Learn about the relationship between spoken and written Cantonese
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: Is spoken Cantonese different from written Cantonese? |
| Siuling: And what are the differences? |
| Michael: At CantoneseClass101.com, we hear these questions often. |
| Mark Lee reads a message. He says to his boss, Snow Lau, "It looks different. " |
| 李傑雷: 睇落唔同喎。 (tai2 lok6 m4 tung4 wo3.) |
| Dialogue |
| 李傑雷: 睇落唔同喎。 (tai2 lok6 m4 tung4 wo3.) |
| 劉小雪: 呢個係廣東話口語。 (ni1 go3 hai6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 hau2 jyu5.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| 李傑雷: 睇落唔同喎。 (tai2 lok6 m4 tung4 wo3.) |
| Michael: "It looks different. " |
| 劉小雪: 呢個係廣東話口語。 (ni1 go3 hai6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 hau2 jyu5.) |
| Michael: "It's colloquial Cantonese." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Spoken Cantonese is quite different from written Cantonese. The written form is standard Chinese, which is somewhat similar to Mandarin, which is mainly used in a formal context, like news articles, written notices, government documents, and so on. It's also the standard form of subtitles for Hong Kong TV shows, though sometimes you may find movies with Cantonese subtitles. |
| Siuling: Colloquial Cantonese is used not only in the daily conversation, but also in the text messages. It's quite weird to type messages in written Cantonese, especially among the youngsters. |
| Michael: Can you give us an example? |
| Siuling: No problem! For example, "Have you had lunch?" in spoken form is 你食咗lunch未？ (nei5 sik6 zo2 lunch mei6?), while in written form is 你吃午餐了嗎？ (nei5 hek3 ng5 caan1 liu5 maa1?) |
| Michael: Oh yes, I remember you mentioned that English is often used in daily conversations. |
| Siuling: Hongkongers also like mixing English words in their daily conversation. Sometimes, we even forget the corresponding Chinese words! |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Mark Lee says "It looks different"? |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Siuling: 睇落唔同喎。 (tai2 lok6 m4 tung4 wo3.) |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now let's take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Snow Lau says "It's colloquial Cantonese"? |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Siuling: 呢個係廣東話口語。 (ni1 go3 hai6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 hau2 jyu5.) |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sentences we've heard in this lesson. I'll say the sentence in English, and then I want you to try and reply in Cantonese. Siuling will then model the correct answer—listen to her carefully and repeat, with emphasis on your pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Mark says "It looks different"? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 睇落唔同喎。 (tai2 lok6 m4 tung4 wo3.) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Siuling: 睇落唔同喎。 (tai2 lok6 m4 tung4 wo3.) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 睇落唔同喎。 (tai2 lok6 m4 tung4 wo3.) |
| Michael: And do you remember how to say "It's colloquial Cantonese"? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 呢個係廣東話口語。 (ni1 go3 hai6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 hau2 jyu5.) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Siuling: 呢個係廣東話口語。 (ni1 go3 hai6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 hau2 jyu5.) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 呢個係廣東話口語。 (ni1 go3 hai6 gwong2 dung1 waa2 hau2 jyu5.) |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Michael: One can imagine that it's not easy to learn both the spoken and written form, but you'll find in the long run that knowing the difference enables you to make huge progress in Cantonese! |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Siuling: 拜拜! (baai1 baai3!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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