30% Chinese can't speak Mandarin

[tranquilium]

They are referring to the fact that many people speak Mandarin with an accent instead of the standard Beijing Mandarin. For example, my home was Shenyang, Liaoning and back when I was in elementary school, they spent a lot of time correct the accents of the student because they are speaking with a Northeastern accent.

This is equivalent of saying many people in US doesn't speak New York English, instead, they speak it with their own local accents.

 

[nalan]

The Chinese language as a written language is common among all, but the oral accent could varies vastly from region to region. Some Chinese is unable to speak mandarin well, the biggest group is probably the Cantonese speaking people in HK and Guang dong.
There is a general consensus among the population that as Chinese is getting more affluent, there is a tendency of becoming overly capitalistic/materialistic and neglect their moral and ethical duty to act in a responsible manner.

The Chinese central government is promoting the Chinese language among other things(like thrifty in government expenses, push in anti-corruption and bribery, ethical conduct) in the hope of helping in stemming that tide because language is the ultimate conveyer of Chinese cultural and traditional value.

I think the biggest group is the elderly.They have not chance to speak mandarin.

 

[nalan]

Are you saying Mandarin as a dialect was never popularized strictly as spoken language. What about radio, TV and film industry.

Thats why I doubt 30% Chinese can't speak Mandarin.Aleast you can understand and speak it not fluently.

 

[tranquilium]

Thats why I doubt 30% Chinese can't speak Mandarin.Aleast you can understand and speak it not fluently.

The ministry of education is referring to the fact that a lot of Chinese doesn't speaking the standard Beijing Mandarin, the one without any local accents. For example, you can tell someone is from Shanghai because they speak with a Shanghai accent and you can tell someone is from northeast because they speak with a northeast accent. They are still speaking Mandarin, just with a local accent.

 

[Götterdämmerung]

The ministry of education is referring to the fact that a lot of Chinese doesn't speaking the standard Beijing Mandarin, the one without any local accents. For example, you can tell someone is from Shanghai because they speak with a Shanghai accent and you can tell someone is from northeast because they speak with a northeast accent. They are still speaking Mandarin, just with a local accent.

If that's the case, hee in Germany, at least 60 % of Germans don't speak Hochdeutsch either, because people only people from Hanover and surrounding cities speak Hochdeutsch without accent, all have a certain local accent. Some are pleasant, but most often they just sound horrible.

 

[tranquilium]

If that's the case, hee in Germany, at least 60 % of Germans don't speak Hochdeutsch either, because people only people from Hanover and surrounding cities speak Hochdeutsch without accent, all have a certain local accent. Some are pleasant, but most often they just sound horrible.

Exactly. While people can communicate just fine in day to day lives, there are still situations that an accent can get into the way. For example, when an government official wishes to convene a clear message, local accent and local slang can cause people outside the immediate area to misunderstand the message. This is why even though Chinese people can communicate just fine, the ministry of education, as the department that is in charge of rising the standard of education and related matters, still pushes for a more standardized Mandarin.

 

[beijingwalker]

Mandarin is a type of spoken Chinese,and Chinese language includes many local dialects but most of them are intelligible to each other.saying people are illiterate if they don't speak Mandarin is like saying all Americans,Australians,Canadian....are illiterates cause they dont speak standard British English.

 

[Akasa]

China has literacy rate of 93% but only 70% Chinese can speak Mandarin, what are actually kids studying in Mandarin medium Chinese schools that they can't even speak Mandarin.

The report said that the students can't speak it well. That doesn't mean they can't speak and it says explicitly that they can speak.

 

[Mugwop]

Are those 30% from Hong kong or taiwan?

 

[conworldus]

I can't speak standard mandarin that well, either... I must be illiterate according to our Indian poster.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Are those 30% from Hong kong or taiwan?

No.

Hong Kong accounts for less than 1% of China's total population.

Plus, I can speak Mandarin. I even helped this forum translate an article that was written in Mandarin Romanized Pinyin, in this thread:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/china-far-east/275706-can-chinese-person-translate-me.html

And Taiwanese speak Mandarin too.

 

[Edison Chen]

Are those 30% from Hong kong or taiwan?

Mandarin is Taiwan's official language.

 

[cirr]

Singaporeans speak better mandarin than some folks from the Mainland.

Kids born in Shanghai used to be fluent in the local dialect. No more. So the city government is now doing its level best to rectify the situation by way of，for example，encouraging parents to talk to their kids in Shanghainese at home，raido broadcast and TV shows in Shanghainese etc。

Otherwise the city of Shanghai will be left with people who can only speak mandarin one or two generations down the road.

Even some TV dramas that were first aired in Mandarin are now dubbed in Shanghainese.

 

[tranquilium]

Are those 30% from Hong kong or taiwan?

No, vast majority of them still speak Mandarin. It is just that they speak with an accent. Similar to how Americans and British both speak English, but they have different accents.

 

[Kolaps]

China has literacy rate of 93% but only 70% Chinese can speak Mandarin, what are actually kids studying in Mandarin medium Chinese schools that they can't even speak Mandarin.

They just can't speak in proper mandarin very well.

Just like you can read English well, but it doesn't mean you can speak it as smooth as Americans.

Some people have a very strong local accent that makes their mandarin sound very weird. Many of overseas Chinese can't speak mandarin properly as well, although they speak mandarin almost everyday. These people in entire community don't know where is the wrong part, they speak it like it's an OK, because all their neighbor and entire city speak wrong too.

Simply speaking, just like the different between Indian English, Singaporean English, UK English, US English, etc. Local accent is very strong that...many people hard to understand each other speech.

In my opinion, it's Taiwanese English that is the most correct and easiest to be understand from ALL of THEM...just kidding.

Mandarin is Taiwan's official language.

No, vast majority of them still speak Mandarin. It is just that they speak with an accent. Similar to how Americans and British both speak English, but they have different accents.

Taiwanese speak better mandarin than those in mainland...WAY BETTER!