Whats the difference between “cantonese” and “mandarin”?
They are related languages within the Sinitic language family. Cantonese is closer in pronunciation to ancient Chinese, and preserves nine tones and glottal stops at the end of syllables. Mandarin is very divergent from ancient Chinese pronunciation, and only has 5 tones (four plus a neutral). It has fewer distinct syllables than Cantonese. Like any related languages, the usage and grammar are similar, but not entirely the same. Cantonese preserves some older grammatical constructions that Mandarin no longer uses. Both languages use the same writing system, just as French and Portuguese both use the Latin alphabet, but because of the normalization of Mandarin as China’s national language most Cantonese speakers actually write in Mandarin without even realizing it.
Many western people are confused with Chinese Cantonese and Chinese Mandarin. What is the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin? How are they related to traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese? Mandarin is the official language in China. Cantonese is one of the Chinese dialects. In mainland China and Taiwan, most people speak Mandarin, while Cantonese is only spoken in China’s Guangdong Province and Hong Kong. Cantonese is more popular among overseas Chinese because most Chinese immigrants in North America come from Guangdong and Hong Kong. Traditional and simplified Chinese are only variations of the written forms, whereas Mandarin and Cantonese are related to its spoken form. They should not be confused, that is, Mandarin is not the same thing as simplified Chinese. Usually “simplified Chinese” is for Mandarin speakers, “traditional Chinese” is for Cantonese speakers and Taiwan Speakers. (Simplified characters are used in the PRC and Singapore.
