Job Discussion Forums

[buddhaboyjp]

Actually, the title of this thread was meant as a stupid joke.

I am moving from Japan after 17 years here (still here) in April to start my new married.
My wife is Hong kong Chinese and she recommended that I should enroll into a Madarin class as soon as I can.

Now, my situation is this: Although she speaks English well, quite naturally I want to learn the local language, that being Cantonese for various reasons, one being that her parents only speak Cantonese and I would like to be able to chat with them without having to use the usual sibling translators.

She says: Don`t worry, we`ll teach you and you will also pick it up as you live here, but you need the Mandarin for your resume and future.

Me says: I don`t have any plans to use Mandarin. I am a native English speaker. I read, write and speak Japanese as well. Isn`t this enough?

She says: No.

Me says: But I want to go into the local restaurant and order in Canton!

She says: You no learn Madarin, you no lovey lovey tonight!

Me says: Ni hao!!

Anyways, could someone please give me a reply on this?
Would I be wasting my time doing self study of the Cantonese?
Should I put more effort into the Canton or Mandarin?

Thanks in advance.

[skittles]

I think you should learn cantonese first. Get a good grasp of the more widely-used language in Hong Kong, and then u can take your time in learning mandarin. I think it is more important for u to learn how to communicate with your in-laws, then to think about your future or resume. And you need to know cantonese for immediate use as you will start living there. and besides, if you will learn mandarin for a future job, just want u to think about future possible competitors: would it be possible for them to know mandarin more/be better than u? what kind of job will u be looking for that sees mandarin as a plus on the resume? are you planning to look for a "chinese" job or work in a more "english" job? you can probably get around in mandarin also but cantonese is more widely-used there. so up to you...u probably want lovey lovey tonight...haha

[Steppenwolf]

It's Cantonese, not 'Canton'...the latter being the oldish English and French for GUANGZHOU.

How long are you going to stay put in Honkers?
You know, it's an abrasive environment and some don't last long there. Also, Mandarin is increasingly well known by Hongkongers and ever more Mainlanders settle in HK - hence Mandarin IS vital.

Whereas Cantonese...takes more deciation to master, I think, because of the higher complexity of tones.

[buddhaboyjp]

[massivegeoff]

personally i'm not surprised that some of the cantonese pronunciations of the knaji are similar...the cantonese refer to themselves as people of tang (as opposed to people of han which is what everyone else in china says). this is because they first moved down to the area in the tang dynasty. i believe that the major chinese influences on japanese culture (kanji, buddhism, etc) also started in the tang dynasty.

when the chinese moved down to the area we know call guangdong and guangxi, the aboriginal populations was PROBABLY related to the tai peoples (which include the thais, but also the zhuangs of china). this is why you will not only find archaic usages in modern cantonese, but also words that aren't actually chinese at all. (just consider the question 'nei hoei beendo sikfan?' sik is still used in modern chinese - shi2 in mandarin - but mostly in compound words. beendo is some weird tai thing i think - the characters representing it probably spurious.)

if you want to move to the mainland in the future i would go for mandarin. if you want to stick to honkong i would suggest that cantonese will stay more useful lfor a good time to come. cantonese swearing is also much more fun!

[mechanized]

Agreed with Massive......

Swearing is much more fun in Cantonese......all that slang!