The status of "language" is not solely determined by linguistic criteria, but it is also the result of a historical and political development. Romansh came to be a written language, and therefore it is recognized as a language, even though it is very close to the Lombardic alpine dialects. An opposite example is the case of <answer>Chinese</answer>, whose variations such as Mandarin and Cantonese are often called dialects and not languages, despite their mutual unintelligibility.
What language are Mandarin and Cantonese sometimes considered dialects of?
Chinese