The Languages of China

81 languages have been identified in China. Han, the national language, is one of the most spoken languages in the world. In China, 55 national minorities use their own language and, to varying degrees of proficiency, Han. Some minorities use several languages.

Among the 81 languages spoken in China, 49 bear the same name as the nationality that uses them: Han, Zhuang, Buyei, Dai, ... The other languages, 32 in total, have different names from those of the nationality of their speakers. For example, more than 90,000 Tibetans use Gyarong as their mother tongue.

Languages can be divided into dialects, sub-dialects, and jargon. Generally, the dialectal distances that exist between the minority languages of southern China are significant. To a certain extent, it is difficult for people who speak such dialects to communicate with each other. The situation is different in the north, where dialectal differences appear less marked, allowing for easier communication.

The distance between two dialects of the same language can be greater than that between two languages, a fact related to the different levels of abstraction they convey, as is the case for most languages in China. For example, Buyei speakers can communicate with those who speak Northern Zhuang. The distance between these two languages is less than that between the southern and northern Zhuang dialects. Indeed, the criteria for classifying languages and dialects are not based solely on the distance between languages and dialects, but also on other complex conditions related to history, ethnic identity, the evolution of nationality according to language, attitudes, and the self-identification of speakers.

The languages of China belong to five families and eleven groups. The relationship of the languages is established as follows:

The Sino-Tibetan family includes 40 languages in China that can be subdivided into four groups:

- The Han language (its status is equal to that of a language group in the language classification system) is spoken by approximately 96% of the population.

- The Tibeto-Burman group including the languages Tibetan, Gyarong, Cona Monba, Canglo Monba, Benghi-Bogar, Lhoba, Yidu Lhoba, Darang Deng, Geman Deng, Qiang, Yi, Naxi, Lahu, Hani, Bai, Jino, Nusu, Anong, Rouruo, Jingpo, Zaiwa, Derung, Achang, Pumi, and Tujia. About 1.2% of the Chinese population uses the languages of the Tibeto-Burman group.

- The Zhuang-Dong group including the languages: Zhuang, Buyei, Dai, Dong, Shui, Mulan, Maonan, Li, Lakkia, and Gelao. 1.8% of the Chinese population uses the languages of this group.

- The Miao-Yao group including the languages Miao, She, Bunu, and Mian. There are about 0.5% of people speaking the languages of this group.

The Altaic family includes 19 languages that can be subdivided into three groups:

- The Turkic group including the languages: Uyghur, Kirghiz, Uzbek, Tatar, Salar, Eastern Yugur, and Tuvan. About 0.7% of the population speaks the languages of this group.

- The Mongolic group including the languages Mongolian, Daur, Monguor, Dongxiang, Bao'an, and Western Yugur. About 0.32% of the population speaks the languages of this group.

- The Manchu-Tungusic group including the languages Manchu, Xibe, Hezhen, Oroqen, and Evenki. There are about 0.5% of people speaking the languages of this group.

The Austronesian family includes 14 languages belonging to the same group:

- The Indonesian group including the languages Atayal, Amis, Paiwan, Bunun, Rukai, Puyuma, Tsou, Sedeq, Saisiat, Saaroa, Kanakanavu, Thao, Yami, Huihui. About 0.035% of the population speaks the languages of this group.

The Indo-European family includes two languages belonging to the following two groups:

- The Iranian group, namely Tajik with about 0.0023% of speakers.

- The Slavic group, namely Russian with about 0.0003% of speakers.

The linguistic relationship of two languages could not be established. These are Korean and Gin (Vietnamese), which account for approximately 0.176% of speakers.