Posted by
adele78
18 yrs ago
I have a question for the longer term (5+ years) expats. We'll be moving to HK in May for a minimum of 3 years and perhaps as long as 30 if we love it. I grew up bilingual then studdied Languages and Linguistics at university and have had relative ease with new European languages (Romance and Germanic branches) but was a rather ordinary student of Japanese so I've so far not really learnt and asian languages.
I would like to learn some everyday cantonese, starting now and improving it 'in situ' but I've heard from 2 people in HK that I should learn Mandarin instead. One said that Mandarin is much prettier on the ear and canto speakers understand it just fine and the other said that with Canto I'll be limited to this corner of the world and if I travel throughout the rest of china and parts of asia where 'chinese' is spoken, Mandarin will get me further.
Opinions and advice please
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My not very well informed understanding. Take with a grain of salt.
- Mandarin is fast becoming the language of business. The accepted wisdom nowadays is that you should learn Mandarin, not Cantonese.
- Cantonese is, as you say, limited to this area. However this area is quite economically significant.
- Mandarin is probably easier to learn.
- The man on the street speaks Cantonese, not Mandarin. However it's easy to get by with English plus 20 words of Cantonese.
- If you go for reading/writing, note the difference between Traditional Chinese (used in HK) and Simplified Chinese (used in "mainland" China).
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Agreed with the above. If you plan on staying in HK then Cantonese will be of more use. Mandarin is spoken by quite a few but not all people and, no, a pure Canto speaker will not understand Mandarin, although they are categorised as dialects the truth is they are different languages.
It all depends on what you want to do. If you plan to travel in and out of China a lot, do business there and broaden your horizons then Mandarin. Only 4 tones and much easier to learn. If you plan on just staying around in HK then of course Canto will be more useful.
Personally I spent 3 years learning Canto and then started with Mandarin as well. Doing business in HK I found this the best way to go but I am finding that I need to have a better understanding of Mandarin now I am working in China a lot. Funny thing is though most of the businesses I do business with in China are HK or Guangdong owned businesses and Canto is still the main language!
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Oski
18 yrs ago
A bit of observation from personal experience
HK does not really provide a natural environment for learning Mandarin. The two languages/dialects sound so different hearing one does not help learning the other. So trying to learn Mandarin in HK is abit like trying to learn English in Mexico. Sure a lot of people understands it, but you get no immersion effect.
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Nice analogy Oski!! -and thanks to everyone for the replies. I took out a mamoth book with 15 tapes course from the library (published in 1970!) as a start to learn some basic structures, tones and grammar in Canto and I'll see how much headway I can make with that. -I just need to see if I can hunt down a tape deck!!
I'll not need the language for business purposes at all as I'll be 'just' an expat wifey and will probably get work teaching or tutoring if I do work in the future but for now my job is going to be domestic -raising the small ones and looking after the house.
All I'm looking for is 'chinese' that I can use on the street and at the market. I don't need to read or write but I was just a little worried if I was to put in the effort to learn a language and it wouldn't be so versatile I would be frustrated, so I guess that was my biggest area of doubt.
Once again, thanks for the help all. I think I'll give the Canto a shot and then see if I can find a local who wants to engage in a little language exchange to hone my skills....wish me luck!
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Sounds like you need Cantonese.
Normally the guards at your apartment complex are a good help for some phrases. Just remember them when it's time for the red pockets. In general I have found the Chinese to be quite helpful if you ask them to help with pronunciation and phrases.
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Adele, for what you need Cantonese is the best option. Perhaps I can offer some help! Been here for 12 years and can speak fluently. PM me if you like.
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