# Protection of the varieties of Chinese

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Language preservation efforts

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A school in Guangdong with writing "Please speak [Standard Chinese](/source/Standard_Chinese). Please write [standard characters](/source/Simplified_Chinese)" on the wall.

**Protection of the varieties of Chinese** ([simplified Chinese](/source/Simplified_Chinese_characters): 方言保护; [traditional Chinese](/source/Traditional_Chinese_characters): 方言保護) refers to efforts to protect the continued existence of the [varieties of Chinese](/source/Varieties_of_Chinese) in mainland China and other Chinese-speaking regions, amid pressure to abandon their use, usually in favor of [Standard Mandarin](/source/Standard_Chinese).[1][2][3][4]

## Background

Education and media programming in varieties of Chinese other than Mandarin have been discouraged by the governments of China, Singapore, and Taiwan.[5][6] Following the [arrival of the Republic of China](/source/Retrocession_of_Taiwan) in Taiwan, the government suppressed [Hokkien](/source/Taiwanese_Hokkien), [Hakka](/source/Taiwanese_Hakka) and [Taiwanese indigenous](/source/Formosan_languages) languages in favor of [Mandarin](/source/Taiwanese_Mandarin) until the mid-1990s.[7]

### China

The [Constitution of China](/source/Constitution_of_China) calls on the government to [promote Standard Chinese](/source/Promotion_of_Standard_Chinese) as the common tongue of the nation,[8] and as a result, the majority of Chinese citizens speak Standard Chinese.[9] [Teaching](/source/Chinese_as_a_foreign_language) non-Mandarin [varieties of Chinese](/source/Varieties_of_Chinese) to non-native speakers is discouraged by Chinese law.[10] The [Guangdong National Language Regulations](/source/Guangdong_National_Language_Regulations) were passed by the [Guangdong provincial government](/source/Politics_of_Guangdong) in 2012 to promote the use of Standard Chinese in broadcast and print media at the expense of the standard [Cantonese](/source/Cantonese) and other local dialects. It has been labelled "promoting Mandarin; abandoning Cantonese" ([simplified Chinese](/source/Simplified_Chinese_characters): 推普废粤; [traditional Chinese](/source/Traditional_Chinese_characters): 推普廢粵) legislation.[11]

## By country

### China

The [Ministry of Education](/source/Ministry_of_Education_(China)) has claimed to be taking active measures to protect ten varieties of Chinese.[1] In 2026, [Guangzhou](/source/Guangzhou) pledged to take measures to protect Cantonese in the 15th Five Year Plan period.[12]

#### Southern Fujian

In June 2007, China created a zone for the protection of [Southern Fujian](/source/Minnan_region) culture, the first of its kind in mainland China. In March 2010, eighteen elementary schools and ten kindergartens in [Xiamen](/source/Xiamen) became [Hokkien](/source/Hokkien) study centers, complete with Hokkien educational materials, including training in pronunciation, colloquialisms and history. On March 5, 2011, the Xiamen Experimental Elementary School implemented the "Hokkien Day" activity, encouraging students to study Southern Fujian culture and language.[13][14]

### Taiwan

The native language of many inhabitants of the [Matsu Islands](/source/Matsu_Islands) of Taiwan is the [Matsu dialect](/source/Matsu_dialect), which is one of the statutory languages for public transport announcements in the county.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] It has been compulsory in primary schools in the area since 2017.

In an amendment to Article 14 of the Enforcement Rules of the Passport Act (護照條例施行細則) passed on August 9, 2019, the Taiwanese [Ministry of Foreign Affairs](/source/Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Taiwan)) announced that Taiwanese can use the romanized spellings of their names in [Hoklo](/source/Hoklo), [Hakka](/source/Hakka) and [aboriginal languages](/source/Formosan_languages) for their passports. Previously, names could only be romanized according to its pronunciation in Mandarin.[15] Since 2017, Taiwanese language classes have been compulsory in all primary schools except those in predominantly Hakka or Aboriginal areas and the Matsu Islands.

## See also

- [Speak Hokkien Campaign](/source/Speak_Hokkien_Campaign)

- [Taiwanese literature movement](/source/Taiwanese_literature_movement)

- [Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights](/source/Universal_Declaration_of_Linguistic_Rights)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-chinadaily_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-chinadaily_1-1) Wang, Keju (2019-02-22). ["Language diversity protection highlighted in UNESCO proclamation"](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201902/22/WS5c6f333da3106c65c34eab20.html). *China Daily*. Retrieved 23 July 2019. According to the Ministry of Education, China－as a country with more than 130 ethnic minority languages and 10 major Chinese dialects, has been taking active measures for the protection of languages resources.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [中国语言资源保护工程汉语方言用字规范](http://www.moe.gov.cn/s78/A19/A19_gggs/A19_sjhj/201704/W020170405307025943395.pdf) [Guidelines of Dialect-Specific Character in the Chinese Language] (PDF). 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [芒果台主持人 推方言保護行動](https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20150925000993-260301) [Hunan Presenters Launches Local Language Protection Project]. *[The China Times](/source/The_China_Times)* (in Chinese). 25 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Race against time to save endangered languages and dialects"](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201810/05/WS5bb6f82fa310eff303280c5b.html). 5 October 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["The Worrying Cross-Strait and Linguistic Messages of 'Crazy Rich Asians'"](https://international.thenewslens.com/article/102551). 2018-08-24. Retrieved 22 July 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Presse, Agence France. ["China Is Forcing Its Biggest Cantonese-Speaking Region To Speak Mandarin"](https://www.businessinsider.com/china-is-forcing-its-biggest-cantonese-speaking-region-to-speak-mandarin-2014-8). *Business Insider*. Retrieved 2019-07-21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["LOCAL DIALECTS REGAIN RECOGNITION AFTER LONG SUPPRESSION IN TAIWAN"](https://www.ucanews.com/story-archive/?post_name=/1995/07/25/local-dialects-regain-recognition-after-long-suppression-in-taiwan&post_id=47695). Dialects including Taiwanese and Hakka are regaining status in Taiwan after 40 years of suppression by the government in favor of Mandarin Chinese.{...}"Taiwan should follow the multilingual Swiss model and declare Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and Ami aboriginal languages as national languages," he said.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["CONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA"](http://en.people.cn/constitution/constitution.html). Retrieved 22 July 2019. The state promotes the nationwide use of Putonghua (common speech based on Beijing pronunciation).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-by_9-0)** Bai, Yun (2017). ["THE STUDY ON LANGUAGE ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE PROTECTION OF DIALECTS"](http://dpi-proceedings.com/index.php/dtssehs/article/view/9284/8850). Retrieved 22 July 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-phxnm_10-0)** ["《广东省国家通用语言文字规定》全文"](http://news.ifeng.com/mainland/detail_2011_12/18/11402971_0.shtml) [Full Text of Guangdong National Language Regulations]. Phoenix New Media. 18 December 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012. 对外汉语教学应当教授普通话和规范汉字。 (Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language shall be in Putonghua and Simplified Chinese.)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [廣東出臺通用語言文字規定 無任何條款限制方言播出](https://web.archive.org/web/20140221224035/http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2011-12/24/c_111293618.htm) [Guangdong's New Language Law "Will Not Limit Local Languages"] (in Simplified Chinese). 24 December 2011. Archived from [the original](http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2011-12/24/c_111293618.htm) on February 21, 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2019. 最近個別媒體又在炒作所謂的"推普廢粵"之類的報道。記者從今天（12月24日）下午召開的省政府新聞發布會獲悉，我省將于明年3月起實施《廣東省國家通用語言文字規定》，沒有任何限制使用方言的條款。(Recent media reports claim the Guangdong National Language Regulations is a "Law that oppresses the Cantonse Language". This claim was debunked in a press conference by the Province of Guangdong in 24 December, where the province's spokesperson claim that the new legislation would not ban or limit the use of local languages.)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Dummer, Joshua. ["Guangzhou Talks the Talk on Protecting Cantonese, But Can It Walk the Walk?"](https://thediplomat.com/2026/01/guangzhou-talks-the-talk-on-protecting-cantonese-but-can-it-walk-the-walk/). *The Diplomat*. Retrieved 6 February 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [我省18所小学10所幼儿园试点闽南语教学](https://web.archive.org/web/20140831032751/http://www.fjedu.gov.cn/html/2010/03/388_71751.html) [18 Primary Schools and 10 Nurseries Starts Teaching Hokkien in Fujian Province]. *xmnn.cn* (in Chinese (China)). 8 March 2010. Archived from [the original](http://www.fjedu.gov.cn/html/2010/03/388_71751.html) on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [廈門實驗小學開設“閩南語日”活動 (Hokkien Day Opens in Xiamen/Amoy's Schools)](http://www.xmnn.cn/dzbk/xmsb/epaper/html/2011-03/04/content_289191.htm)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Jason Pan (16 August 2019). ["NTU professors' language rule draws groups' ire"](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2019/08/16/2003720563). [Taipei Times](/source/Taipei_Times). Retrieved 17 August 2019.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Protection of the varieties of Chinese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_of_the_varieties_of_Chinese) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_of_the_varieties_of_Chinese?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.