Who Speaks Chinese?
Figures for Chinese vary with definitions of speakerhood, proficiency, and official status. This chapter reads headline numbers through the methods and categories that produce them.
Are we counting speakers, official status, or learners?
One Number Is Not Enough to Count Chinese Speakers
Statistics about Chinese speakers often appear to contradict one another. The disagreement usually begins not with arithmetic, but with different language labels, speaker categories, editions, and definitions of proficiency.
10 min read→
“Official” Is a Family of Language Statuses
Chinese is often called an official language, but that label can describe several different legal and institutional arrangements. We compare four mechanisms and show how to read such claims with precision.
10 min read→