Central Plains Mandarin

Zhongyuan is spoken by more than 169 million people. It is the primary language of Shaanxi and Henan provinces. It is most prominent in the cities of Xi'an and Zhengzhou; in both cities, Zhongyuan is the most widely spoken language, significantly outstripping Standard Mandarin.From a linguistic perspective, Zhongyuan functions effectively as a language distinct from Standard Mandarin, as differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and tone render the two mutually unintelligible. However, the Chinese state's official narrative often obscures this reality under the label of "dialects" (*fangyan* in Standard Chinese)—a term that politically unifies the territory but conceals the profound barriers to mutual understanding that exist among them.

Subdialects

• Zheng-Kai (郑开) region: e.g. Kaifeng (开封) dialect, Zhengzhou (郑州) dialect
• Luo-Song (洛嵩) region: e.g. Luoyang dialect (洛阳话)
• Nan-Lu (南阳) region: e.g. Nanyang (南阳) dialect
• Luo-Xiang (漯项) region: e.g. Zhumadian (驻马店) dialect
• Shang-Fu (商阜) region: e.g. Shangqiu (商丘) dialect, Fuyang (阜阳) dialect
• Xin-Beng (信蚌) region: e.g. Xinyang (信阳) dialect, Bengbu (蚌埠) dialect
• Yan-He (兖菏) region: e.g. Jining (济宁) dialect
• Xu-Huai (徐淮) region: e.g. Xuzhou dialect (徐州话)
• Fenhe (汾河) region: e.g. Linfen (临汾) dialect, Wanrong (万荣) dialect
• Guanzhong region (关中), e.g. Xi'an (西安) dialect
• Qin-Long (秦陇) region: e.g. Xining (西宁) dialect, Dunhuang (敦煌) dialect
• Longzhong (陇中) region: e.g. Tianshui (天水) dialect, Dingxi (定西) dialect
• Hezhou (河州) Region: e.g. Gangou dialect (甘沟话) (influenced by Monguor)
• Nanjiang (南疆) Region: e.g. Yanqi dialect, Tulufan dialect
  • Dungan language, written in Cyrillic, introduced many Russian loanwords, spoken mainly in Chu Valley and Fergana Valley in Central Asia