Suxia Chen is a language star with a twist – one of the “foreign” languages she’s learned to excel in is English. Chen is proficient in three Chinese dialects, Cantonese, Fuzhouese and Mandarin, and ...

In a busy Chinatown, a foreigner begins switching between four Chinese dialects. Each change triggers surprise and disbelief. Locals stop to listen and test the fluency. Conversations jump between ...

Almost two years before Wong Kar-wai’s period drama “Blossoms” brought Shanghainese back into the public spotlight, 23-year-old Hu Shiyang began writing her debut novel in the same dialect. Titled ...

BEIJING — China is launching an aggressive campaign to promote Mandarin, saying that 85% of its citizens will use the national language by 2025. The move appears to put threatened Chinese regional ...

Regarding Hugo Restall’s review of “Kingdom of Characters” (Bookshelf, March 2): The Beijing dialect, known in the West as Mandarin, was voted by the Kuomintang to be the guoyu, or national dialect, ...

Locals expect Mandarin when foreigners try speaking Chinese. Instead, these white guys start speaking a rare regional dialect. The reaction is instant confusion followed by stunned laughter. It’s not ...