Mandarin Cantonese tension
In Brooklyn, New York City there is huge Chinese population. Back when I was a kid a decade ago majority of Chinese was Cantonese. Now majority is Mandarin (with Fuzhounese background). I'm working at a summer school this summer. Most of the kids speak Mandarin. Guess what? Most of the volunteers and government-paid teenagers speak Cantonese. This Mandarin vs Cantonese thing is like a daily experience for me. There is this white teacher who has a government-paid teenager as assistant for kids who don't speak English. Guess what? The government-paid teenager speaks Cantonese not Mandarin. Guess what? The students speak Mandarin not Cantonese. I feel bad for that government-paid teenager because he has no way out of this. Do you have any Mandarin Cantonese tension in your area?
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Anyone from hong kong or any cantonese speaking area should know mandarin, the people i'm talking about are FOBs since they must learn mandarin at school. Yet, for the people who speaks mandarin, they don't have to, it can be viewed as being "unfair," but mando is the main language and is spoken by the majority.
I suggest the people who are here for a long time to learn some mando, it's not as hard as you think, it's easier for a canto to learn mando than vice versa since pinyin helps (for me at least).Also, as TS said, there are an increasing amount of mando people moving to the richer part of the world, it can really be beneficial to know how to communicate at the very least.
[quote=therealpain]I can't learn Mandarin because I learned Cantonese :l
So difficult[/quote]
same here
I'm like, the only Cantonese I know in my entire area.
Besides my family.
I live in Ontario. Things like this doesn't usually happen here. But as long as there's people from Hong Kong and people from mainland in one area, things are always gonna go really really bad. I'm talking about adults. Kids under grade 4 are mostly innocent and can make friends with anyone.
All kids in mainland China learn Mandarin in city schools (excluding special administrative regions or possibly even autonomous regions). Kids who speak Cantonese but are from cities in mainland China (e.g. Guangzhou, Guangdong province) have to learn Mandarin.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, don't have to learn Mandarin. They all speak Cantonese and some or most of them can speak English.
Don't know much about Macau, but they originally learn Portuguese in place of English.
@Gyroscope They all learn English in India tho
Azn invasion. Just joking. But, seriously, if you were about to learn a new language, experts say to learn mandarin or hindi because China and India are the future superpowers.
[quote=lilseventeen]Most people that grew up learning Cantonese (like me) went to chinese school to learn Mandarin because it's more common/useful.
Most Madarin people are lazy mofos that see Cantonese as inferior/useless.[/quote]
My mom knows both and even she suggests Cantonese is inferior. Dx
Most people that grew up learning Cantonese (like me) went to chinese school to learn Mandarin because it's more common/useful.
Most Madarin people are lazy mofos that see Cantonese as inferior/useless.
[quote=Oronte]Oh, you mean like 8th avenue?
I've never experienced that kind of tension, though. I suppose it would be pretty mandatory to know both, with maybe a sprinkle of English, in order to be a merchant in the area, but as far as I know, communication didn't seem to be an issue. (I speak Cantonese, and maybe a baby's level of Mandarin.)
But I do feel sorry for the guy. Must be pretty awkward, and kids can be pretty damn rough if they think you're "stupid"...[/quote]
Asking these Fuzhou immigrants to learn Cantonese will be impossible. Since Cantonese people tend to learn Mandarin anyways, the 2 groups are going to speak in Mandarin. It's only a matter of time before 8 ave becomes East Broadway.
@HappyFaces: The adults that is. Their children seem to not inherit the Fuzhou dialect. Trust me I work with these kids. I ask them about this and they all say their parents know but they don't.
Are you talking about 8 ave in Brooklyn? They don't only speak Mandarin, but Fujianese too.
They're freaking everywhere man. Corona is being slowly overtaken my chinese peeps.
@LamboRev: Ok you know what, I'm going to call what I speak as Cantonese as I have done all my life.
[quote=radkai]Ok so you have created an identity crisis for me. Do I speak Cantonese or Taishanese? What is the difference?[/quote]
Well, GuangDong is a a province, and Taishan is in that province. Just that its dialect within a dialect. Dialectception.
[quote=LamboRev]Because Cantonese is called GuangDong wai. It's the mainland China that came to America first also.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU8HmK6IfJ0
This is the the language that has been dominant in America for more than 50 years.[/quote]
Ok so you have created an identity crisis for me. Do I speak Cantonese or Taishanese? What is the difference?
Because Cantonese is called GuangDong wai. It's the mainland China that came to America first also.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU8HmK6IfJ0
This is the the language that has been dominant in America for more than 50 years.
Eh, there's no tension in my area.
Just a lot of white people.
I'm Cantonese, but I self-taught myself Mandarin.
;P
[quote=LamboRev]The kids with Fuzhounese background don't speak Mandarin. It sounds like a mix of mandarin and cantonese but it's not. Mandarin is called the "Nation's language" or "Normal dialect" for a reason. You also don't know your NYC Chinese history also. So let me educate you. It's Taishanese that were dominant since Chinatown was formed. Lasted till about the last 10 years.[/quote]
Their Mandarin is legit enough to communicate with mainlanders. Also it's called Taishanese? I have been calling the thing I speak for all these years the wrong thing? But then how can I understand Hong Kong drama which are obviously in Cantonese?
The kids with Fuzhounese background don't speak Mandarin. It sounds like a mix of mandarin and cantonese but it's not. Mandarin is called the "Nation's language" or "Normal dialect" for a reason. You also don't know your NYC Chinese history also. So let me educate you. It's Taishanese that were dominant since Chinatown was formed. Lasted till about the last 10 years.
[quote=radkai]New York is lacking Hong Kong immigrants now.[/quote]
Yeah China is taking over, its the same where I live too
[quote=Irony]Not really.. a lot of canto people are from HK (better than China)[/quote]
New York is lacking Hong Kong immigrants now.
Not really.. a lot of canto people are from HK (better than China)
cantonese people have to learn mandarin b/c is the official dialect of china. It is used in all jobs.
A lot of people in San Francisco's Chinatown can speak both.
[quote=Irony]Most canto people can speak both... mandarin fails, they usually cant[/quote]
Yea I notice Cantonese people can learn Mandarin while Mandarin people can never learn Cantonese.
Most canto people can speak both... mandarin fails, they usually cant
[quote=tharapy]@LostMyJob
lol yea the azn gene is like a disease, thats why other races are so scared of asians ruling the world in the next century. If they keep breeding white people will cease to exist because the azn gene is dominant[/quote]
will china be the next superpower?
Why don't you suggest the government to pay for an ESL program in your area instead.
Then get an English speaking person and win-win for everyone.
chinese people breed everywhere
its like an epidemic of chinese pepoples
When I have to work in a group full of Mandarin fobs who can't speak English.
and only [i]one[/I] other person can communicate with me.