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Putonghua, commonly known as Mandarin, is China's national language, spoken by about 70% of the population. However, many distinct languages and dialects are spoken in China. Cantonese is widely spoken by Chinese who have emigrated, and in Hong Kong and Macau. Other ethnic minorities speak languages that are related to those in neighbouring countries, such as Thailand, Turkey and the republics of the former Soviet Union, rather than to other languages in China. The grammars of Mandarin and Cantonese are based much more on the use of tone than syntax. Each word carries a certain tone that denotes meaning. For example, the same word said with a rising tone differs from the word said with a falling tone. Mandarin recognizes four tones, whereas Cantonese has seven. When written in the Latin script, various accents are used over letters to designate tone. Unlike European languages, Chinese languages and dialects share a common writing system of Chinese characters. Thus, people who cannot understand each other's speech can understand each other perfectly if they write down what they mean. Chinese is based on characters that express meanings, rather than sounds. Having a common writing system is incredibly convenient for communicating across regions and ethnic groups. On the other hand, since one must know thousands of characters (at least 4,000 to read a newspaper, and there are 60,000 in total) rather than just 26 letters, the Chinese system is very time-consuming to learn. Since 1956, China has been streamlining its writing system, and about 3,000 characters have been simplified. In addition, the government has also clarified the pinyin system for writing phonetically using the Latin script.
In social situations with strangers or acquaintances, the Chinese tend to be reserved and polite; however, in private, the Chinese are much more gregarious. Chinese may also commonly mask discomfort or other unpleasant emotions by smiling or "saving face." In public, kissing and hugging are rare, even among close friends and relatives, though school friends of the same sex will often hold hands. Most often, Chinese people greet each other by shaking hands.
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