Chinese Characters in China,Chinese Chinese Characters

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The Chinese languages are the languages of the Han people, the major ethnic group of China, and consist of a great many dialects. It is estimated that over 1 billion people speak a form of Chinese, being some 95% of the population. Other non-Chinese languages spoken include Tibetan, Mongolian, Lolo, Miao, and Tai.

The Written Chinese Language ：Mainland China uses a simplified form of writing but the traditional script is still in use in such places as Taiwan and Hong Kong. During the latter half of the nineteenth century a movement for reform began that wished to see literacy rates increase and saw the traditional script as a barrier to this goal. This movement grew in strength after the formation of the PRC. The first of the simplifications took place in 1955 which eliminated over 1,000 characters. This was followed by another simplification in 1956, called the First Scheme.

Spoken Chinese comprises many regional dialects. However, the mutual unintelligibility of the sub varieties is the main ground for classifying them as separate languages or dialect groups. Each dialect group consists of a large number of sub dialects, many of which may themselves be referred to as languages.

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Chinese Characters