Chinese belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family and is typologically a monosyllabic language. It is an ancient language that has survived up to the present day whereas other contemporary languages such as Sumerian and Hittite got extinct. The first systematic samples of Chinese writing – the Jiaguwen script – date back to the Oracle Bone Scripts written on tortoise shells and animal bones during the Shang Dynasty (1711-1066 BC). Going through a process of transformation from Jiaguwen to Xiaozhuan, Lishu, and Kaishu, the Chinese script has finally evolved into its current form. In 1956, steps were taken to simplify Chinese, as a result of which, simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese scripts co-exist today. While simplified Chinese is preferred today in continental China and Singapore, traditional Chinese is in use in special administrative regions such as Taiwan and Hong Kong. Due to the size of China and the variety in its social structure, Chinese has many dialects. In mainland China, standard Chinese called Mandarin is spoken and taught.