Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Cantonese Class

Jen here. I've mentioned my Cantonese class in passing, so today I will tell you all about it! I don't know why, but I desire to learn languages. I haven't become fluent in any language (except english), but I have taken classes in Spanish, French, Italian, Sign Language and now Cantonese (I also had a friend teaching me some Mandarin while I was at OU...).

Upon moving to HK, there was no question that I wanted to learn "Chinese", but should I learn Cantonese or Mandarin? Everyone had their opinions. Some said, "Learn Mandarin, because more people in the world speak Mandarin. It's more useful and it's easier than Cantonese. Hardly anyone speaks Cantonese outside of HK and southern China." Others said, "Learn Cantonese; it's the local language." A few said, "You don't need to learn either. You can get around just fine with English." And my friend from China (who taught me some Mandarin) said, "Learn Cantonese, because I don't know it!"

Between this dilemma and trying to find a class to fit my desires(language and $), I put off taking a class until January. In January while searching online I discovered a class that started two days later. I called, signed up and started then!

The class is subsidized by the government and is for minorities. Some of the worksheets we get in class say "Migrant Workers Class". Funny, I didn't know I was a migrant worker. :) It is solely conversation; we aren't learning how to read or write Chinese. The goal is to learn spoken Cantonese useful in daily life. My fellow students are from India, Nepal, Mongolia, Japan, the UK and the Philippines. The ages range from 18 to 50s or 60s. I'd say the median age is 40. Some of the students have lived in HK for 15-20 years and are just now deciding to learn Cantonese (of course they picked a little up along the way). The best part of the deal is the price: $100HK for 50 hours. $100HK is about $14US. I get 50 hours of class for 14 bucks?? Craziness. Here's our class picture:

Our teacher, William, is very patient, fun and enjoys teaching. He answers any questions we have (such as, how do you say "close the door slowly" or "speak quietly" or "duck" or "apple" or "please stop" when you're riding the green minibus--my question) and thoughtfully tells us about HK culture and some Chinese culture. I've learned a lot about China's history through this class!

This photo is from our "yum cha" outing. Yum cha literally means drink tea, but if you say, "Let's go to yum cha", what it really means is "Let's go to a Chinese restaurant and eat dim sum!" We went as a class (not everyone made it) but it was fun. We had so many questions, "How do you say shrimp dumpling? How do you say we need more chopsticks? How do you say red bean soup?" Mmm...it was delicious, filling and only cost us $50HK each (~$8 US)...funny, the cost of yum cha was half of what we paid for the class...

I try to use my Cantonese daily, but I am nervous to! What if they don't understand what I say? What if they do, and I don't understand what they say? :) One of my small group girls is teaching me to say important things, such as "I want one double cheeseburger please" and "Green tea bubble tea, very sweet please". I haven't tried the cheeseburger one, but the next time I go to McD's I will. :)

All in all, I am so thankful to be taking this class and living in another culture with a different language. It's fun and I hope to grow better at speaking Cantonese!

5 comments:

  1. This is also outstanding. I'm so glad I checked your blog today! This sounds like so much fun. I will be so impressed when you come to VA and start ordering things in Cantonese at McD's. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. " I wanted to learn "Chinese", but should I learn Cantonese or Mandarin?"

    Certainly learn Mandarin.

    The following is all about Mandarin.

    ----------------
    Japanese adopted a lot of Chinese characters, so, some Japanese know the advantages of the Chinese language. A learned Japanese states that Chinese language is very systematic and logic. He looks at Mandarin from a different angle.

    Some people say the sound of Mandarin is poetic.

    I am a published author of 5 wonderful books on http://www.amazon.com/Sam-Song/e/B002BX3790/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0. I'd say the writing of Chinese characters could be very beautiful.


    ***************

    Actually, learning Mandarin can be entertaining, fun, and joyful!

    ***************

    ReplyDelete
  3. Quick question! I'm looking for a canto school myself and I'm in the exact same dilemma. Which school did you end up going to??

    ReplyDelete
  4. I took classes through ISS, which is a social services organization. I bet if you call this place or email, they could give you info. The classes are for ethnic minorities and are subsidized by the government (only for learning how to speak cantonese).

    H.O.P.E. Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities
    3/F, Tak Lee Commercial Building,
    113-117 Wanchai Road,
    Wanchai, HK
    Tel: 2836 3598
    Emergency Hotline: 5188 8044
    Fax: 2508 0207
    Email ethnic_centre@isshk.org

    ReplyDelete
  5. I took classes through ISS, which is a social services organization. I bet if you call this place or email, they could give you info. The classes are for ethnic minorities and are subsidized by the government (only for learning how to speak cantonese).

    H.O.P.E. Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities
    3/F, Tak Lee Commercial Building,
    113-117 Wanchai Road,
    Wanchai, HK
    Tel: 2836 3598
    Emergency Hotline: 5188 8044
    Fax: 2508 0207
    Email ethnic_centre@isshk.org

    ReplyDelete