Introduction -- The Chinese language -- Some people in the west think that the Chinese language is Cantonese whereas in fact Cantonese is just one of the eight major dialects of the Chinese language. Although different dialects differ immensely in pronunciation, they share the same written form. the Northern dialect (which has many sub-dialects under it) is spoken by 70 per cent of the Chinese population. Therefore, the standard language spoken nationally is based on the pronunciation of the Northern dialect. The name for this standard form is Putonghua (common speech) in mainland China, Guoyu or Huayu (national language) in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other overseas Chinese communities, and 'Mandarin Chinese' in English-speaking countries.