An example of the differences between Cantonese (top) and Mandarin:

Chinatowns across the United States are undergoing a shift in linguistic identity as more of the recent immigrants speak Mandarin as their mother tongue instead of the southern dialect Cantonese.

Chicago’s Chinatown, stretching from Cermak and Wentworth avenues, is the third largest Chinatown in the United States, and is following New York City and San Francisco in this language transition.

“In the past, Cantonese was more prevalent in Chicago’s Chinatown,” said Susan Ng-Harroun, executive director of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. “But now there are many people from the northern part of China, who speak Mandarin first. Many more than there were before.”

There are more than 68,000 Chinese residing in Chicago, according to the 2000 U.S census, and Ng-Harroun estimates that 30 percent of that population now prefers speaking in Mandarin, as opposed to the nearly 100 percent earlier that spoke Cantonese.

The People’s Republic of China in 1955 standardized Mandarin as the national language, meaning more immigrants are familiar with the language, especially as it is the means of instruction in Chinese schools.

Although some people might have a preference for their native language, most Cantonese do speak Mandarin proficiently. But this means that Cantonese speakers are forced to be more flexible.

“It’s the Cantonese speakers that have to change,” librarian Chen Ming Xia said. “If I speak Mandarin and you speak Cantonese, it’s your duty to switch to Mandarin for me.”

Furthermore, the Chinese government’s support for foreign education has led to more and more people emigrating from the People’s Republic as opposed to Hong Kong and Taishan, a southern coastal city in Guangdong province.

“There are many Mandarin-speaking students studying abroad in America,” said David Wu, executive director of the Pui Tak Center, a community center. “They are the more educated Chinese certainly.”

However as these students find jobs and move permanently to America, they aren’t settling down in the historical Chinatown neighborhood. Wu says these former students can afford to live in the suburbs and Cantonese-dominant businesses and organizations in Chinatown don’t provide the familiarity of foods, goods and services they seek.

“It’s the cultural background, in addition to the language problem, that makes people prefer one community over another,” Ng-Harroun said.

While the two language groups do interact at times within the community, such as for Chinese New Year celebrations, the limitations in conversational skills, coupled with different traditions, has led to more segregation than unity.

“The different dialects do reflect some cultural differences,” Wu said. “The Chinese churches, restaurants and businesses outside of Chinatown are all Mandarin communities.”

Jimmy Nhan, owner of a Wentworth Avenue gift shop, feels the language barrier is causing some tension in conducting his business. A southerner won’t shop at a Mandarin-speaker’s shop and vice versa, he said.

“It’s hard to open a successful business here [in Chinatown] if you aren’t from a Cantonese background,” Nhan said.

While Mandarin-speaking immigrants are certainly increasing, the language has yet to enter the list of Chicago’s top 15 languages. Cantonese ranks fourth on the list, following English, Spanish and Polish.

Additionally, various health clinics around Chicago continue to be concerned with providing enough Cantonese interpretation and do not see Mandarin interpretation as a priority.

Although Mandarin and Cantonese sound completely different, they share the same written language. However, Mandarin uses the simplified system of writing, meaning the characters have fewer strokes, while Cantonese uses the traditional system.

The majority of the signs in Chinatown are written in traditional form — most Chinese are able to read both — but Xia says there are efforts to implement more simplified text.

“Little by little, the signs are changing from traditional to simplified,” Xia said. “All the parents prefer to pick up simplified texts when they chose books for their children to read.”

Wu does expect a gradual change of leadership in the community though.

“The Cantonese have been here so long that, historically, they have been the leaders,” Wu said. “The recently arrived immigrants from the mainland don’t have the time to take on more responsibility. Over time, they should want to take more leadership posts so they are better represented.”

For the moment however, being Chinese in Chicago seems to be enough to integrate these two language groups.

“You have to rely on each other to survive here,” Xia said. “You cannot care too much about who speaks what more naturally.”