Language Atlas of China

The Language Atlas of China (simplified Chinese: 中国语言地图集; traditional Chinese: 中國語言地圖集; pinyin: Zhōngguó yǔyán dìtú jí) is an important book that shows where different languages and dialects are spoken in China. It was first published in two parts, in 1987 and 1989, by Hong Kong Longman Publishing Company. This atlas helps us understand the rich variety of languages in China, including both the main Chinese dialects and languages spoken by ethnic minorities.

Creating this atlas was a big team effort. Scholars from the Australian Academy of the Humanities worked together with experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The book was published in both Chinese and English, making it useful for people all over the world. Endymion Wilkinson, a well-known expert, called this work "outstanding" because of how well it was done.

A new version of the atlas was published in 2012 by the Commercial Press. This updated edition continues to help people learn about the many languages that make up the beautiful linguistic landscape of China.

Classification of Chinese varieties

The atlas shows how different types of Chinese are grouped together. It follows the work of Li Rong and organizes Chinese into several levels:

• Supergroups (大区 dàqū): Mandarin and Min
• Groups (区 qū): Jin, Wu, Hui, Xiang, Gan, Hakka, Yue, Pinghua, and groups within Mandarin and Min
• Subgroups (片 piàn)
• Clusters (小片 xiǎopiàn): only identified for some subgroups
• Local dialects (点 diǎn): areas that were studied

Contents

The Language Atlas of China has 36 colorful maps. These maps are printed on large white sheets and each one comes with a blue sheet that explains more about the map. The atlas is divided into three main parts.

The first part shows general information about languages in China. This includes maps of all the languages spoken there, the different types of Chinese dialects, and the languages of ethnic minorities.

The second part focuses on the many Chinese dialects. It shows where different groups of dialects are spoken, such as Mandarin in various regions, as well as other groups like Jin, Wu, Min, and Hakka.

The third part covers the languages of ethnic minorities. It includes maps of Mongolian, Turkic, Manchu-Tungus, Kam–Tai, Miao-Yao, and Tibeto-Burman languages, among others. These maps show where these languages are spoken across China.

Second edition

Work started on a new version of the book in 2002. This updated version was released in 2012 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and City University of Hong Kong. It has two parts: one about different types of Chinese and another about minority languages. This new version keeps the same layout as the first but adds more maps and more details. It now includes information about 130 minority languages, up from 81 in the first edition.