Local name: Chinese: 中文 (zhōngwén); 华语 or 華語 (huáyǔ); 汉语 or 漢語 (hànyǔ)
Mandarin dialect group: 官话 or 官話 (guānhuà); 北方话 or 北方話 (běifānghuà)
Standard Mandarin variety: 普通话 (pǔtōnghuà - ‘general pronunciation’), 國語 (guóyǔ - ‘national language’)
Language family: Sino-Tibetan > Sinitic > Chinese
Native speakers: ~ 846 millions (Ethnologue.com, 2000)
Script: Han script (i.e. Chinese characters)
Official in: As ‘Chinese’ in China, Taiwan, Singapore
Spoken mostly in: China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, USA, Canada

When we say ‘Chinese’, we normally refer to the biggest Chinese language, also known as Mandarin. Whereas most Chinese consider all Chinese languages dialects of one language - where (the Beijing variety of) Mandarin Chinese is considered the standard one, many linguists prefer to divide Chinese into several languages, like Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Min Nan etc. Mandarin also forms the pattern for the Chinese written language which is used also by speakers of other different languages.

Mandarin is one of the most phonologically simplified varieties of Chinese. This is mirrored by the fact that Mandarin has more polysyllabic than most other varieties (Shanghainese has more). Like all Sinitic languages, Mandarin is a tonal languages and has four tones, illustrated by the accents on the vowels in the pinyin transcription below.

Taiwan Standard: “Běifēng hé tàiyáng”
Speaker: Oscar (信傑) Age at recording: 23 (2009) Geographical reference: Taipei, TW (Google Map)


(traditional)
有一次,北風和太陽正在爭論誰比較強。
他們正好看到有個路人走過,那個人穿著一件斗篷。
他們就決定,誰可以讓路人脫掉那件斗篷,就算誰比較厲害。
於是北風就拼命地吹。沒想到,他吹得愈厲害,路人就愈是用斗篷包緊自己。
最後,北風沒辦法了,只好放棄。
接著,太陽出來溫暖地照耀了一下,路人就立刻把斗篷脫掉了。
於是,北風只好認輸,承認太陽比較厲害。

(hanyu pinyin)
yǒuyīcì,běifēng hé tàiyáng zhèngzài zhēnglùn shéi bǐjiào qiáng.
tāmen zhènghǎo kàndào yǒugè lùrén zǒuguò,nàgèrén chuānzhè yījiàn dǒupéng.
tāmen jiù juédìng,shéi kěyǐ ràng lùrén tuōdiào nàjiàn dǒupéng,jiùsuàn shéi bǐjiào lìhài.
yúshì běifēng jiù pīnmìngdì chuī.
méi xiǎng dào,tā chuīdé yù lìhài,lùrén jiù yùshì yòng dǒupéng bāojǐn zìjǐ.
zuìhòu, běifēng méi bànfǎle,zhǐhǎo fàngqì.
jiēzhe,tàiyáng chūlái wēnnuǎndi zhàoyàole yīxià,lùrén jiù lìkè bǎ dǒupéng tuōdiàole.
yúshì,běifēng zhǐhǎo rènshū,chéngrèn tàiyáng bǐjiào lìhài.

Mainland China Standard: “Běifēng hé tàiyáng”
Speaker: Dong (东) Age at recording: 23 (2009) Geographical reference: Taiyuan, CN (Google Map)


(simplified)
有一次,北风和太阳正在争论谁比较强。
他们正好看到有个路人走过,那个人穿着一件斗篷。
他们就决定,谁可以让路人脱掉那件斗篷,就算谁比较厉害。
于是北风就拼命地吹。
没想到,他吹得愈厉害,路人就愈是用斗篷包紧自己。
最后,北风没办法了,只好放弃。
接着,太阳出来温暖地照耀了一下,路人就立刻把斗篷脱掉了。
于是,北风只好认输,承认太阳比较厉害。

(hanyu pinyin)
yǒuyīcì,běifēng hé tàiyáng zhèngzài zhēnglùn shéi bǐjiào qiáng.
tāmen zhènghǎo kàndào yǒugè lùrén zǒuguò,nàgèrén chuānzhè yījiàn dǒupéng.
tāmen jiù juédìng,shéi kěyǐ ràng lùrén tuōdiào nàjiàn dǒupéng,jiùsuàn shéi bǐjiào lìhài.
yúshì běifēng jiù pīnmìngdì chuī.
méi xiǎng dào,tā chuīdé yù lìhài,lùrén jiù yùshì yòng dǒupéng bāojǐn zìjǐ.
zuìhòu,běifēng méi bànfǎle,zhǐhǎo fàngqì.
jiēzhe,tàiyáng chūlái wēnnuǎndi zhàoyàole yīxià,lùrén jiù lìkè bǎ dǒupéng tuōdiàole.
yúshì,běifēng zhǐhǎo rènshū,chéngrèn tàiyáng bǐjiào lìhài.

Southwestern Mandarin: “Béfōng hé tàiyáng”
Speaker: Zhan (湛) Age at recording: 24 (2012) Geographical reference: Wuhan, CN (Google Map)


(simplified)
有一次,北风和太阳正在争论哪个比较有板眼。
他们刚好看到有个路人走过,那个人穿倒一件斗篷。
他们就决定,哪个可以让路人脱掉那件斗篷,就算谁比较有板眼。
于是北风就鉚倒吹。
冇想到,他吹得愈是吓人,路人就愈是用斗篷裹倒自己。
最后,北风信了他的邪,只好放弃。
然后,太阳出来温暖地照耀了一下,路人就立刻把斗篷脱掉了。
于是,北风只好认输,承认太阳比较有板眼。

(adapted hanyu pinyin)
yǒuyícì,béfōng hé tàiyáng zènzài zēnlèn nǎguò bǐjiào yǒu bǎnyǎn.
tāmen gānghǎo kàndào yǒuguò lòurén zǒuguò,nàguòrén cuāndǎo yījiàn dǒupóng.
tāmen jiù juédìn,nǎguò kuǒyǐ làng lòurén tuódiào nàjiàn dǒupóng,jiùsàn nàguò bǐjiào yǒu bǎnyǎn.
yúsì béfōng jiù mǎodǎo cuī.
mào xiǎng dào,tā cuīdé yué sì hérén,lòurén jiù yuésì yòng dǒupóng guǒdǎo zìjǐ.
zèihòu,béfōng xìnliǎo tāde xié,zǐhǎo fàngqì.
ránhòu,tàiyáng qúlái wēnluǎndi zàoyàole yīhà,lòurén jiù mǎshàng bǎ dǒupóng tuódiàole.
yúsì,béfōng zǐhǎo lènxū,cénrèn tàiyáng bǐjiào yǒu bǎnyǎn.