Learning Chinese: Mandarin or Cantonese?

With over 50 different Chinese dialects spread all over China,
which one should you pick to learn? Typically, you will be steered towards
either Mandarin or Cantonese, as most native Chinese speakers speak one of the
two. An interesting note: The characters remain the same, so if you learn to
read and write Chinese characters as well as speak, you will be able to
communicate through writing, even if you do not understand what they are
saying!

Mandarin

Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world. As the official
language of both mainland China and Taiwan, Mandarin is the choice of most
Chinese language students. If you are planning on traveling, living, or working
in Beijing, Shanghai, or any other major city other than Hong Kong, Mandarin is
good choice. Spoken Mandarin has four tones, which distinguish the meaning of
each word. For example, the word “ma” can mean either mother, hemp, horse, or
scold, depending upon the inflection you place on the word. Oh, and it can also
turn a sentence into a question when it is said with what is known as a neutral
tone at the end of a sentence. So, Mandarin speakers must learn their tones to
avoid confusing calling their mother a horse!

Cantonese

Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and some surrounding areas of southern China.
It is a powerful language to learn for international business, especially
because it is far more complex than Mandarin, with nine tones, and the lack of
foreigners who can speak Cantonese. Cantonese speakers have a greater ability
to understand a Mandarin speaker, whereas a Mandarin speaker generally cannot
understand Cantonese.