Why is Cantonese not considered a language?

By the comprehensibility criterion, Cantonese is not a dialect of Chinese. Rather, it is a language, as are Shanghaiese, Mandarin and other kinds of Chinese. The confusion arises because many people consider written language to be the “real” language, and speech its poor cousin.

Why are Mandarin and Cantonese the same language?

What are Cantonese and Mandarin? Mandarin and Cantonese are both tonal languages (different tones indicate different words in the same way that pronunciation does). They both belong to the Chinese branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family.

What are the differences between Mandarin and Cantonese?

Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong, Macau, GuangZhou, and Southern parts of China in that vicinity. Mandarin is spoken in Mainland China and Taiwan. Cantonese and Mandarin are written in the same way, though Cantonese favors traditional Chinese characters rather than simplified. Mandarin has 4 tones.

Do Chinese people understand Cantonese?

No, they are completely different languages. Although Cantonese and Mandarin have many similarities, they are not mutually intelligible. This means that, presuming one has no significant exposure or training, a speaker of Mandarin will understand little to nothing of Cantonese and vice-versa.

Is Cantonese or Mandarin older?

What may surprise people is that Cantonese is actually older than Mandarin. Cantonese is approximately 2000 years old and belongs to the Yue family of Chinese languages (粵語) spoken in southeast China. The term Cantonese comes from Guangzhou, aka Canton, the capital of the Guangdong province in China (pictured above).

What is the difference between Hindi and Urdu?

Hindi and Urdu are two Indo-Aryan languages that both developed from Sanskrit in Northern India beginning some 2700 years ago. While both Hindi and Urdu exists in many dialects, there were no distinction between them up until the 19th century.

Where does Hindi come from and is it a language?

In fact, India is one of the few countries that does not have a national language, though both English and Hindi are the official language of India used by the government – and the language spoken or at least understood by most of its inhabitants, is Hindi. So where does Hindi come from and what is its place among the languages of the world?

How did Urdu become the official language of the British Empire?

However, when the British colonised India in the 18th through the 19th century, they were on the lookout for a widely-spoken language they could use for administration. Hindustani was widespread enough that it became the official language of the British Indian Empire, under the name of Urdu.

How is the Urdu word “Q” pronounced in Hindi?

“ق”, the guttural “Q” sound in Urdu is pronounced like a “K” in Hindi. “غ”, which sounds like a “French R” is turned into “Gh” in Hindi. “ز”, a letter pronounced like “Z” in Urdu is pronounced like “J” in Hindi