Canadian looking to study Cantonese in Guangdong area

[DavidHo]

Hey everyone, nice to meet you

My name is David and I am from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

I'm interested in learning and improving my basic Cantonese, and was hoping someone could help me with some information. I understand a lot of schools in China are really catered to teaching Mandarin these days, but is it realistic to still find a school that will have a Cantonese program (long term, I'm thinking 6 months to 1 year)?

I would assume that the Guongdong area (Guangzhou?) would be my best chance as it is the birthplace of Cantonese. I also looked into studying in Hong Kong, however the programs there are a bit more pricey. In Guangdong, I have found Guangdong University of Foreign Studies as well as Janin University. Hoping to hear back from them soon.

Would be looking to register and enroll for September 2011. My main goal would be to immerse myself with the language and culture, so that when I return to Canada I hope I would be able to speak conversationally! Is Cantonese still the most prominent language found in Guangzhou? In between classes, will I be able to travel around the city and practice my Cantonese?

Your help is much appreciated, any information will no doubt help me in the long run!

Thanks for your time,

David

[missbrokensmile]

I don't know about Cantonese lessons (let me know if you do find any, because I'm extremely interested as well), but I can answer your other question.

Cantonese is definitely the most prominent language in the area. Although, there are an increasing number of Mandarin speakers (the migrant worker population, and either have learnt to speak accented Cantonese or in the process of doing so, and so probably do speak Mandarin - so I guess a problem could be whether or not they speak proper Cantonese, but it's not a big issue). In some workplaces there are only locals, and in others a mix of migrant and local workers - something to be aware of if you often talk with employees. But in general, Cantonese is definitely the prominent language of the Guangdong area. Everywhere you go, you'll hear Cantonese on the streets. You will be able to travel around the city and practice your Cantonese.

The other issue is that there are Cantonese accents within Guangdong. It's definitely standard in Guangzhou, but if you go to places like Dongguan, they'll have their own regional Cantonese accent.

[Kenny同志]

Oh, I am interested in Cantonese too. I’ve been thrilled by TVB’s TV series. Could anybody recommend a book on how to learn it? Please do share with us if you have any ideas about learning the language.

[skylee]

I don't understand. You want to learn Cantonese, immerse yourself in the language, and you have ruled out Hong Kong?

How much do you plan to spend on the course?

[LA Guy]

Hey David,

Any progress on finding a school ?

I'm using Hugh Baker's Teach Yourself Cantonese book which has Audio too.

It's not the greatest but one of the few books out there.

Maybe, you should check out all the materials at your library.

I'm also looking into online learning ( e.g. cantoneseclass101.com ) which requires a paid subscriptions.

Of course, if you have an iPhone or smartphone then using Flash Cards ( e.g Anki / Pleco etc ) will help you.

Digital Tape recorder is a good idea. See if you can tape some Cantonese conversations locally or on local TV

and start listening.

Create a list of say 100 phrases you would like to learn and start from there.

There is some excellent posts on learning Mandarin here ( just find it and substitute Cantonese ).

I'm at the advanced beginner level and working on learning a 2000 word list.

Cheers, LA Guy

[Kiz]

Cantonese is so hard to learn.

I just can sing some Cantonese songs~~~~