this morning, i read an article, written by an Assistant Professor Joshua Holzer, from scroll.in
Is Ukrainian a dialect of Russian or an altogether different language?
nearly half of it talked about mandarin and cantonese 🙀
several key points are:
Many linguists base their determination of language or dialect on whether forms of speech are mutually understandable.
For political scientists, the difference between a language and a dialect is not based on mutual understandability, but rather on politics.
Just as a dialect with an army and navy can be considered its own language, a language with an army and a navy can call other languages mere dialects. For example, the official language of the People’s Republic of China is Standard Chinese, which is often shortened to simply “Chinese” and is sometimes – contentiously – referred to as Mandarin. However, this is not the only form of speech that can be heard throughout the country.
Cantonese is widely spoken in and around Hong Kong, yet it is often treated as a dialect of “Chinese”. However, spoken Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually understandable. As such, in linguistic terms, these two forms of speech would not be considered dialects of a single language, but rather separate languages.
In order to strengthen the power of the central government against separatist sentiment, the Chinese government has long promoted a language unification agenda. The intent is both to create a common way of communicating for the country but also to minimise the linguistic and cultural differences that exist among different communities. To help spread the adoption of Standard Chinese, as defined by the government, television and radio professionals are subject to strict requirements and can even be fined for using incorrect pronunciation.
Throughout China, local forms of speech are being phased out as mediums of instruction in schools in favour of Mandarin. Many of these forms are now declining, and some are at risk of going extinct. Such efforts do not necessarily mean that these types of speech are not “real languages” in the linguistic sense.
But politically, the difference between a language and a dialect is whatever China says it is. This is even reflected at the international level, as many organisations, such as the United Nations, recognise “Chinese” as being the form of speech standardized and promoted by the Chinese government.
what i wanted to ask is, do this site take the linguistic, or political approach? when dealing with “language vs dialect” problem.
open for debate lah 😹
