Beryl over , and its dimensions were long and in diameter. The largest cut aquamarine gem is the Dom Pedro aquamarine, now housed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. The ancient Romans believed that aquamarine would protect against any dangers while travelling at sea, and that it provided energy and cured laziness. Emerald is green beryl, colored by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Most emeralds are highly included, so their brittleness (resistance to breakage) is classified as generally poor. The modern English word "emerald" comes via Middle English "Emeraude", imported from modern French via Old French
Varieties of Chinese Varieties of Chinese Chinese, also known as Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local language varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible. The differences are similar to those within the Romance languages, with variation particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast. These varieties, often called "dialects", have been classified into seven to ten groups, the largest being Mandarin (e.g. Beijing dialect), Wu (e.g. Shanghainese), Min (e.g. Hokkien), and Yue (e.g. Cantonese). Chinese varieties differ most in their phonology, and to a lesser extent in vocabulary and syntax. Southern varieties tend to have