People native to Shenyang speak the Shenyang dialect, a variant of Northeastern Mandarin.[114] Shenyang Dialect was formed in early period of Qing Dynasty.[115][116] Shenyang dialect is similar to the other Northeastern dialects and also to the national standard of Mandarin, Putonghua, but is known as a form of Dongbeihua and has a wide range of vocabulary that is not part of the country's official language.[114] As Shenyang dialect is mutually intelligible with most forms of Mandarin, some people prefer to characterize it as an "accent" rather than a different "dialect". [citation needed]