd languages?

As China is a large territory country. People raised in different areas have different pronunciation and even different methods on Chinese. Especially, Cantonese very differ with Mandarin. But Guang Dong people who use Cantonese as mother language also speak mandarin, and Hong Kong people with Cantonese mother language usually understand Mandarin (maybe young people also speak Mandarin) .

Q3: Do Cantonese has own Writing Chinese?

Yes. Actually it has own Writing word – a type of phonography use Chinese (Hanzi). But Cantonese is an oral/Daily language (informal language) that there are almost no publications in it. (No Newspaper and notices from official will use it as writing document). Sure, a learning Cantonese book will use Cantonese own words.

Q4: which is popular, Mandarin? Or Cantonese?

People speaking or understand Mandarin is about 1 billion; Cantonese’s is less than 20 million.

Q5: Which is popular, Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese?

People writing Simplified Chinese is about 1 billion; Traditional Chinese is about 15 millions

Q6: the Simplified Chines is totally same as Traditional Chines except the form?

YES and NO.

Yes. They are same of more than 90%.

No. There are some minor deviations as various reasons. E.g. Two traditional Character maybe simplify to one Simplified Character; Some new Words from English will have different Chinese in Tai Wan, Hong Kong, Singapore and China as they have separately governments. Taiwanese say “news” as “資訊”, but China people say it as “新闻”.

Q7: Do people can understand opposite writing Chinese of above minor deviations?

People know these 90% of minor deviations although they were not taught. Why? – it’s the Strength of Hanzi (Chinese), they can express meanings.

Q8: Does Stan Zheng can translate Traditional Chinese?

I can write and understand Traditional Chinese, but I possibly could not well translate a terminology which belongs to Minor deviations.