Chinese language variety

generate a one-sentence description for a given conceptual class.
# Response Format
Return only the sentence: "Description: [one-sentence description of the conceptional class]"

Class: Chinese language variety

A Chinese language variety is a distinct, historically rooted form of the Chinese language—such as Mandarin, Cantonese, or Shanghainese—characterized by its own phonology, vocabulary, and grammar, and often mutually unintelligible with other such forms.