Mandarin Chinese
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Mandarin Chinese, also known as P'ut'onghua (Wade-Giles system) Putonghua (pinyin system) (Chinese: 普通话), is the national language of China and Taiwan. It is also an official language in Singapore and is widely spoken in Malaysia and other parts of South East Asia.
Although it is now spoken by many people in mainland China, Mandarin was originally a dialect of learned and noble people. The Chinese name 滿大稟 (mantalin) means most high report, indicating the earlier status of Mandarin as a court language.