Alternate Names: Cantonese, Gwong Dung Waa, Yue, Yueh, Yuet Yue, Yueyu
Dialects: Bobai, Cangwu, Gaolei (Gaoyang), Guangzhou, Guinan, Ping, Qinlian, Siyi (Hoisan, Schleiyip, Seiyap, Taishan, Toisan), Tengxian, Yangjiang, Zhongshan. The Guangzhou variety considered the standard. A member of macrolanguage Chinese ,.
Status Notes: De facto provincial language in Guangdong Province. Language of recognized nationality: Han.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 52,000,000 in China (1984). Population total all countries: 62,221,560.
Language Use: Second only to Mandarin [cmn] in use. All domains. All ages. Positive attitudes. Though many Yue speakers can understand Mandarin [cmn], many have difficulty speaking it. Used as L2 by Biao [byk], Chadong [cdy], E [eee], Min Nan Chinese [nan], Tsat [huq], Vietnamese [vie], Yang Zhuang [zyg], Yongnan Zhuang [zyn], Zuojiang Zhuang [zzj].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: 91% (2000 census, Han nationality). Speakers are highly literate in Chinese. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Fully developed. Bible: 1894–1981.
Typology: SVO; prepositions; genitives, relatives, articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; tonal.
Writing System: Braille, Han (Simplified), Han (Traditional), Latin
Nation of Origin: China, Hong Kong
Other Comments: Many members of other nationalities in Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan also speak Yue dialects.