help! Where on earth do I start?

[ann85]

Hello everyone! my name is Ann and this is my first post I was wondering if anyone is in a similar situation to me. My parents are both chinese but me and my siblings were born in the UK. My parents can speak cantonese, hakka and mandarin however our family predominantly speaks Hakka. Since we were little, we've mainly spoken in English to each other and to our parents because they wanted to improve on their english but this has meant the only chinese i can speak is Hakka but not really well.

I'm embarrased and almost ashamed when my relatives from HK etc call because i cant speak cantonese (i can understand basic cantonese). Since leaving home for University my Hakka has deteriorated even more. Since finishing Uni i have made a promise to myself that I would learn to speak Cantonese - to read and write it too if possible and hopefully progress to Mandarin if i'm successful.

I've bought a CD and book called Colloquial cantonese, which is all well and good but it doesnt teach you how sentences are constructed. I've been doing some research on the net and i've come across Yale romanization and it seems very complicated! Does anyone have any advice as to what books/methods to use? With student debts i need to make sure that if i invest in an expensive book then it must be worth it! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Ann

[Xiao Kui]

I´m sorry Ann85, the book i recommended was for Mandarin, not Cantonese. I´m afraid I scanned your post instead of reading it thoroughly. Please accept my apologies.

[RBudz]

I lived in Macao for a while and was determined to learn Cantonese. I can tell you that the books by Sydney Lau are among the best for anyone learning any language, let alone Cantonese. The have heaps of exercise, explain the tones beautifully, have a huge amount of vocab, explain all the grammar. The are superb. They come in about 6 volumes which gives an indication of how detailed they are.

Beginning Cantonese 1 and 2

Intermediate Cantonese 1 and 2 and there is also Advanced.

Published by the governement printer Hong Kong. I'm sure any really good language bookshop will have them.

Robert

[ann85]

thanks Xiao Kui and RBudz for your replies. I will definately have a look for Sydney Lau's material. Found a Cantonese grammar book by Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews in the library - it seems really good. I have some very basic knowledge of cantonese so the intonation part isn't too much of a problem. Will seriously consider learning Mandarin if i am successful with Cantonese. Good luck to everyone else learning Chinese!

Ann

[zixingche]

If you want to save money, go to your local library, they usually have Chinese language courses there (book with CD/cassette). You might have to go to the main library in your town centre if your local library is small.

But if you're serious about learning Chinese, I think it's better to enrol on a Chinese course. Places that might have Chinese courses include the local uni (if there is one), the adult education college, or the local Chinese association.

I also have a Hakka/Cantonese background, like a lot of the Chinese in the UK. If you can understand some Hakka/Cantonese (everyday conversation standard) but can't really speak it, it's quite easy to pick it up, having the right environment helps a lot. I think for speaking to your relatives this is all you need.

But I think if you want to study Chinese in a formal way inc. reading and writing, it would be better to also go to a mandarin/putonghua class.

[geraldc]

Lots of people here are in the same situation as you. http://66.111.36.90/forum/index.php

[ann85]

thanks zixingche and geraldc. I looked into chinese classes and am waiting for stuff to come through the post. I have also come across The BBC website from a friend who is also a BBC. She did her dissertation on BBC people which was really interesting. Its funny how similar other british born chinese people are.

Did find some really good books from the library so that was good. I would like to formally know the language as I would like to go to Hong kong and be able to make my way around independently even though there are English signs. I hate the look i get from some chinese people who look shocked when I can't speak cantonese. I can't help but feel that I should be able to speak it even though I don't live there. When people ask if I consider myself Chinese I find it hard to answer. Aesthetically I am, but I feel a major portion is missing and therefore want to learn.

[zixingche]

Please do not allow those people to make you feel bad, who expect you to be able to speak Cantonese, I assume just because you look Chinese. They are prejudiced, uninformed people who do not realise that the Chinese world and Chinese culture is vastly greater and wider than they what they think is "Chinese". To expect outsiders to speak Cantonese, which is a local dialect/language, is absurd. 90% of all the chinese people in the world do not even speak Cantonese anyway.

[ann85]

thanks for your post zixingche , I do find the prejudice annoying, luckily not everyone is like that! I've done well without Chinese so far. However I do want to learn for myself at the end of the day. I find the language interesting and hope that if i had children that I could teach them too.