Somehow, watching Chinese gangsters movies in Mandarin doesn’t sound as fierce as when Cantonese is spoken.

because, swearing and insulting people's mother in the Cantonese language is a poetic artform. The form and flow is unmatched by any other language.

I speak Cantonese and a bit of Mandarin. While learning Korean, I was surprised to find many vocabulary sounded more like Cantonese than Mandarin. It made more sense since I found out that Cantonese has a longer history than Mandarin which I thought opposite was true initially.

I am a native Hongkonger and have been teaching foreigners Cantonese for almost 10 years. I am always so proud of my students who diligently learn Cantonese as they found Cantonese is a very beautiful, interesting and precious language which is over 1000 years of history.

You can never replace how glorious swear words sound in Cantonese

Cantonese is not just the language of Hong Kong it's the broader tongue of the Guangdong (Canton) area.

I am a native Hongkonger, and I believe that Cantonese is very important for us. It is wired in our genes, literally.

The best way to increase the usage of Cantonese around the world is to make it easier to access Cantonese cultural media. Look at Japan and Korea. There wasn't a reason to learn Japanese and Korean until people started seeing Anime, Manga and K-pop. Now, the two languages have exploded in popularity around the world! I grew up in the UK but I listened to Hong Kong pop music and watched a lot of Hong Kong dramas and films when I was a child. Now it's so hard to get them. If they want to save Cantonese then they need to release Hong Kong films and music on popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon.

Cantonese, Wu, and other southern Chinese languages have existed for longer than Mandarin, which evolved from the Middle Chinese spoken north of the Yangtze River during the Song Dynasty. Most of the "sound readings" (音読/音訓) used for Chinese characters in Japanese and Korean are based on Cantonese or other southern Chinese readings, with only some based on Mandarin.

What I like most about this video is that it categorizes both mandarin and cantonese as dialects. People from China always try to undermine the importance and value of cantonese by saying that it is a DIALECT, while mandarin is actually also a dialect.

I am 3rd generation Taishanese (新宁)born and raised in Malaysia. Taishanese might sounds too minority ,my grandparents didn’t taught me how to speak. instead we speak Cantonese. It’s really sounds similar and it’s much more easier to communicate with others Chinese communities. We also influenced by Hong Kong TV show and pop culture for a few decades .That’s why Kuala Lumpur ,Ipoh and some townships are so familiar to Cantonese-speaker , no language barrier at all.😂

Cantonese is my mother tongue. My ancestors are from Canton, China which is the home of the Cantonese language. They emigrated to Malaysia in the early 19th century. Hence Cantonese is widely spoken in big cities of Malaysia like KL, Ipoh & Kuantan besides other Chinese dialects like Hakka, Teochew & Hokkien. I'm proud to be a Cantonese speaker.

Proud to be a Cantonese speaker! Such an ancient language which keeps the heritage and culture well.

Cantonese should continue and be promoted all over the world! Is a beautiful language! Pray for Hong Kong...

The first time I travelled to China I went through Hong Kong. I was proud to have learned Mandarin. I remember the young guy at the travel company preferred to speak English than Mandarin. I was impressed with his pride in speaking Cantonese. It was a chance for me to understand culture on the ground is more important than culture in books. You need to listen to people.

Somebody protect this teacher at all cost for her efforts to protect and preserve Cantonese. As a Chinese who is not fluent in Mandarin, one can't imagine the amount of subtle disdain and snark I get from Mandarin-speaking Chinese

My grandad was from Dongguan. My entire family now(4th generation) speaks Cantonese here in Malaysia but however do noticed the popularity are diminishing here with the younger generations. When Hong Kong dramas were a hit in the TV, usage did expanded here. Hopefully Cantonese can sustained.

其實在我年少時，因為政府不鼓勵學習廣東話， 所以也不是太明白的！但是後來遊歷全球，經多方觀察，才明白粵語確是非常獨特的！可以說：世界上沒有一種語言在作曲填詞方面可以與粵語相比的！請勿誤會，當然粵語歌也有不好的。我是說在作曲填詞的最高境界上，現在是找不到比粵語更好的語言。我自幼便深通普國語，至今任何人對我說普國語；我都會聽懂超過99％。可是我不明白為什麼有時我在聽一些普國語歌時，竟然連一個字也聽不懂！原來超過八成普國語的字都是雙聲字而那兩聲通常都是相差很遠的（例如：雙字，shu ang)！九成半以上粵語字都是單聲字（例如：雙，seung)！而且粵語字通常都是九聲齊全！所以在粵語來說，要找一個字的發音與曲調完全相同比普國語是容易很多。反觀所有普國語歌，幾乎每句曲詞都有拗音字（即改變字的發音去遷就曲調）。有些普國語歌幾乎每字拗音！所以我便聽不懂！歐洲的拼音式多聲字便更無法相比！所以好的粵語歌是可以做到詞曲合一，差不多沒有拗音字；唱歌和平常說話幾乎相同。全世界沒有另一種語言有這個粵語的特色，普國語也不例外！可是粵語一定會在中國失傳！因為現在中國政府的統治模式是必然使多數語言消亡的！這不一定是中國政府白紙黑字的政策；但是中國人的統治者為了防止地方有任何實權，便規定各地方領導都不准是當地人！非當地人統治便不鼓勵當地的語言！這是不難理解的！反觀民主國家如印尼，雖然有全民皆懂的國語（Bahasa Indonesia）,但地方語言如(Javanese)並沒有消失！又如菲律賓雖有幾乎全民皆通的(Tagalog)，但地方語言如(Ilocano)沒有消失！甚至美國的西裔人還是經常以西班牙語溝通的！反觀中國，上海話從1949年至現在只七十年便幾乎全面消亡！放棄粵語便是放棄人類文明的重要遺產！長遠來說，廣東人是要到外國去學習粵語！誠可嘆也！ 普通話國語與歐洲的多聲字語言一樣；在唱歌時都離不開拗音，所以有時便全曲拗音，成為一種獨特的歌唱形式，叫藝術歌曲！如果沒有字幕，普通人是完全聽不懂的；但歌者還引以為榮！可是廣東話因為可以做到詞曲合一，不需拗音。所以粵語歌是沒有（或幾乎沒有）藝術歌曲的！但是就是因為世上沒有粵語藝術歌曲，很多北方的歌唱家都看不起粵語歌，認為沒有藝術！其實這是大錯特錯！因為全世界除了粵語歌外，沒有其他的歌曲可以做到詞曲合一；不需拗音！光是這個特式便足證粵語歌的藝術成就。同時正正就是因為粵語歌的藝術成就非凡，大部份廣東人都不太喜歡聽非粵語歌曲，因為非粵語歌曲都有很多拗音字！這樣使廣東人看起來好像排他性很強，其實都是誤解！ 每個中文字的粵語發聲最多可以有九聲。普通人是不一定可以發出到九聲；但是普通人最少也可以發六聲。例如那個(Si)部的粵語發音由高至低可以表達如下：（1）師（2）史（3）試（4）市（5）是（6）時。(Fun)部：（1）分（2）粉（3）訓（4）奮（5）份（6）焚。(Ma）部: (1)媽（2）嫲（3）嗎（4）馬（5）罵（6）麻。(Se)部：（1）些（2）寫（3）瀉（4）社（5）射（6）蛇。(Sui)部：（1）需（2）水（3）歲（4）緒（5）睡（6）誰。（Yi）部：（1）依（2）椅（3）意（4）以（5）二（6）宜。(Yuen)部：（1)冤（2）丸（3）怨（4）遠（5）願（6）園。(Ngoi)部：（1）哀（2）靄（3）愛（4）有聲無字（5）外（6）呆。(Lo)部 ：（1）撈（2）佬（3）有聲無字（4）老（5）路（6）勞。(Tou)部：（1）滔（2）土（3）吐（4）肚（5）有聲無字（6）途。(Wai)部：（1）威（2）位（3）尉（4）偉（5）惠（6）維。(Wong)部：（1）汪（2）枉（3）有聲無字（4）往（5）旺 (6) 黃。(Wu）部：（1）烏（2）糊（3）惡（4）有聲無字（5）護（6）胡。(Yim) 部: (1) 閹（2）掩 (3) 厭 （4）染 (5) 艷 （6）嚴。(Yung)部：（1）翁（2）擁（3）有聲無字（4）勇（5）用（6）容。又(Si)部九聲是（1）師（2）史（3）試（4）市（5）是（6）時（7）舌（d尾）（8）攝（p尾）（9）蝕（t尾）；後三聲是尾聲。沒有一個普通話國語的字的發聲是如此齊全的；因為所有普通話國語字都只有四聲！所以粵語纔是完整的漢語；普通話國語是真正的方言！各位還記得尤雅那首著名的『往事只能回味』吧？她第一句的第一個字是（時）字，同時她第三句的第四個字也是（時）字。可是這兩個相同的字尤雅是用完全不同的聲調唱出來的！因為她在唱第二個（時）拗了音去遷就曲調。這首歌的曲調不錯；但是每句曲詞都有不同程度的拗音字。全部普通話國語歌都有這個問題！反觀粵語歌，雖然偶然也有拗音字，但拗音情況是極少的,粵語歌的拗音字例子如下:關正傑那首經典(情愛幾多哀)最後三句:(為換到,她的愛,甘心衝進恨海)那個(愛)字,他唱成(哀)字!但是關正傑這首名作全首歌只有這一個拗音字而已!普通話國語幾乎沒有一首歌的作詞可以有這種全曲只有一個拗音的水準!因為所有普通話國語歌幾乎每句曲詞都有拗音字!歐式語言的歌曲就更不足論。且聽Diana Ross那首名曲 If We Hold On Together 幾乎全曲拗音。 因為粵語歌普遍無拗音，唱粤語歌跟平常說粵語沒有很大的分別。所以與全世界的語言不同；最佳學習粵語的方法就是學唱粵語歌！ 兹列舉數句尤雅此曲中的拗音字如下: 時(光）一去永不回；往事只能（回）味!憶童年（時）足馬清（梅），兩少（無）（猜）日（夜）相随。（春）（風）又（吹）紅（了）（花）蕊，（你）也經已添了新歲！ 廣東人作了數千首完全沒有拗音字的粵語歌!例如葉振棠那首『江湖行』唱起來跟平時講廣東話完全無分別！但是完全沒有拗音字的普通話國語歌絕無僅有，找來找去只有那首廣東人作的「滄海一聲笑」！將來粵語絕跡於中國後，中國便不會再有第二首無拗音字的普語歌了；因為只有廣東人纔會創作無拗音的歌曲！

I don't speak Cantonese ( Vietnamese) ,but I do work for a certain large HK sauce company in the US branch. Funnily, during random office talk I can figure out some Cantonese because it more similar to Vietnamese than Mandarin. Y'all should do a video on Vietnamese-Cantonese!

0:48 you quote 17th century for Putonghua and 220AD for Cantonese. That is almost 1500 years, not a century and a half (150 years).

I would prefer Chinese Malaysian mindset. Most of them are multi-lingual. They are never stuck into this type of conversation. Many of them could speak or at least understand two or three Chinese dialects such as mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew and Hokkien, at the same time.

Cantonese is also a key to opening many doors of Chinese culture and history of poems, music, films etc some poems are just meant to be spoken in Cantonese and sound so much better, and the HK music and entertainment scene back in the 80s and 90s were honestly superior, the films were top notch and the humour was Cantonese specific

I miss Cantonese drama. I learned so much about life from them. And I find their language are easier to listen to ❤.

Im from Malaysia, my place have Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Malay, English. Mandarin very gentle and have that educationist vibe. Cantonese and the rest have that old vibe. When i recite old poem in Mandarin Vs Cantonese. The Cantonese always made that crazy impact. Cannot deny ~

all the love to Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Chao Shan, and all the other ethnic languages in the greater guangdong area

Great video! I learned a lot.

My parents were from Hong Kong, and they speak Hong Kong Cantonese, and taught it to me, despite me having been born and raised in Canada. It is a highly distinct form of Cantonese different than even the other forms of Cantonese spoken in Canton Province, due to the influence of British English. Until the 1990's many overseas Chinese communities, were vastly Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong, bringing the language to the international world and made its impact in pop culture of the age, thanks to the emergence of Chinese movie icons like Bruce Lee. Its also important to know, that the way Cantonese in Hong Kong works, there are actually two forms, written and spoken. For example on news broadcasts, they use a very formalistic way of speaking, while in day to day conversation like shopping or talking to friends, it is a much more casual type of language. In overseas Chinese communities like Vancouver, there is a very strong connection between Cantonese speakers, even if you do not know the person, but a sense of comradery between them, like they're from a bigger Hong Kong family. When I go to Hong Kong, many locals are surprised at my Cantonese proficiency in conversation, despite my brain being hardwired to English pretty much since a child, and they take it as a great compliment that I respect their language. Cantonese and Hong Kongers go together like Dim Sum and Milk Tea.

thank you for this. im american chinese cantonese and i always love having something playing in background in cantonese. mandarin is not the same. theres also a funniness and attitude and playfulness in cantonese that really tickles me. ill always love this language, my first language.

There are problems with the video. At 0:50 it says Cantonese came a century and a half earlier (150 years). I think you meant a millennium and a half earlier (1500 years)

I'm of mainland Chinese origin and I also care about Cantonese, and for valid reasons. 1. Although HK's Cantonese also suffers from oppression from the dominant Mandarin language, it at least has its own media and has some international influence as well. While mainland Cantonese varieties, particularly the ones spoken in Western Guangdong and Guangxi, are in real danger of extinction. And they are often considered to be of lower value than the varieties spoken in Guangzhou and in HK, which is definitely not the case but this does put them in a greater danger cause a lot of youngsters are not learning them from their parents anymore. 2. Cantonese preserves some important details on the history of Guangdong and Guangxi. People tend to focus on Cantonese's connection to Middle Chinese, which I don't deny. However, Cantonese also preserves a substratum Kra-Dai or Daic vocabulary which it shares with neighboring Tai-Kradai languages such as Zhuang or Ong-Be. For instance, the word for to itch or itching in Cantonese is Hang, and in Zhuang it's Hom. The word for to step across or to stride in Cantonese is Nam or Lam, and in Tai-Kradai it's Yam or Kham. There're many such examples. Some even say that the commonly used Cantonese word 佬 which means guy or folk may have a Tai-Kradai origin as well. This means that the natives of Guangdong were likely of Kra-Dai origin and they were forced to sinicize by the medieval Sinitic dynasties such as the Tang or the Song. Those are the reasons why I'm learning both Cantonese and Zhuang at the same time and believe me learning both together definitely helps.

Y’know just listening to this video changed how I felt about Cantonese! There’s so much in this language and yet not many people talk about it!

I' totally supporting. Still learning. It grows inside me since kid, watching Cantonese dub Japanese anime. Still watching anime, Hong Kong dramas & films.

How could it be possible for there to only be one century between 220AD and the 17th century? I think you meant more than one and a half millennia earlier

I don’t speak much cantonese as much I speak mandarin. But I am proud to be the one passing it down. There’s something about it. It sounds gracious. And the way it generates swear words just like a set of piano, whereby full of raw potential to be explored. Leaves behind nothing but harmony and the peasant to our ears.

Thanks for the video it was very helpful and interesting and informative, my late f-i-l was born in area outside of Beijing and spoke Mandarin his wife was from the South,and to listen to them speak was different. ❤😊

That was very interesting. Thanks.

I found it interesting that the Spanish words for fried rice and soy sauce are more based on Cantonese. China is always tearing down the old and replacing it with something new, something they perceive to be more modern and better in their effort for national linguistic unity. Hakka and Cantonese will continue to live on abroad, just not in the mainland. Thankfully, there are polyglots and linguists that are making videos about Cantonese to preserve a historical language.

Shanghainese should be preserved but more and more people from other parts of China are moving into Shanghai. You hardly hear people speak Shanghainese anymore in public. This is one dialect I plan on teaching my kids to preserve.

great Video, nicely done. we need a Hoisan/Toisan explaination video eventually too, would love to see this lineage. Thank You SCMP

I love Hong Kong ❤. So much friendly people there. 😊

Outside of HK, probably only KL city, malaysia where cantonese is highly appreciated and used quite widely.

The unique and funky of the HK Cantonese owned characteristics is the SLANG!! There are not any modern metropolitan cities dalogue have that many slangs or swear words

I learned Cantonese when I was between the age of 2-3. Loved watching Cantonese language movies back in the day on VCD from Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Jet Li. Funny thing about VCDs if you put one side audio it would be in Cantonese and if you put the other side it would be in Mandarin since the audio was mono. LOL Thankfully DVD came out and everything sounded so much better in stereo.

It’s very important to preserve Cantonese and also the Chinese writing in the traditional form. Our Cantonese songs, Cantonese opera, Cantonese jokes and also the Cantonese cuisines that come with the HK’s culture. These are what make HK unique!

lesson learned from many families in Guangxi and Guangdong today, many young people don’t speak Canto at all, they already lost their root language.

Cantonese has evolved more quickly than other languages, incorporating English, like PK, MK, D, and swearing is unmatched

Thank you

I love listening to Cantonese. Even though I don't speak it. Mandarin sounds harsh to my ears. Watching from Somalia.

Cantonese is spoken in certain parts of Malaysia too!

Most people alive today saw the majestic and attraction of Cantonese through tvbdramas when hk pop industry was at its peak. But few people know the strongest essence of this languange go back a bit earlier to the black and white movie era. Aka your great grand or grandparents era. Your head will spin and will be impressed by the true beauty of Cantonese languange when you truly know how to speak it and apply it in all sorts of situations.

My Spanish professor is from Peru too and she teaches Spanish in CUHK. I was also surprised about the connection between the food culture in Peru and the Cantonese language.

I live in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and I'm proud to speak Cantonese.

Btw, Hong Kong population is a mix of Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Shanghainese. Before the British colonised Hong Kong, large groups of Hakka and Teochew lived in Hong Kong and New Territory.

As a Malaysian, i really need to thank tvb for teaching me Cantonese hahaha.

I speak Cantonese primarily and this is very important to me because its part of my uniqueness and my identity. Without Chinese, I'm nothing. This is my POV. Thank you for posting this video

I hope they won't make all three languages mandatory in school. It'll create even more stress in the already stressful school environment.

This Hong Kong mother language and should maintains it for generations to come. Once it's lost it will be very hard to get it back. Pleae HK value your Cantonese dialect.❤

I speak broken Cantonese and proud of it! My grandma taught me! Miss you grandma! RIP!

I am a Malaysian but I speak Cantonese. Usable in Hong Kong too. Truly a beautiful dialect.

"a century and a half earlier" is 150 years, the narrator meant 1500 years earlier. 17th century - 220 AD.

When a "standard dialect" is chosen, it gives advantage to those already speaking it, whereas those who speak a very different dialect (language) would have to learn and code switch, and may be mocked for not speaking the standard dialect well enough, hence the disgruntlement because of power asymmetry. If they had created a new dialect based on all dialects which is equally different from all native speakers, this would detach the "power asymmetry" inherent in the chosen language, and easier to be adopted as a unifying tool of communication.

There's a mistake in the video @0:54. It says a century and a half when it should be a millennium and a half earlier.

To me , a Dutch man, guangdong hua is the most beautiful language in the world. If I hear it it reminds me of one of the happiest times of my life. Living in Hong Kong. It also,reminds me of,the thousands of kung fu movies I’ve seen

The Hong Kong people is proud of Cantonese. They still speak this language regardless of whether they are in Singapore, Malaysia, China and USA and Canada. No right or wrong.

I love Cantonese

Need to preserve these dialects - it is part of history. Plain and simple IMHO.

@1:10 technically there are 5 tones when you include the neutral tone, some can even argue there are 7 tones in Mandarin. Interestingly I find myself able to understand a bit more of the Wu dialect than Cantonese, coming from Taiwan. It is beautiful that people are preserving the Cantonese dialect. As languages evolves over time, how people speak in the future might be different from how we speak now.

🧡💯✍️ .....i just found out recently Cantonese is about 2000yrs old....and Mandarin was ajusted in Beijing only about 100yrs old🤠🤠

I want to hear more Cantonese. It is beautiful.

As a Cantonese speaker I believe it holds more cultural significance for the South than Mandarin for whole China. Unfortunately it’ll slowly drop to accent only level and maybe fade away a century later and Mandarin becoming main language. HKers in America and Europe might retain as many speakers because many have emigrated there.

how is 220 AD a century and a half earlier than the 17th century?

I'm learning Cantonese, and sometimes I do get positive encouragement, ...but there's a huge culture of insults and condescending attitudes towards foreigners wishing to learn. This severely discourages learners and further isolates the foreign communities. Cantonese is already difficult to learn since it's largely unsystematic and arbitrary. It's almost like a language that's been designed to be secret to prevent outsiders from learning. So please be mindful of the harm you cause to new learners, help them learn and feel welcomed.

The same problem in India..Hindi language is spreading across South part of india.. South people don't speak Hindi.. South states are 4 ..4 different languages... There are 22 official languages in India... More than 22 languages in India actually... My mother tongue is Telugu..I can speak English very little.. I can read Hindi, write Hindi but can't understand .. North part of India mostly speak Hindi, Eventhough each state of North India have their own language... It's a Chaos.... I don't understand what prime minister of India, parliament disscussions says in parliament every time.. because of i can't understand Hindi... I knew what he says through English translation..

I love Cantonese sound watching Hong Kong movies as a kid. It also sounds similar to my mother tongue Vietnamese. Last but not least, many Chinese immigrants in South east Asia where I lived, worked and travels are Cantonese

As I chinese born in Malaysia I enjoy cantonese. I grew up watching HK TVB drama. Is such a wonderful dialect.

the video says mandarin originated from the Qing dynasty in the 17th century then went on to say that Cantonese originated a century and a half earlier in 220ad after the fall of the Han dynasty. apparently to SCMP, 220ad to 1700ad is only one and a half century long. Goes to show that the person who wrote this, the person who narrated this and the person who edited this has very little idea about Chinese history.

香港人加油!! 🇭🇰🇭🇰

How is the Cantonese of Chinatown, San Francisco USA doing? Is it thriving there or becoming less spoken? I’m watching the show Warrior, a period piece about Chinese in SF Chinatown and they use a lot of Cantonese or it could be Mandarin, I would never know the difference.

作为一个从小接受普通话教育的上海乡下人，在学校教学使用普通话，在家里讲本地话，上海话是在大学阶段和同寝室的上海市区人那里学来的，现在基本上工作中碰到上海人讲上海话，外地的讲普通话，并不存在什么障碍，也不存在什么上海话不会讲的情况。自己的小孩现在可以听懂本地话，上海话，因为在家里还是本地话，上海话讲的多，但是她平时多数讲普通话，不太愿意讲上海话，但是我觉得这个不是问题，随着年龄的增长，随着对于自己上海人身份的认同，也会自然愿意去说上海话，因为我的心路历程就是这样。

cantonese is also so much more ingrained in the English language than Mandarin is... thanks to the immigrant laborers in the 1800's that moved to America Ketchup: is literally cantonese long time no see: direct translation from the Cantonese phrase im a child of an HK immigrant myself, and really hope to be able to pass on the language to my own children someday; the langue will not be lost so easily

The real question should be why do HKers care so much about Cantonese *now*? Back in the days before '97, Cantonese was for verbal conversations only and hardly anyone would write in the Cantonese form of Chinese at all.

Cantonese is their culture, and HK Movies sound great in Cantonese

Never forget our mother language, it's important to keep and learn Cantonese! Because it's Hongkongness historic identity!

Then what about Hokkien spoken in Taiwan?

Each dialect , nomatter where they are, small or large should be respected and protected ! That's the bottomline.

Cantonese is a very unique and wonderful dialect, I am an overseas-born Chinese (Cantonese). The dialect should continue to be promoted.

It's ridiculous that they have had to discuss about the choice of their official language/linguistic heritage.

I'm Cantonese living in HK. Don't care so much about Cantonese myself, just a dialect that I happen to speak.

Dear SCMP, You might want to do more research into the origins of Mandarin before committing to the proposition that Mandarin emerged during the Qing dynasty. Various forms of “Mandarin” were already spoken in Northern China during the warring state period, most noticeably among the northern kingdoms. It began to coalesce during the Han/Tang dynasties when focus was shifted towards countering the northern nomadic tribes which continued into the late Song dynasty. It solidified as formal court language when the Yuan dynasty established Beijing as its capital and even more so when the Ming dynasty relocated its capital from Nanjing to Beijing and then continued by the Qing dynasty. Just as Cantonese is an amalgamation of local southern dialects, Mandarin itself is an amalgamation of local northern Chinese dialects AND the linguistic influence brought in by officials from ALL over China after they passed the imperial exams and are posted to the northern imperial court. It was the language of the court mandarins which people outside the Forbidden City would’ve have trouble understanding. The Beijing dialect was actually very different from Mandarin and only through supplying and selling to the court over the centuries that Mandarin percolated into the wider local population then later through modern technological communication. Also note that Cantonese is NOT the only southern dialect in Guangzhou, when there are tens if not hundreds other Guangzhou dialects with distinct variations from valley to valley, ie Toishanese etc. Cantonese gained prominence primarily because of British colonial and media policies, Hong Kong’s media ecosystem since the 1950’s and the ready consume market among the wider Chinese diaspora.

Everyone can be bi-lingual and more. Hong Kong will not be Hong Kong without hearing Cantonese being spoken in daily activities. Hongkongers are also pragmatic, adaptable and highly-driven people. They know what are necessary for the future they seek. That's why one always feels the energy whenever visiting Hong Kong.

I love Cantonese and hope it won't eventually be lost to time.

It is essential to not only retain but to promote Cantonese. It is a very rich and deep language, full of nuances and cultural history (swearwords apart.) Mandarin is so different, more "modern". Chinese is not easy to learn whatever language you learn. On this point, we ought to keep all our different languages. Imagine, if you speak a tongue and it's being blocked or banned.

Sun Yat Sen was Cantonese!

As a native Canton speaker, I fully support the effort to preserve and promote Cantonese culture and its dialect. At some point in the near future, I'm also hoping to learn Toisanese, Hakka and Jiangxi Gan & Wu, as I've relatives that speak those dialects, and it would make sense for me to be able to speak those on a basic level at the very least. So next time, whenever I go visit my relatives in mainland China, I can speak in their native tongues.

Can we not refer to Chinese languages as “dialects” of Chinese? A large majority of these Chinese languages have significantly less mutual intelligibility with each other than say, Spanish and Portuguese, yet no one would dare refer to Spanish and Portuguese as merely “dialects” of each other.

I am a theoretical linguist and a second language acquisitionist fascinated by Cantonese. Thank you so much for this video. I will be using it in my master's courses at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Cantonese is the real Chinese language officially.

I'm from Guangdong province, but I was raised in the caribbean watching Hong Kong ent so I only understand Cantonese as my friends also spoke that. When i went back to Guangzhou in recent years, I'm surprised to find ppl living in the Cantonn province actually can't speak cantonese, which is weird.

Learn Mandarin Chinese as a lingua franca like we learn English to communicate with rest of the world, and use Cantonese as a preservation while communicating with the local community in Guangdong area. Being trilingual is amazing.

As Indonesian who grew up watching hongkong movies in the 90's, cantonese and hakka languages were more familiar to me than mandarin.