Learn where Cantonese is spoken
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| MICHAEL: Where is Cantonese Spoken? |
| SIULING: And how close is it to Mandarin? |
| MICHAEL: At CantoneseClass101.com, we hear these questions often. The following situation is typical. EMMA ENG is meeting another college student (Lilian Leung) for the first time. On hearing her speak Cantonese, this college student (Lilian Leung) asks, |
| "Where did you learn Cantonese?" |
| Lilian Leung: 你喺邊度學廣東話㗎？ (nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 hok6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 gaa3?) |
| Lilian Leung: 你喺邊度學廣東話㗎？ (nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 hok6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 gaa3?) |
| EMMA: 喺西雅圖學㗎。 (hai2 sai1 ngaa5 tou4 hok6 gaa3.) |
| MICHAEL: Once more with the English translation. |
| (Lilian Leung): 你喺邊度學廣東話㗎？ (nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 hok6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 gaa3?) |
| MICHAEL: "Where did you learn Cantonese?" |
| EMMA: 喺西雅圖學㗎。 (hai2 sai1 ngaa5 tou4 hok6 gaa3.) |
| MICHAEL: "I learned it in Seattle." |
| MICHAEL: Cantonese, or |
| SIULING: 廣東話 (gwong2 dung1 waa2) or 粵語 (jyut6 jyu5), |
| MICHAEL: has become a truly global language. Not only is it one of the oldest and most popular Chinese dialects spoken in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, and some neighboring areas around the eastern part of Guangxi, it's historically, the most popular form of Chinese spoken outside of mainland China. |
| Currently, Cantonese is widely spoken in Hong Kong, |
| SIULING: 香港 (hoeng1 gong2), |
| MICHAEL: And Macau, |
| SIULING: 澳門 (ou3 mun2). |
| MICHAEL: We're not kidding about Cantonese being spoken everywhere, though. It's the most widely spoken dialect among Chinese communities in Canada, or |
| SIULING: 加拿大 (gaa1 naa4 daai6), |
| MICHAEL: the United States of America, or |
| SIULING: 美國 (mei5 gwok3), |
| MICHAEL: and Australia, |
| SIULING: 澳洲 (ou3 zau1), |
| MICHAEL: as well as Europe, |
| SIULING: 歐洲 (au1 zau1), |
| MICHAEL: and Southeast Asia. |
| SIULING: 東南亞 (dung1 naam4 aa3). |
| MICHAEL: You can even find speakers in Emma's hometown of Seattle, |
| SIULING: 西雅圖 (sai1 ngaa5 tou4). |
| SIULING: How close is it to Mandarin? |
| MICHAEL: Cantonese and Mandarin are two of the most spoken Chinese dialects. They share the same writing system, but each dialect has terms that are unique to the regions in which they're used. |
| In the case of Cantonese, there are even some special Chinese characters not used in other dialects. |
| Perhaps the most common of these is the character used for "no" or "not." |
| SIULING: 冇 (mou5). |
| MICHAEL: But there are many others in addition to this. |
| Even though Cantonese is a global language, pronunciation among native Cantonese may differ by region. For example, a lot of people in Hong Kong, especially if they're younger, use their own conversational slang and tend to speak what is called "lazy tongue." |
| SIULING: 懶音 (laan5 jam1). |
| MICHAEL: An example is the word "you." The standard way to pronounce it is |
| SIULING: 你 (nei5), |
| MICHAEL: but in Hong Kong, many people pronounce it |
| SIULING: lei5. |
| MICHAEL: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| SIULING: 下次見! (haa6 ci3 gin3!) |
| MICHAEL: "See you next time!" |
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