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Cantonese / Mandarin Lessons

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sady:
    he did not say that about Cantonese. But he said he could teach it but will charge more as it is harder to learn than Mandarin.

    And braynt, good one. But pardon my ignorance as I started to research about the languages & the course prices just last week.
    Don't forget that you won't really be able to use Mandarin in daily life when living in HK fulltime. With Cantonese you will be able to use and extend your learning beyond the classroom much more.
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  2. #12

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    Gatts, that's some valuable information because whether to enrol for Cantonese or Mandarin course was pretty much confusing. Your answer clarifies that confusion.

    I have also heard that Cantonese has no fixed 'writing' standards. & it can be written in anyway the speakers wish to write it. Is that correct?


  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sady:
    Gatts, that's some valuable information because whether to enrol for Cantonese or Mandarin course was pretty much confusing. Your answer clarifies that confusion.

    I have also heard that Cantonese has no fixed 'writing' standards. & it can be written in anyway the speakers wish to write it. Is that correct?
    More or less. There is the writing language which follows the rules of standard formal-written "Chinese" grammar and vocabulary. This means when read aloud in Mandarin it sounds quite normal to a Mandarin speaker, but when read aloud in Cantonese it sounds stilted and official, which you could compare when hearing Shakespearean English read aloud.

    There is informal written Cantonese which is used in HK in more non-official use, meaning an exact replica of what is said, which include Cantonese-only characters, follows Cantonese word order, vocabulary etc. You'll see this abundantly in advertising, local magazines, tv shows, subtitling of comedy films, messages,... This is one of the reasons written Cantonese can seem quite daunting since there is such a dichotomy between speaking and the formal written counterparts.
    Last edited by Gatts; 21-05-2012 at 06:04 PM.
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  4. #14

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    That's so true. Actually, when I came to know that Cantonese is the language of HK, I was initially looking for Cantonese instructor. But when the instructor told me the difference between the two languages & that he could still teach me Cantonese except for slightly more charges & he & I'll have to put in more effort as it is a difficult language & stuff similar to what you said above to make me understand, I decided to enrol for Mandarin. But I still got a year to plan my move so Im still thinking.

    From the sound of it, it seems to me Cantonese is to Mandarin what Brtitish English is to American English.


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sady:
    From the sound of it, it seems to me Cantonese is to Mandarin what Brtitish English is to American English.
    Oh I think you misunderstood me. While the official written form can be read in any Chinese language like Mandarin or Cantonese (or Shanghainese, Fujianese,...), they are very much different from each other as for example German and English would be. They are definitely not interchangeable or mutually understandable.
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  6. #16

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    OoOoOh, now I 'finally' get it. Hehe, I looked at the cantonese & Mandarin script a few times & listened to the pronunciation of words / letters in both lingos & wondered what the difference was when both the languages sound the same. NOW, I know what it is. So the letters / alphabets are written the same way so readable by anyone who can read Chinese script but not necessarily understanding it. Like, I can read Arabic because I can read the script but do not understand what I am reading.

    Makes sense. You simplified it much for me to understand. Hehe, thanks a billion


  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sady:
    Like, I can read Arabic because I can read the script but do not understand what I am reading.
    Well you're almost there.

    In Chinese it would be the other way around, due to the symbolic nature of Chinese characters the meaning would be clear to everyone, but not the pronunciation: Strict native speakers of Mandarin wouldn't know how to pronounce these characters in Cantonese and vice-versa. Let me give you an example.

    English: "I'm eating something"
    Written Chinese: 我在吃東西
    Mandarin pronunciation: Wo(3) Zai(4) Chi(1) Dong(1) Xi
    Cantonese pronunciation: Ngo(5) Zoi(6) Hek(3) Dong(1) Sai(1)
    (Tone number in brackets)

    Now in Mandarin pronunciation this would be the equivalent to the actual spoken word on the street, but in Cantonese one would not say it like this, only write it that way for formal communication. Instead one would say:
    我食緊野 : Ngo (5) Sik (6) Gan(2) Ye(5)

    Notice how this differs greatly from the original Mandarin for eating something both in pronunciation and characters.
    Last edited by Gatts; 22-05-2012 at 11:00 AM.