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To clarify, "Standard Chinese" is the English term to describe the official language of the PRC. There is no country called "mainland," nor is there a country c

To clarify, "Standard Chinese" is the English term to describe the official language of the PRC. There is no country called "mainland," nor is there a country called "mainland China," nor is there a language that can be accurately called "Chinese." It's much more clear in Mandarin itself, such as 官話. Note that some might translate this as "Traditional Chinese," separate from the typical meaning, when trying to separate "simplified characters" from "traditional characters." In English it's all a mess. Also, you can write guanhua or beifanghua or "Standard Chinese" in both Simplified and Traditional charactersets. They are almost 1:1. You also used to be able to write Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and other languages in Traditional Chinese characters. That's why we should be careful to separate Guanhua ("Standard Chinese") from Taiwanese Mandarin and etc. imo using the word "Chinese" in the descriptor just sows further confusion and in fact furthers the political goals of the CPC to cast a political blanket over all things even remotely descriptive as "Chinese," be they language, culture, race, heritage, or nationality.

DiogenesKynikos 3y ago
The Mainland is a well established concept when talking about China. "Standard Chinese," "Mandarin Chinese," or however you want to call it (there are several terms in Chinese itself that refer to essentially the same thing) is the official language both on the mainland and in Taiwan. They have slightly different variants, but both standards grew out of the same historical movement to standardize Chinese. Both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China wanted to create a national standard to enable universal communication in the country, and the PRC essentially adopted the standard the ROC had been working on.
- komali2 3y ago
  > both on the mainland and in Taiwan This is an accident of history and a quirk of the English translation. Though the official language in English is described as "Standard Chinese," in Mandarin it's written as 國語, which just means "national language." The National Language described is Taiwanese Mandarin, 華語, which translates in English usually as Mandarin Language. By some measures it's very similar but it's different enough to deserve a different name, and the efforts of Taiwanese people to separate their culture from that of the PRC, and their ROC ancestors that came from the territory of the PRC, is a valid effort and should be acknowledged. Give it another 40 years or so and the languages will be quite distinct, as Taiwanese consciously incorporate more Hokkien, Hakka, and the various indigenous languages into their version of Mandarin to form a unique cultural identity. > The Mainland is a well established concept when talking about China. And people will happily, and inaccurately, describe the UK as "Britain" or "England," much to the annoyance of people who prefer to maintain their own unique cultural identity within the UK. In Taiwan this issue is even more critical as the sovereignty of the nation is under attack from many angles, including linguistically and culturally. There is no country on earth called The Mainland, and there is no country on earth called China, and CPC efforts to engage in cultural imperialism by casting a wide net around the concept of China and Chinese, as well as lay claims to historical Chinese imperial territories, and furthermore to imply that Taiwan is a PRC territory by calling the PRC the "mainland" (thus Taiwan as a province or colony), should be actively resisted.
  - DiogenesKynikos 3y ago
    > This is an accident of history and a quirk of the English translation. It's not an accident of history. The Nationalists and the Communists had many similar influences (e.g., Sun Yat-Sen is revered by both). One of the ideas they shared in common was the idea of creating a national language. The PRC basically adopted the standardized form of Chinese developed by the ROC. > Give it another 40 years or so and the languages will be quite distinct I'm not so sure about this, given the amount of cultural interchange across the strait. Speaking in a more Taiwanese way is actually quite popular in mainland China, where it's considered cute. > There is no country on earth called The Mainland I'm not going to get into the entire nationalist dispute here. "The Mainland" marks out a well defined geographic area that's not quite synonymous with the PRC.

DiogenesKynikos 3y ago

The Mainland is a well established concept when talking about China. "Standard Chinese," "Mandarin Chinese," or however you want to call it (there are several terms in Chinese itself that refer to essentially the same thing) is the official language both on the mainland and in Taiwan. They have slightly different variants, but both standards grew out of the same historical movement to standardize Chinese. Both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China wanted to create a national standard to enable universal communication in the country, and the PRC essentially adopted the standard the ROC had been working on.

komali2 3y ago
> both on the mainland and in Taiwan This is an accident of history and a quirk of the English translation. Though the official language in English is described as "Standard Chinese," in Mandarin it's written as 國語, which just means "national language." The National Language described is Taiwanese Mandarin, 華語, which translates in English usually as Mandarin Language. By some measures it's very similar but it's different enough to deserve a different name, and the efforts of Taiwanese people to separate their culture from that of the PRC, and their ROC ancestors that came from the territory of the PRC, is a valid effort and should be acknowledged. Give it another 40 years or so and the languages will be quite distinct, as Taiwanese consciously incorporate more Hokkien, Hakka, and the various indigenous languages into their version of Mandarin to form a unique cultural identity. > The Mainland is a well established concept when talking about China. And people will happily, and inaccurately, describe the UK as "Britain" or "England," much to the annoyance of people who prefer to maintain their own unique cultural identity within the UK. In Taiwan this issue is even more critical as the sovereignty of the nation is under attack from many angles, including linguistically and culturally. There is no country on earth called The Mainland, and there is no country on earth called China, and CPC efforts to engage in cultural imperialism by casting a wide net around the concept of China and Chinese, as well as lay claims to historical Chinese imperial territories, and furthermore to imply that Taiwan is a PRC territory by calling the PRC the "mainland" (thus Taiwan as a province or colony), should be actively resisted.
- DiogenesKynikos 3y ago
  > This is an accident of history and a quirk of the English translation. It's not an accident of history. The Nationalists and the Communists had many similar influences (e.g., Sun Yat-Sen is revered by both). One of the ideas they shared in common was the idea of creating a national language. The PRC basically adopted the standardized form of Chinese developed by the ROC. > Give it another 40 years or so and the languages will be quite distinct I'm not so sure about this, given the amount of cultural interchange across the strait. Speaking in a more Taiwanese way is actually quite popular in mainland China, where it's considered cute. > There is no country on earth called The Mainland I'm not going to get into the entire nationalist dispute here. "The Mainland" marks out a well defined geographic area that's not quite synonymous with the PRC.