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Quick question about the language

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  1. #51

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    I never have any issues with not getting the spring onions for free - I grow my own veges.

    I have been here 3 years, speak a few phrases, and routinely get laughed at for my pronounciation. No need to learn the local lingo, english is an official language. As Missokstic points out, the locals are far more likely to laugh, rather than marvel at your linguistic skills and give you a whooping discount :


    the four most common reactions to a foreigner speaking Cantonese:
    1.


    2.



    3.



    4.

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  2. #52

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    Quote Originally Posted by bak875:
    To the OP:

    I hope you got your answer to your quick question
    At least he'll know how to get free spring onions!
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  3. #53

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    Original Post Deleted
    Same situation in my local wet market in Causeway Bay at the back of Time Square. The majority of the stall holders, meat, fish, fruit and veg all speak a little English, and if I want something particularly exotic like beef bones or a particular cut of meat, I ask a local friend to write it out for me, something that Proplus has admitted even he is unable to do.

    TB you forgot to put at the end of your post"look in the mirror if you want to see arrogant, then you GTFO"
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  4. #54

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    I speak enough to give directions in a taxi and maybe a few words beyond that. Its enough for day to day life. The one circumstance in which it would be useful for me to speak more, would be at my building where none of the staff speak English. But we manage!


  5. #55

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    Quote Originally Posted by Proplus:
    Sure, get by in your daily life living in a bubble. What's the point in coming to HK when you don't experience the local culture? GTFO.


    Sent from my GT-N7100 using GeoClicks mobile app
    Watercooler failed to answer this question, so I will ask Proplus.

    What exactly is all this local culture that us poor expats are missing out on by not speaking Cantonese?

    I spent a few years in a predominantly local work environment and the only "culture" that seemed to be discussed was food, drink, karaoke and whores.

    No one had traveled outside of HK and China in their lives, the only literature read was comic books, I am pretty certain temple tours were not on the weekend agenda, theatre and opera? forget it.

    So, what is this culture we are missing out on?

  6. #56

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    Quote Originally Posted by Watercooler:
    But learning cantonese may let you know which stalls are prone to "modifying" their scales.
    You mean there are stalls that have two scales, and one is only used on English speaking customers?

  7. #57

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cwbguy:
    Watercooler failed to answer this question, so I will ask Proplus.

    What exactly is all this local culture that us poor expats are missing out on by not speaking Cantonese?

    I spent a few years in a predominantly local work environment and the only "culture" that seemed to be discussed was food, drink, karaoke and whores.

    No one had traveled outside of HK and China in their lives, the only literature read was comic books, I am pretty certain temple tours were not on the weekend agenda, theatre and opera? forget it.

    So, what is this culture we are missing out on?
    partially social integration, non speakers are not too similar to ethnic minority ( though not that extreme as ethnic minority particularly the Pakistani have very closed communities) to UK.

    furthermore, plenty of topics other than superficial subjects are discussed in cantonese

    other than that, not much

    speaking only English is fine in HK, but understanding Cantonese makes daily life a lot easier just like understanding basic English when your mother tongue is only urdu
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  8. #58

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    Quote Originally Posted by DeannaX:
    I've been here just over a year and don't know a single word of Cantonese. I started to take some Mandarin lessons, but i never used it..
    That'd be like learning Spanish, while living & working in Italia.

    Are you Irish, by any chance ?
    Last edited by Skyhook; 01-10-2013 at 06:34 PM.
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  9. #59

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    Quote Originally Posted by Proplus:
    I speak fluent Cantonese, and the posters on here thinking that not knowing the language makes no difference at all is absolutely deluded.

    Granted I can't read Chinese, so when I catch the news or gossip, I need to view Cantonese Web videos. English local newspapers and TV news only cover some of what's going on, there's so much more out there.

    There was a Cantonese Web video about a week or so ago talking about how drug stores are flogging off fake brands of medicine. How many of the expats know this? Can yo tell the difference in the packaging?

    As for wet markets, how many of you expats know that locals don't actually pay for small things like spring onions, garlic and ginger? When you buy up to a certain amount, you ask for them and they get thrown in free. I've seen plenty of expats all proud of themselves after managing to buy a bunch of Choi sum and then pay for spring onions.....

    You go into a temple, speak with the locals that work there and you learn so much more about the place and the culture. Try that in English.

    These ignorant expats live in their own bubble and are too arrogant to either notice it or adapt.



    Sent from my GT-N7100 using GeoClicks mobile app
    Well Propulus, you've just given me more evidence that you're a dickhead!

    Even if an expat took up learning Cantonese and did so eruditely, how many years would it take them to understand news about the medicine industry? I know with my experience of going to Germany and living there, I only got to that sort of point about 5 years or so into my stay there.

    I know that I will never be able to learn Cantonese to the level I learned German. I simply don't have the same amount of time to devote to it as I did when I was a student. Even still I've made an effort to learn a few things, and it's been fun and useful (I caught my student sarcastically saying to a classmate yesterday in Cantonese "I don't speak English".)

    And you're wrong about being fluent in Cantonese to access information and the local culture. I've become friends, for example, with a Singaporean who takes a special interest in the temples here, and who does give me more details than I want about the local temples. And I've become very good friends with a local who is an English teacher at a secondary school -- who can and will tell me more than I ever want to know about the local culture!

    I'm an expat, and I WORK with local people and Chinese people. Almost all of my colleagues are local or Chinese! Also, I've done many things through meetup in which I was the *only* Westerner and I've gotten a chance to join little events at local libraries in the NTs.

    You're very wrong to assume just because someone is an expat here they are living in a bubble!!! That is a bloody inaccurate stereotype!
    kimwy66 likes this.

  10. #60

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    That'd be like learning Spanish, while living & working in Italia.

    Are you Irish, by any chance ?
    My kids' school offered some classes to parents. Since my kids are taking Mandarin at school, I thought I get an idea of the language.

    No, not Irish.

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