bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Jessie Lau

It wasn’t until Jonathan Ma began learning Cantonese intensively that he realised how crucial it was for understanding Hong Kong culture.
Ma, a 33-year-old English teacher, was born locally but moved to the United Kingdom when he was a child. Although he grew up travelling between the two territories and speaking basic Cantonese, he never received formal education in the language – until he moved to Hong Kong and decided to enrol in private courses two years ago.
The impetus behind his decision was simple: he wanted to stay in the city in the long run, and integrate himself into the community.
Meet the Hong Kong academics fighting to safeguard the Cantonese language
Ma is among the people contributing to an apparent renewed interest in learning Cantonese, according to local language course providers.
Although there hasn’t been extensive research conducted on the popularity of Cantonese courses in relation to other programmes, teachers say that interest in the language has picked up in recent years.


One such programme is the Yale-China Chinese Language Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which runs various Cantonese courses. Total enrolment for Cantonese programmes grew by about 30 per cent from 1,508 in 2010 to 1,918 last year.
This trend is also seen at Q Language. The learning centre has seen a 60 per cent increase in students learning Cantonese from 2010 to last year. Students range from 25 to 45 years old, and take an average of 120 hours of lessons.
“Mandarin is still much more popular due to the demand from local employers. However, Cantonese has still been rising with no signs of any change,”
Stuart McCutcheon, Q Language director
At Hong Kong Language School, the number of Cantonese students also more than doubled from 132 in 2010 to 311 last year. The majority of students take classes for social rather than professional reasons.
“Mandarin is still much more popular due to the demand from local employers. However, Cantonese has still been rising with no signs of any change,” Q Language director Stuart McCutcheon said.
About 30 per cent of students are ethnically Chinese but were raised overseas, 20 per cent are local expats looking to study basic Cantonese and 20 per cent are expats or job seekers from other Asian countries, he said.
Why a Cantonese keyboard is one of the most popular tools in Apple’s Hong Kong app store
Despite the demand, Cantonese is a difficult language to learn as well as teach. Since spoken Cantonese and written Chinese differ vastly, educators must grapple with whether to teach spoken or written first.
In addition to being phonetically complex, highly colloquial and nuanced, Cantonese also does not have a standard qualification system. There are currently no standardised Cantonese tests or certifications, leaving individual programmes and centres to create and offer their own.

Branda Kwong, a Cantonese teacher at Hong Kong Language School, said that although there are romanization systems used across the board by teachers, there are no standard textbooks and teaching methods can vary drastically.
“I created my own teaching structure. Hong Kong people don’t learn Cantonese, just speak it. When we go to school, we then learn to translate our Cantonese into (written) Chinese,” Kwong said, who uses a textbook that the school created to teach her students.
“This is different from English and Mandarin. If your student doesn’t know how to speak Cantonese, it’s unsuitable to teach them how to write.”
Aside from studying, effectively practising with locals can also be a challenge for students, Kwong said. Hongkongers might reply in English when you speak to them in Cantonese because they want to make sure they understood you correctly, or because they themselves want to practise English, she explained.
Why do Hongkongers applaud Westerners speaking Cantonese?
“If you can’t be persistent, then you won’t get a chance to practise,” Kwong said. “If you have enough confidence to continue speaking in Cantonese, then they will too. You have to persevere.”
While Hong Kong is a city where many speak English or Mandarin, Cantonese dominates the local language scene.


Some argue that those who are not proficient in Cantonese can feel isolated from local culture, and find it difficult to establish relationships with the many locals who cannot speak the language that they do.
Not having Cantonese not only limits their social circle but also their ability to understand issues that are important to Hongkongers and to integrate themselves into local communities.
Mythbuster: does speaking Cantonese make you a better karaoke singer?
Aya Kazama, a 33-year-old expat from Japan who has lived in Hong Kong for four years, began learning Cantonese in March and struggles most with pronunciation.
“Everyone speaks English. (But) normally I’m the only one who is a foreigner,” Kazama said, referring to her workplace. “If they start chatting and getting excited, they forget about me and start talking in Cantonese. I thought it would be better to have some knowledge.”
“Just to understand what people are saying around me, that’s everything. If I don’t understand ... I feel like a fool,”
Jonathan Ma, Cantonese student
Ma also said he valued understanding what was being said around him.
“Just to understand what people are saying around me, that’s everything. If I don’t understand ... I feel like a fool,” Ma said, adding that learning Cantonese also helped him better understand local politics and social issues.
“One feels isolated from society if you don’t have the ability to communicate with the wider community. If you live here longer, every single person should (take) the opportunity and motivation to learn Cantonese.”
In recent years, the Cantonese language has become a topic of contention following the rise of localism – a pro-democracy political movement that advocates greater autonomy for Hong Kong and the preservation of local culture.
The Education Bureau’s proposal in February to adopt simplified Chinese characters and emphasise the study of Mandarin in local schools, as well as broadcasting station TVB’s decision to use simplified characters in the subtitles of its Mandarin newscasts, drew widespread criticism.


For a better future, Hong Kong’s leaders must study China’s past

Hong Kong’s national security police arrest man with suspected ties to pro-independence group over seditious messages posted online

Hong Kong localist party Civic Passion disbands, pointing to ‘lack of political options’

Hong Kong national security law: school clerk, student remanded over conspiring to create leaflets advocating independence

Hong Kong localism and independence

Can you truly understand Hong Kong if you don’t speak Cantonese?

Uptick in local language study enrolment points to desire for greater social understanding

Hong Kong-born Jonathan Ma Cheng-hung, 34, who went to England at a young age, learns Cantonese at Hong Kong Language School in Wan Chai. 28APR16 SCMP/Nora Tam

Hong Kong-born, UK-raised Jonathan Ma, 34, studying Cantonese in Wan Chai. Photo: Nora Tam

Meet the Hong Kong academics fighting to safeguard the Cantonese language 

Ben Au Yeung Wai-ho, senior lecturer in Chinese in the department of Chinese language and literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Photo: Bruce Yan

This handout image shows Tang Sze-wing (L), vice-chairman with the university’s department of Chinese language and Literature and Samuel Cheung Hung-nin (R), professor emeritus with the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley. pose for a photograpy at the CHinese University in Sha Tin. 30MAR16 SCMP / Elaine Yau [12MAY2016 FEATURES LIFE]

This handout image shows Tang Sze-wing, vice-chairman with the university’s department of Chinese language and Literature. 30MAR16 SCMP / Elaine Yau [12MAY2016 FEATURES LIFE]

Ben Au-yeung Wai-ho, the CUHK, senior lecturer in Chinese with Chinese University of Hong Kong’s department of Chinese language and literature, poses for a photograph at LT office. 09MAY16. SCMP/Bruce Yan [12MAY2016 FEATURES LIFE]

Why do Hongkongers applaud Westerners speaking Cantonese? 

A portrait of Yuan dynasty emperor Khubilai Khan.

Illustration: Bay Leung

Mythbuster: does speaking Cantonese make you a better karaoke singer?

Is the tonal fluency associated with Cantonese why Hongkongers love karaoke? Photo: SCMP Pictures

News

Hong Kong

Education

Uptick in local language study enrolment points to desire for greater social understanding
