Cantonese can be traced back to the Han dynasty (correct me if I am wrong?), but mandarin's history does not reach as far back. Also many ancient poems rhyme much better in cantonese than in mandarin. I think there was also an issue when electing the official national language, it was like 51/49 mandarin/cantonese vote (I need a citation to confirm this... but too lazy lol). Most of this is all based on vague memory (except for the ancient poems part, that I know as a fact), and I also don't have proper citations to back it up. So apologies if my statement is incorrect.
Hmm.. I'm a bit different.. I was brought up in England and to be honest all I came across are Cantonese speakers so I was never told that it wasn't "part of Chinese" but what also annoys me is that when people know you can't speak Mandarin so they assume you don't understand it.. BUT in my case I do a little (off from songs and TV programmes etc.. xD) but my housemates from uni all speak Mandarin and they always say nasty stuff about me =/ but then I can't be bothered to pick up a fight as I'll be moving out soon and (no offence to the Mainland Chinese) some of those people are rough and rude (just like my housemates) For the record I have't said anything nasty to them ^^;
I totally afree with ralhprepo, its not only the who dialogue or language but why are HK and Taiwan writing the Tradition Chinese writing and why is the Mainland China write simplified? It seems to me that mainland China just lazy on writing something full and properly, the Simplified Chinese looks tacky imo but I don't mean to bring any offence but its true, also When you talk in Mandarin, they sound like are shouting at each other :S
this is also the first time i heard about it too.. i think a lot of ppl speak canto and i dont find that to be much of a problem ..
well I never face that issue I think it depends on where you live for example im from sf and ABC speak good canto and in rochester new york, every1 speak mando and abc canto ppl is choppy
not true cantonese is not the mainland language but if you have friends who im you in chinese, they can type canto its just not commonly written but many still do it. like example 没有（dont have）taishan ppl type 毛(dont have) since mao sounds like dont have in the taishan dialect
Like what Peter said, Cantonese is a DIALECT of Mainland Chinese (Putonghua). In my opinion, dialects are like more extreme accents - like Scottish English. Would you argue that American English is not actually English?
at least cantonese are from Canton(Guangdong)........but mandarin....nowhere.....there are cantonese people....Fukian people....Hainan people.....but no such thing as Mandarin people cos there aren;t even a place call mandarin......except mandarin oranges....LOng live cantonese......
what I meant was why people insulting us cantonese speakers while mandarin speakers aren't even Mandarin people....no hard feelings
Never knew about this. Most of the times it's their parent, relatives, or friends who implemented the idea in their heads. They're so narrow minded.
Hong Kong people do not "HATE" mainland china ppl....its more that they look down on China ppl. It not because of language or religion or anything....its simply because a majority people from China are usually rude, unethical and selfish. No disrespect here I am not saying everyone- just that a lot are. In Hong Kong, there are more and more people from the mainland every day and they are always so rude and selfish. They will barge into people and not appologise, as if they don't care. They will be impolite to people at shops, restaurants, etc and msot lack general manners. Like on trains, always shouting across at others and ignoring rules like no sitting on train floor (yes I have seen this happen on several occasions) and also not giving seats to pregnant or handicapped people. Then in China its not any better. In Shenzhen the people are even more selfish and rude. You hear all kinds of stories about China and although a lot may be fictional, some are true. China is much more dangerous and there are a lot more bad people in China. China people do not like Hong Kong (cantonese) people becuase we look down on them.
That's nothing compare to my aunt. My aunt said that people from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai.... are NOT Chinese. We are Fuzhouese and it really pissed me off when she said that. So ignorant....argh.... And I argued with her telling that when you said Chinese, most people think of Beijing and most people don't know where Fuzhou is. My boyfriend is from Hong Kong so I don't hold any grudges to anyone like that.
hahaha, people speak cantonese in Guangdong too..so it's not just hong kong. Plus, there are many other dialects in China like shanghainese. Those people are just slightly narrow minded.
lol ahh this, well have you ever had a KID like 8 years old say that to you? he told me oh you're stupid, you dont know chinese, you only know cantonese. was about to smack that kid if i wasnt on the job
it basically all comes down to education at home. teachers educate kids at school, so parents educate kids at home. im 100% sure teachers in my country wouldnt teach kids that way... which means its mainly the parents' fault for not properly educating them. either that or it's the friends factor~~ but that'll just mean the friend's family has issues too lolz
