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{{Contains Chinese text}}
{{Primary sources|date=April 2011}}
{{Chinese
|title=Sinosphere
|pic=East Asian Cultural Sphere.png
|picsize=260px
|s=汉字文化圈
|t=漢字文化圏
(contracted; show full)
|hn=漢字文化圈 <small>([[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Sino-Viet.]])</small> <br>區域文化𡨸漢 <small>(native)</small>}}

[[File:漢字文化圈／汉字文化圈 · 한자 문화권 · Vòng văn hóa chữ Hán · 漢字文化圏.png|thumb|The ways of saying "Sinosphere" in major languages of Sinosphere.]]
[[File:
Map-Chinese Characters.png|thumb|450px|The Sinosphere of countries where [[Chinese characters]] were/are used to write the official/dominant languages. Dark Green - Traditional Chinese characters used almost exclusively (Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau). Medium Green - Simplified Chinese characters used formally but traditional characters continue wide usage (Singapore and Malaysia). Green - Simplified characters used almost exclusively (Mainland China). Light Green- Chinese characters used in conjunction with native writing systems (Japan and South Korea). Light Yellow - Chinese characters once used in the official language but no longer used (Mongolia, North Korea and Vietnam).世界上的主要文化圈 World's major cultural spheres.png|thumb|550px]]
In [[areal linguistics]], '''Sinosphere''' ({{Zh|s=汉字文化圈|t=漢字文化圏|p=Hànzì Wénhuà Quān|l=Chinese character culture circle}}) refers to a grouping of countries and regions that are currently inhabited with a majority of [[Han Chinese|Chinese]] population or were historically under [[Culture of China|Chinese cultural]] influence. The linguist [[James Matisoff]] coined the term "Sinosphere" in 1990, contrasting with the [[Indosphere]], "I refer to the Chinese and Indian areas of linguistic / cultural influence in Southeast Asia as the 'Sinosphere' and the 'Indosphere'."<ref>Matisoff, James A. (1990). [http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/~bjoseph/Ling611/Lx611Matisoff1990.pdf On Megalocomparison]. ''Language'' 66.1, p. 113.</ref>

The terms Chinese cultural sphere and [[Chinese character]] cultural sphere are used interchangeably with "Sinosphere" but have different denotations. Chinese cultural sphere denotes a grouping of countries, regions, and people which have participated in or been heavily influenced by the  [[Culture of China]], such as [[Tibet]] or [[Sichuan]]. Countries such as [[Japan]] or [[Viet Nam]] which did in the past or do now use the [[Chinese writing system]] denote the other sense.

==Origins==
⏎
⏎
In linguistic (and German) terms, the Sinosphere is a [[Sprachbund]] or "language league." This cultural region closely corresponds to the ancient "Sinic civilization" and its descendants, the "Far Eastern civilizations" (the Mainland and the Japanese ones), which [[Arnold J. Toynbee]] presented in the 1930s in "[[A Study of History]]", along with the [[Western world|Western]], Islamic, Eastern Orthodox, Indic, etc. civilizations, among the major "units of study" of the world's history.<ref>See the "family tree" of Toynbee's "(contracted; show full)

* [http://www.zaobao.com/chinese/pages1/chinese_others240604.html Chinese Cultural Sphere and the Use of Chinese Characters], Zhe Shiya, Lianhe Zaobao, 24 June 2004, Singapore (in Chinese)
* [http://www.ccmedu.com/detail.aspx?boardID=12&ID=15897 Export of Chinese Culture and Balance of Power in the World], Shinfeng, People's Daily, 28 March 2006, Beijing (in Chinese)
{{Refend}}

== Notes ==
⏎
* Someone please take this aticle out back and shoot it.

<references/>

==External links==
* [http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ Asia for Educators]. Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University.

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2011}}

[[Category:Chinese culture]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Cultural spheres of influence]]
[[Category:Country classifications]]
[[Category:Chinese nationalism]]

[[es:Mundo chino]]
[[fr:Monde chinois]]
[[ko:한자 문화권]]
[[lt:Sinosfera]]
[[ja:漢字文化圏]]
[[ru:Китайский мир]]
[[vi:Văn hóa quyển chữ Hán]]
[[zh-yue:漢字文化圈]]
[[zh:漢字文化圈]]