When someone ask me what language I speak, I say Chinese just to simplify things. I don't say Mandarin or Cantonese unless that person asks me. I find that most people don't know the difference or really don't understand the difference. The people who do know the difference would ask and I would then take the time to explain.
However, I start to wonder what is 普通話 [pǔtōng huà] and 中文 [zhōngwén]. 中文 [zhōngwén] included all Chinese dialects. If you say 普通話 [pǔtōng huà], you are referring to Mandarin Chinese. 普通話 [pǔtōng huà] is the official language in China.
Internal curiosity: Why is it 普通 [pǔtōng]? 普通 [pǔtōng] means common. Is it that the everyday common people should know the official language of China? Is it because the Han people makes up the largest ethnic group in the world?
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