| 1st time in China | |
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| May 26, 2007 07:55 |   |
 | A couple of months ago I went on a 2 week vacation to Hong Kong, my birthplace. At 8 months old, I migrated to Canada and never been back home, untl just recently. My parents are of Vietnamese nationality, but taught me cantonese since they thought it would be more benificial for me as it is more widely spoken where I live. So back to the Hong Kong trip, it was great to be back home for the first time ever. Had a blast getting lost in all the crazy nightlife and a wonderful experience visiting the tourist sites. During my stay, I met a nice gal who was employed in Hong Kong but lived in Shenzhen China. She brought me to Shenzhen for about 5 days to basically have fun and explore China. The first thing I immediately noticed is how densely populated and alive the city was. The second, which bothered me a lot was everyine spoke mandarin there! So here I am in such a huge city not knowing what anyone is saying. I had to rely on my friend to do the talking. I do plan to return to Shenzhen and other parts of China on my next trip, but the biggest obstacle is the languaga barrier. I was just wondering if there are any "hotspots" that speak cantonese or english? I am assuming that Beijing will be the best bet due to the upcomming olympics? |
| May 26, 2007 08:56 | #1 |
| Guangdonghua (Cantonese) is spoken in most of the Guangdong and I'm surprised that you weren't able to use it in Shenzhen. Yes there are a lots of people there from other parts of the country and HK but Cantonese is the local dialect. Mandarin is the national language but you will findvpeople all over China who don't speak Cantonese and who don't necessarily speak Mandarin either. It is a second language in many parts. Try learning some Mandarin. Many of us here on the forum are. It's not easy but you are young and should pick it up pretty quickly. all the best and enjoy your journey of discovery. |
| May 26, 2007 19:59 | #2 |
| Yes, I also think by learning Mandarin, you can communicate with more people in different parts of China. |
| May 26, 2007 20:32 | #3 |
| Hello, As nice as your parents might be, I am afraid their advice to learn Cantonese might have been mis-guided unless you plan to live and work in Hong Kong. My wife is Chinese-Vietnamese and she learned Mandarin as a child in Vietnam. Mandarin is the official language of China (Pǔtōnghuà). The traditional Chinese characters use in Hong Kong (IMO) are much more difficult to learn than the simplified characters of Mandarin. See the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/ As a first year student of Chinese, I had the option to learn either simplified or traditional character writing. I chose simplified, which already has enough stroke characters to learn compared to traditional characters. The spoken dialect is different as well. For sure, Mandarin will be the language spoken at the Olympics in 2008. Hope I got it most right. Good luck! Rick |
| May 27, 2007 18:21 | #4 |
| If you speak Cantonese fluently, Putonghua should be a piece 'o cake...figuratively speaking. You already can speak with tones and can hear them. English speakers learning Putonghua have to learn to both hear and speak the tones. I'm betting you will not find it too difficult. |
| May 27, 2007 18:56 | #5 |
| Hi, NEMESIS2007, I am Hope 2008, hehe, I am a native of Beijing, if you come to Beijing, just call me, no prob. I can speak very fluent PUTOHUA. if you find me, no barrier in communication in Beijing. you bet:) My email: 126.com|yyyj2008 as you pleased, contact me.. I have been waitting for the imminent arrival of beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Feel very excited:))hehe |
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