Beijing residents speak a dialect of Mandarin Chinese that forms the basis of Modern Standard Chinese (Guoyu), or putonghua ("common language"), which is commonly taught throughout the country.
Slogans multiplied in pursuit of a unified, national tongue which, though it had by now been renamed Putonghua (common language), was still the standard based loosely upon the Beijing dialect.
By far the most important Chinese tongue is Mandarin, or putonghua, meaning "ordinary language" or "common language".
According to Profiles of Primary and Secondary Schools (http://www.chsc.hk/chsc-school-profiles-pri-lang-1.html), about 35% (357) of schools in Hong Kong use Putonghua as the language of teaching Chinese.
As China's most global city, Hong Kong needs skills in both English and Mandarin, or putonghua, China's common language.
Putonghua is the universal language of government though when the late Deng Xiaoping spoke it in his thick Sichuanese accent, sub-titles were added for television viewers.
There are hundreds of millions of speakers of Cantonese, Haka, Hokkien, and other Sinitic languages who learn Mandarin (otherwise known as Putonghua) as the common, official language of China.
Mandarin Chinese in the form spoken in and around Beijing forms the basis for Modern Standard Chinese Guoyu, "National Language," usually called putonghua "common language" by the Chinese.
All participants indicated that either Cantonese or Putonghua (Mandarin) was their preferred language that was commonly used at home.
The study also finds that although the reports are written in English, a mix of languages (English, Cantonese and Putonghua) is used by the members of the audit team in their production.
