After 6 months in China, I was fascinated with every aspect of Chinese language, including how to speak it (not fluent yet). Chinese people learn Mandarin in school if their home, provincial language is something else.

China has had a single chief language for less than 100 years. Mandarin or “Putonghua” is the mandated official language, but it is not as widely spoken as English is in USA. The people of China usually learn the chief language of their home province or city first and then learn Mandarin in school. These can be one and the same in areas around Beijing, but, as Anny alludes to, they are often not.

Hopefully, this video sheds light on the creation and growth of Mandarin in China and how people there are learning it.

Notice the Mandarin orange in my hand during the talk with Anny. Get it?:-)

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