Sinitic

Sinitic is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family that comprises the Chinese languages spoken by the Han Chinese majority and many minority communities in China and across the world. It is not a single language but a group of related varieties with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility.

The principal branches typically listed under Sinitic include Mandarin, Wu, Yue (Cantonese), Xiang, Hakka, Gan, Min, and Jin. Some classifications treat Jin as part of Mandarin or as a separate branch, and the internal relationships among these varieties remain a matter of scholarly discussion. Min is itself diverse, with several subgroups such as coastal and inland varieties.

Standard Chinese, or Putonghua, is based on Mandarin and serves as the official language in the People’s Republic of China and in Taiwan. Written Chinese uses Chinese characters (logograms) that are largely shared across Sinitic varieties, with modern written forms aligned closely with Mandarin in vocabulary and grammar. The spoken varieties are tonal, with complex phonologies and considerable regional variation.

Geographically, Sinitic languages are concentrated in China and among Chinese diaspora communities worldwide. Collectively they number well over a billion speakers, making Sinitic one of the most influential and widely spoken language groups in the world. The relationship between spoken varieties and the standardized written form reflects a long history of linguistic standardization and cultural usage centered on Chinese writing.