Which is more linguistically more diverse: China or India? (people, speaking, kids)
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Among the languages of all groups spoken within the countries' boundaries, which has greater diversity. Apparently India has 22 official languages, and also languages in different families, like Indo-European, Dravidian and others.
China seems to be more big on linguistic unity than India, but since some of the forms of speech called Chinese "dialects" are really languages, perhaps it too has some linguistic diversity that's been underestimated, plus also non-Chinese languages within its borders.
India. No language dominates India like Mandarin dominates China, even if many languages are spoken within the borders of the PRC. Min, Yue, Wu are decreasing, while the Indian languages, from Gujarat, Punjabi, Marathi, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalee, Kanada, Tamil.etc seem holding strong. Hindi has a stronghold in northern India but not so much the south.
India by a massive margin. More languages, more diversity within those languages, more language families and a much more even proportional spread for the languages.
China is rapidly losing its linguistic diversity. You don't hear Shanghainese kids speaking Shanghainese to each other any more.
I know, it's screwed up. I speak Hokkien and I was raised in the States, but when I visit parts of East Asia that hosted traditionally Hokkien-speaking communities, I find that the people my generation speak it far worse than even I do. I basically only use it with people two decades or more older than me.
I know, it's screwed up. I speak Hokkien and I was raised in the States, but when I visit parts of East Asia that hosted traditionally Hokkien-speaking communities, I find that the people my generation speak it far worse than even I do. I basically only use it with people two decades or more older than me.
The decline of Hokkien/Minnan in Singapore, Taiwan and southern Fujian itself is sad. In Singapore it was actively discouraged by the government in favour of Mandarin. I think there should be more of a sense of Hoklo/Fujianese identity instead of just Chinese. My grandmother speaks Hokkien.
I know, it's screwed up. I speak Hokkien and I was raised in the States, but when I visit parts of East Asia that hosted traditionally Hokkien-speaking communities, I find that the people my generation speak it far worse than even I do. I basically only use it with people two decades or more older than me.
You must be very young if you included parts of Taiwan outside of Taipei/New Taipei. I still regularly hear people in their late 30's/early 40's speak Taiwanese among themselves there.
You must be very young if you included parts of Taiwan outside of Taipei/New Taipei. I still regularly hear people in their late 30's/early 40's speak Taiwanese among themselves there.
I know a Taiwanese in her 20s that speaks Taiwanese with her family.
You must be very young if you included parts of Taiwan outside of Taipei/New Taipei. I still regularly hear people in their late 30's/early 40's speak Taiwanese among themselves there.
I've been all over Taiwan. Taiwanese or Hokkien is mostly spoken among older folks.
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