Mandarin is NOT a national WRITTEN language but an official/national spoken language (dialect). People spoken difference dialects (Mandarin, Cantonese) in China write the same Chinese characters.
Yim Szeto
>>> Cecile Chi <[log in to unmask]> 3/4/2001 6:21:12 PM >>>
In a message dated 3/4/01 5:52:36 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<< Not in all
China, Mandarin is only a national written language (not generally spoken).
>>
Just about everyone I know (educated people) speak Mandarin in addition
to their local dialect.
In Hong Kong, you're likely to find that Cantonese dialects are the most
widely used.
Cecile Chi