Should I learn Cantonese or Mandarin?

[dighn]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
oh, and for those who still thinks Canto sounds nicer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSHziqJWYcM

Cantonese grows on you. I used to think it sounds bad, but now I think it's kinda nice. Still, people tend to speak it with this obnoxious, dragging tone which doesn't help how it sounds.

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: dighn

Originally posted by: andylawcc
oh, and for those who still thinks Canto sounds nicer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSHziqJWYcM

Cantonese grows on you. I used to think it sounds bad, but now I think it's kinda nice. Still, people tend to speak it with this obnoxious, dragging tone which doesn't help how it sounds.

being Cantonese, I love my language especially for its swear-word-capability. You can literally turn any physical thing into profanity.
Other than that, I do recommend ppl learn Mandarin, however.

 

[pcblog]

deal lay low moe

Please forgive me. I just had this sudden evil urge.

 

[Saint Michael]

I don't know what to say, I think Cantonese sounds better. It sounds smoother, Mandarin's tones are really sharp and exaggerated.

 

[Oceandevi]

Taiwanese.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: Howard
Mandarin will be more useful, I think.

<- Canto

double


well, it depends, will you think you be living in Toronto for the rest of your life? or plan to live in San Fran or HK? if so, Canto is your friend


and for those who think Canto sounds nicer, you are probably hearing Beijing Mandarin, which found a bit difficult to follow. Southern Mandarin or Taiwanese Mandarin is more "listener-friendly"


oh, and for those who still thinks Canto sounds nicer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSHziqJWYcM

ah the imfamous uncle bus

famous enough to be wiki'd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_bus

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Saint Michael
I don't know what to say, I think Cantonese sounds better. It sounds smoother, Mandarin's tones are really sharp and exaggerated.

are you listening to Mainland Chinese Mandarin:
Text

or, Taiwanese style:
text


[my favoritism is obvious] ;p

 

[deejayshakur]

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: Saint Michael
I don't know what to say, I think Cantonese sounds better. It sounds smoother, Mandarin's tones are really sharp and exaggerated.

are you listening to Mainland Chinese Mandarin:
Text

or, Taiwanese style:
text


[my favoritism is obvious] ;p

jolin's a dumb bitch.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: Saint Michael
I don't know what to say, I think Cantonese sounds better. It sounds smoother, Mandarin's tones are really sharp and exaggerated.

are you listening to Mainland Chinese Mandarin:
Text

or, Taiwanese style:
text


[my favoritism is obvious] ;p

heh my parents like beijing tongue curling stuff...
i think it sounds like they are talking from their freakin throats.

i'd have to go with taiwan as well..but the older gen probably disagrees

 

[WildHorse]

well it's supposed to be the most difficult language on earth.

the inflection of a spoken word can completely change its meaning, so I don't know how anybody could really learn that unless you live in that culture for a long time.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

mandarin > cantonese

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: uhohs
i hate the sound of cantonese because it's the language of verbal abuse from your cantonese parents. :/

LOL... Hilarious.

As for the tonal qualities of Cantonese, ya it's very annoying. I get made fun of by native (read: literate) speakers cause I mispronounce things all the time when I think I'm doing it right...

 

[AkumaX]

psh, jolin is sooo overrated

now hebe however...

mandarin

 

[Saint Michael]

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: Saint Michael
I don't know what to say, I think Cantonese sounds better. It sounds smoother, Mandarin's tones are really sharp and exaggerated.

are you listening to Mainland Chinese Mandarin:
Text

or, Taiwanese style:
text


[my favoritism is obvious] ;p

Those examples are incomparable, one is spoken and the other is sung. If you can give me a link to spoken Taiwan Mandarin then maybe I'll concede that point. It wouldn't change the fact that the Beijing accent is considered the standard and is therefore the most relevant accent to compare to any other Chinese dialect.

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Saint Michael
Those examples are incomparable, one is spoken and the other is sung. If you can give me a link to spoken Taiwan Mandarin then maybe I'll concede that point. It wouldn't change the fact that the Beijing accent is considered the standard and is therefore the most relevant accent to compare to any other Chinese dialect.

you need one of these

 

[Imdmn04]

Originally posted by: deejayshakur

Originally posted by: dighn
Mandarin is much more relevant and will become increasingly more so. Here in Vancouver there has been a very noticeable trend of Mandarin becomingly more widely used. Let's not forget that every educated person in China speaks Mandarin, while Cantonese is only a regional dialect, and not the only one at that. Even people in Hong Kong are learning Mandarin.

correction: every educated and uneducated person in china speaks mandarin and writes simplifed chinese. learn mandarin if you want to join the masses. you will have a hard time understanding cantonese. on the other hand, learning cantonese will enable you to understand a lot of mandarin.

more people in hong kong are speaking mandarin because after '98, the floodgates were opened, thereby letting in the masses of mandarin-speaking chinese. this also brought in more mainland factories and businesses as well as poverty, pollution, and urban congestion. businessmen in hong kong have always been fluent in mandarin. the rest of hong kongers speak their stereotypical canto-mandarin, cantonese, and british english.

the majority of chinese emigrants speak cantonese because for many decades, only the priviledged living on the coast of china could afford to. this included hong kong and guang-dong people.

What is this elitst attitude? Face it, Cantonese had its time and Mandarin is the dominant dialect by far, even in America, where Cantonese influence is heavily declining due to the rise of Mandarin speakers. For a foreign person, Mandarin is much useful than Cantonese. Joining the masses is the point of learning a new language. It is not like the OP is trying to pick a classical language to learn based on linguistic appreciation.