Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin, is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and south-western China. When taken as a separate language, as is often done in academic literature, the Mandarin language has more native speakers than any other language. The "standard" in Standard Mandarin refers to the standard Beijing dialect of the Mandarin language. Mandarin is also a general term describing any grade of nobility in the Chinese Imperial Court. In English, Mandarin can refer to either of two distinct concepts: In everyday use Mandarin refers to Standard Chinese or Standard Mandarin, which is based on the particular Mandarin dialect spoken in Beijing. Standard Mandarin functions as the official spoken language of the People's Republic of China, the official language of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of the four official languages of Singapore. "Chinese"-in practice Standard Mandarin-is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. In its broader sense, Mandarin is a diverse group of Mandarin dialects spoken in northern and southwestern China. This group of dialects is the focus of this article.