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How useful of Mandarin in Hong Kong?
Do many people in Hong Kong have a good knowledge of Mandarin? If you addressed someone in Mandarin would you be likely to just get a blank look? Would you possibly even have better luck with English than Mandarin?
If you were going to be in Hong Kong for a significant perioid of time would you be better learning Mandarin or Cantonese? Cheers.
Few people in Hongkong have good knowledge of Mandarin.
But if you address people in Mandarin, they will listen to you and try their best to communicate with you. They are friendly. Using English will have better luck than Mandarin. In Hongkong, you're only able to pick up Cantonese. It's the language spoken there everyday.
How many years will it take until Hong Kongers can speak Mandarin as a second language. Given that they are destined to be integrate into China, isn't it inevitible that Mandarin becomes a widespread language in HK?
The status of Mandarin in Hong Kong and Guangdon province parallels that of Hindi in Tamil Nadu.
Don't expect Mandarin to be spoken officially in this area because the people here resist it with the same intensity of the Tamils resistance to Hindi.
Cantonese speakers of course prefer Cantonese to Mandarin, but the opposition to Mandarin is nowhere near as aggresive and beligerant as the Tamil opposition to Hindi. Your average Tamil would probably punch you in the nose if you addressed him in Hindi.
If you attempt to speak in Mandarin in Hong Kong, your average Hong Konger will make an attempt to converse in it, the majority are far from fluent, but many know a bit. But the lack of Mandarin knowledge in Hong Kong isn't out of any real hostility, its simply lack of neccessity. Hong Kong is a major world city and financial centre and quite frankly behaves as its own country, it doesn't really have much do to with mainland China, and the dealings it does have with China are mainly based in Guangdong, which of course is Cantonese speaking.
how different is cantonese from mandarin? aren't they both forms of the chinese language? or is it as different as say different romance languages are to each other?
i know tamil and hindi are in completely different language families so it makes sense that they wouldn't try to understand each other
Example:
Mandarin vs Cantonese I uo vs ngo you ni vs nei he/she ta vs koei we uo men vs ngo dei you ni men vs nei dei they ta men vs koei dei one i vs iat two er vs i three san vs sam four sw vs sei five u vs ng six liou vs lok seven tsi vs tsat eight ba vs bat nine jiou vs gau ten s'w vs sap
this---z'er vs ni
that---na vs go here---z'er li vs ni dou there---na li vs go dou what---s'a vs me which---na vs bin where---na li vs bin dou how---za vs dim Beijing: bak ging in Cantonese Hongkong: siang gang vs hoeng gong Ni hao = Nei hou
"If you were going to be in Hong Kong for a significant perioid of time would you be better learning Mandarin or Cantonese? "
Just speak English if you are white You will be highly respected. Just speak English if you are Asian. You will be respected. Just speak English with British accent if you are Indian. You will be respected. Just speak English with American accent if you are of Chinese origin. You will be respected.
"how different is cantonese from mandarin? aren't they both forms of the chinese language? or is it as different as say different romance languages are to each other? "
The difference between Cantonese and Mandarin is more than that of Spanish and Portuguese. I speak a bit Spanish and French. In my points of view, even more than French and Spanish. I know how to read a bit French after learning Spanish. I took a look of a Portuguese phrasebook and I get more of the phrases immediately. Lexical and grammar look very similar. That's not the case between Cantonese and Mandarin. Cantonese and Mandarin are unintelligible. The reason why Cantonese speakers can understand Mandarin because they learnt Mandarin in school. Also, the standard of written Chinese is based on Mandarin grammar.(due to political reason) Standard written Chinese is used in official arenas such as document and newspaper. However, when Cantonese speakers write what they say, that is with Cantonese grammar and lexical, it is incomprehensible for Mandarin speakers.
*I took a look of a Portuguese phrasebook and I understand most of the phrases immediately. Lexical grammar look very similar. Pronunciation is very similar
<<How many years will it take until Hong Kongers can speak Mandarin as a second language. Given that they are destined to be integrate into China, isn't it inevitible that Mandarin becomes a widespread language in HK?>>
Or you may ask, how long does it take for Mandarin to wipe out every language in China (include Tibet and Xinjiang)?
<<Or you may ask, how long does it take for Mandarin to wipe out every language in China (include Tibet and Xinjiang)? >>
But that's not what he said. Just because you can speak English, does that mean it has taken over and whiped out your knowledge of the native language, just because you can speak English do you use it when speaking to others who speak your native language? No. Mandarin is far from imperialisticly whiping every other Sintic language out, the Central government is encouraging its knowledge as a second language, as it serves as a good Chinese lingua franca, but I don't see any real push to replace other languages with Mandarin. |