The Cantonese language
Cantonese is named after the city of
Canton (known as Guangzhou in Mandarin), the capital of Guangdong province in
southern China. Apart from the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, it is spoken
in neighbouring Hong Kong and Macau, and also in Chinese communities overseas
where it is often the predominant form of Chinese. Both in southern China and
in Singapore and Malaysia, where it is widely spoken, it enjoys considerable
prestige due to its association with the prosperous southern provinces as well
as with the Cantonese culture of films and popular music (‘Canto-pop’). It is
also widely heard in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, Sydney in
Australia, New York and San Francisco in the USA. Cantonese will continue to be
spoken widely around the Pacific Rim in the twenty-first century. Cantonese is
generally regarded, even by its own speakers, as a dialect of Chinese. This
tends to imply, misleadingly, that it differs from standard Chinese (Mandarin
or Putonghua ‘common speech’) largely in pronunciation, with some differences
in vocabulary and relatively few in grammar. The grammatical differences are
often underestimated, and it is dangerous to assume that the same Chinese
grammar (essentially that of Mandarin) can be applied straightforwardly to
Cantonese. In fact Cantonese has its own fully-fledged grammatical system,
largely independent of Mandarin grammar. Indeed the Chinese ‘dialects’ vary in
grammar, as they do in other respects, as much as the
various Romance languages such as French, Spanish and Italian. Moreover, the
dialects of southern China, which include Cantonese and Taiwanese, are
especially distinctive and diverse. Naturally, some knowledge of Mandarin can
be helpful in learning Cantonese, but one cannot assume that it is simply a
matter of learning a new pronunciation for the same language, or a new set of
vocabulary to go with the same grammar. Hence to learn Cantonese effectively
one needs to pay attention to its grammar. Cantonese grammar Readers should be aware
that the concept of ‘grammar’ used here is essentially that of contemporary
linguistics, which is descriptive in approach, rather than that of traditional
school grammar with its prescriptive concern for what is ‘good’ or ‘correct’.
The descriptive approach aims to capture the patterns of language as they are
actually used by native speakers, without imposing value judgements on
particular grammatical forms. Speakers of Cantonese are often puzzled by the
idea of Cantonese, as a ‘dialect’, having its own grammar. Perhaps the simplest
way to demonstrate that it does is to consider examples of ‘Cantonese’ as
spoken by foreign learners, such as the following: *Ngóh f&an *kkéi chìh d(
*Kéuih móuh heui-jó I’ll go home later He didn’t go These two sentences are
unacceptable to a native speaker (the asterisk * marks them as ungrammatical),
the first because in Cantonese adverbs of time such as chìh d( meaning ‘later’
come before the verb, not after as in English, and the second because the
suffix -jó indicating completion is incompatible with most types of negative
sentence. These explanations, simply put, are rules of grammar (the precise
details are, of course, more complicated). By grammar, then, we mean the rules
or principles governing the structure of sentences. The kind of grammar to be
learnt in mastering Cantonese, however, is not like that of Latin or Spanish
where the forms of words—noun declensions, verb conjugations and the like—call
for study. Instead, the more important questions are those of syntax: the order
and patterns in which words are put together to form sentences. Sometimes
Cantonese syntax resembles English: leng s&am taai loih gwa héi ngóh s(k
kéuih pretty clothes too long hang up I know him
grammar, as they do in other respects, as much as the
various Romance languages such as French, Spanish and Italian. Moreover, the
dialects of southern China, which include Cantonese and Taiwanese, are
especially distinctive and diverse. Naturally, some knowledge of Mandarin can
be helpful in learning Cantonese, but one cannot assume that it is simply a
matter of learning a new pronunciation for the same language, or a new set of
vocabulary to go with the same grammar. Hence to learn Cantonese effectively
one needs to pay attention to its grammar. Cantonese grammar Readers should be
aware that the concept of ‘grammar’ used here is essentially that of
contemporary linguistics, which is descriptive in approach, rather than that of
traditional school grammar with its prescriptive concern for what is ‘good’ or
‘correct’. The descriptive approach aims to capture the patterns of language as
they are actually used by native speakers, without imposing value judgements on
particular grammatical forms. Speakers of Cantonese are often puzzled by the
idea of Cantonese, as a ‘dialect’, having its own grammar. Perhaps the simplest
way to demonstrate that it does is to consider examples of ‘Cantonese’ as
spoken by foreign learners, such as the following: *Ngóh f&an *kkéi chìh d(
*Kéuih móuh heui-jó I’ll go home later He didn’t go These two sentences are
unacceptable to a native speaker (the asterisk * marks them as ungrammatical),
the first because in Cantonese adverbs of time such as chìh d( meaning ‘later’
come before the verb, not after as in English, and the second because the
suffix -jó indicating completion is incompatible with most types of negative
sentence. These explanations, simply put, are rules of grammar (the precise
details are, of course, more complicated). By grammar, then, we mean the rules
or principles governing the structure of sentences. The kind of grammar to be
learnt in mastering Cantonese, however, is not like that of Latin or Spanish
where the forms of words—noun declensions, verb conjugations and the like—call
for study. Instead, the more important questions are those of syntax: the order
and patterns in which words are put together to form sentences. Sometimes
Cantonese syntax resembles English: leng s&am taai loih gwa héi ngóh s(k
kéuih pretty clothes too long hang up I know him
modifications introduced in our Cantonese: A Comprehensive
Grammar). This system has proved effective for learners and is used in most
language courses, textbooks, dictionaries and glossaries. The main disadvantage
of the Yale system is that most native speakers are unfamiliar with it, and
therefore find it quite difficult to read: it should be considered merely as an
aid to learning the spoken language. Pronunciation Beyond grammar, one of the
main difficulties of Cantonese is posed by its pronunciation, and tones in particular.
For this reason, the first three chapters are devoted to establishing and
reinforcing the main features of Cantonese pronunciation. Learners who do not
have access to native speakers or Cantonese media should be sure to acquire
some tapes or other audiovisual materials in order to practise recognition and
production of tones. Exercises The exercises in this book are intended to be
communicatively useful tasks, rather than the mechanical rote practice of some
past grammars. The emphasis is placed on expressing ideas and, to give them a
more authentic feel, some are situated in a real-life context: ordering dishes
in a restaurant, asking for directions, and the like. Because many of the
exercises are openended, they naturally allow more than one answer: the
suggested answers given in the key by no means represent the only options.
Learners with access to native speakers may benefit from reading out their own
answers to them and eliciting alternatives. More demanding exercises, which may
require additional knowledge or reference to other units, are marked with a
dagger (†). Further practice Few learners will be satisfied with armchair
knowledge of the language: to put grammatical knowledge to practical use,
exposure to Cantonese media and practice with native speakers will be needed.
This book aims to provide a firm foundation on which to build proficiency.
Using the minimum of terminology, it should provide just enough grammatical
apparatus for the teacher and learner to devise further practice activities of
their own. Readers graduating from this book will also be able to progress to
Intermediate Cantonese which takes them into new and more challenging territory
