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Thread: Is 中文 understood by all literate Chinese people?

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[quote=JOHNYORK,496279]中文 (Zhōngwén/written Chinese) is supposedly common to all Chinese people regardless of the variety of Chinese language they speak. So, a Mandarin or Min speaker can both read a newspaper written in 中文. This Is what I understand.

What I don't understand is why some written material specifies the variety of spoken language. Example you see a website and it specifically list 潮州话 (Teochew, a variety of Southern Min). If all Chinese can read 中文, then why would they need to list the written material as 潮州话? I understand Chinese people pronounce the same words differently based on the variety they speak. This makes makes total sense to me. However, if it is written, why not just call it 中文? Why would you even need to mention 普通话 (Pǔtōnghuà/Mandarin) or 潮州话(Teochew), etc.? Are there words that are written differently between the varieties of Chinese languages? I totally get that the words are pronounced differently based on the variety you speak. I would just like to know if there are words that are written differently. Maybe this would explain the need to specify a specific variety when displaying written material for a Chinese person to read.

Note: My question is not asking about Simplified or Traditional Chinese. Please don't copy and paste information about Simplified or Traditional Chinese. Also, please don't copy and paste information about the meaning of 中文. Please answer the question in your own words using your own knowledge.[/quote]

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