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by chirsz 455 days ago
In fact, "dialect" is a political definition. Using Europe as an analogy, it is conceivable that if Rome had not disappeared, today's French language, Italian language and Spanish language would be considered dialects of Latin language (English is not included, because it is a Germanic language). With a few exceptions, the dialects used by the Chinese are descendants of Middle Chinese and have been influenced by the official dialect, so they are all called "Chinese dialects".