Is Cantonese a language?

Standard Cantonese Cantonese is a tonal language belonging to the Chinese family of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is widely used in Guangdong, Guangxi, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia, as well as among Chinese communities in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. Its name comes from the "Nanyue Kingdom" in the Lingnan region of ancient China ("Southern Guangdong Kingdom" in "Hanshu"). In order to distinguish "Yue" from the Wu-speaking areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi now use "Guangdong" as the official character, specifically referring to Guangdong and Guangdong. Therefore, Yue opera and Cantonese opera do not refer to the same thing. In addition, "Guangdong" has also been used as the collective name for the Lingnan region for a long time. ?The two Guangxi are called "Two Guangdong" respectively, ?Guangdong is called "Eastern Guangdong", and Guangxi is called "Western Guangdong". Hainan Island has long been an administrative unit under Guangdong Province, so it is also included in this historical concept of "Guangdong". ?It was not until the Republic of China that "Guangdong" narrowed its scope to specifically refer to Guangdong Province. ?Therefore, in different historical periods, "Guangdong" can be divided into a broad sense (Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan) and a narrow sense (referring only to Guangdong Province). "Eastern Guangdong" and "Western Guangdong" have completely different scopes of reference in different historical periods. The origin of Cantonese was finalized long before the initial separation of Guangdong and Guangxi in the Song Dynasty. Therefore, from a historical and cultural perspective, "Cantonese" should be understood as "Lingnan" in a broad sense, rather than "Guangdong." In terms of linguistic classification, there are differences between northern Chinese scholars and some Guangdong, Guangdong and Western scholars. There are disagreements. One theory is that Cantonese is a Chinese language that has been fused with Old South Vietnamese; the other is that Old South Vietnamese has been combined with Chinese elements to become a completely new language. The former regards Cantonese as a dialect of the single language Chinese due to cultural and political considerations; while the opponents, based on the political stance of the Lingnan region, believe that Cantonese is one of the Chinese languages ??and an independent language. Both have their own linguistic basis. Cantonese, formerly known as Cantonese, is also known as provincial dialect and vernacular. Chinese officials generally call it Guangzhou dialect and standard Cantonese. Cantonese is the standard pronunciation of Cantonese and is also the main form of spoken language. The Xiguan accent in the old town of Guangzhou is generally regarded as authentic, but now the Xiguan accent has almost been lost. The province usually uses the pronunciation included in the "Guangzhou Phonetic Dictionary" (1983) as the standard. Cantonese is composed of Cantonese pronunciation, Cantonese vocabulary, and Cantonese grammar. Cantonese in the broad sense is mainly popular in the Pearl River Delta and Guangxi Cantonese-speaking areas of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, and overseas Chinese communities with Cantonese immigrants. Cantonese in the narrow sense refers to the Cantonese spoken in the central city of Guangzhou, while Guangzhou is closely related to Foshan, Zhongshan, Wuzhou, The accents of Hong Kong and Macau are roughly the same. Some native Cantonese speakers can write Cantonese vernacular. Influenced by the economy and culture of Guangzhou (the capital of Guangdong Province), residents in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong can all speak Cantonese with an accent. There are also Cantonese-speaking residents in some places in eastern and northern Guangdong. Cantonese is the lingua franca of the province, and many Cantonese can speak more than two mother tongues. Some people point out that it is inappropriate to use "Cantonese" to refer to accents outside Guangzhou (including Hong Kong and Macao Cantonese). The so-called "Cantonese" is also unreasonable because Cantonese was not invented by Guangzhou people. The current Cantonese dialect was developed by businessmen from various places doing business in Guangzhou, so it is correct to use "Cantonese". When foreigners were doing business in Guangzhou, they mistakenly equated the provincial capital (today's Guangzhou) with "Canton" in Guangdong (the current Canton Fair in English is "Canton Fair"), and translated Cantonese and Cantonese as "Cantonese". In fact, Guangdong and Guangzhou They are not the same concept, so "Cantonese" should be translated as "Guangzhou dialect" to meet the original meaning. Cantonese has long been an academic name, while Cantonese is just a common name. Hong Kong academic circles still call it Cantonese. Just like calling Hokkien dialect Hokkien dialect, calling Cantonese dialect Cantonese is a folk speaking habit. However, since there are three main dialects in Guangdong: Cantonese, Chaoshan, and Hakka, and these three dialects are completely different, it is really far-fetched to call it Cantonese. Moreover, the provincial capital (today's Guangzhou) is called "Canton", and the Canton Fair was originally the Guangzhou Trade Fair, so the public still thinks "Cantonese" corresponds to "Cantonese", and "Standard Cantonese" corresponds to "Cantonese" or "Standard Cantonese". In addition to the words contained in Cantonese, Cantonese also absorbs many words from Teochew and Hakka. For example, "thirst" is pronounced as "dry mouth", "dry throat" or "dry mouth".

In addition, Guangzhou is also a gathering place for foreigners, and there are many foreign words, such as strawberry, strawberry, modern, etc., which are the same as Hong Kong. There are also some original words in Guangzhou, such as Huangdog (earthworm) and Tangwei (dragonfly). Cantonese often likes to use the word "good" when describing something as exaggerated. Such as: So big, so happy, I like it so much....

Hong Kong Cantonese

Hong Kong Cantonese (also called Hong Kong Cantonese or Hong Kong dialect, relative to Hong Kong English), formerly Hong Kong does not have an official name for the local spoken Cantonese. It usually uses the folk names of Guangdong: Cantonese, provincial and city dialect, and vernacular, while Hong Kong officials only call it Cantonese. Before the 1970s, local Cantonese was a mixture of Cantonese accents from various regions. For example, "Sister Ma" was called "Sister Ma" according to Shunde pronunciation, but it tended to be based on Cantonese dialect. Since the 1980s, "Cantonese" has been adopted by the Hong Kong government as the standard term for local Cantonese spoken language, while names such as Cantonese, provincial dialect, and vernacular have gradually withdrawn from formal occasions. People who used to refer to Cantonese as Cantonese were mainly immigrants from other provinces (including Taiwan). They called the Cantonese spoken by Cantonese people as Cantonese. At the same time, when people learned Cantonese from Hong Kong, it was obviously lazi.

Hong Kong’s Cantonese accent standard is derived from Cantonese, added to Hong Kong’s local culture, and slowly formed into a set of spoken-language languages ??with Hong Kong characteristics. Hong Kong is also a British colony, so there are many foreign language vocabulary, and Hong Kong people are also accustomed to using a mixture of Chinese and English. Cantonese is one of the official languages ??of Hong Kong. Internal government communications and announcements are often conducted in Cantonese and English. Broadcast media generally have Cantonese channels. Although there are many speakers of Hong Kong Cantonese and its coverage is very wide, Hong Kong Cantonese is only regarded as a spoken variant of Cantonese. Even though there is the so-called Cantonese pronunciation movement in Hong Kong, it has not yet been adopted as an accent standard. Cantonese retains many ancient Chinese words that have disappeared from modern standard Chinese, such as:

Qu: It means "he", now also called "qu", 'Qu's so-called Xiaoling,? Gai Shijingsuo Sing a little song. 'The Music' by Jide, King of the Ming Dynasty?

Xunri: means "yesterday", "Xunri, flowers and flowers without saying a word? (Cheng Gai, Song Ci)"?

When: It means "when", "When will the bright moon come (Song Dynasty poem Su Shi's "Shui Tiao Ge Tou")"?

Pray: - Request] Gods and Buddhas\praying words are mostly left by our ancestors. No need to think about it, just say it casually and forget it after socializing. ?

Please tell me something, just say it casually; speak without thinking. ?

嬦嬬: It means "chatting". Nowadays, the homophone is often used to write "Qinggai"?

Yaguang: The original meaning is "the cabin on the cliff", which is extended to "danger" "" means "Yayan", which is commonly used today. English and other foreign words. Due to historical reasons in the Guangzhou area, many words are influenced by English. For example, the ball is called "Ball" (Ball), and the small shop is called "Shiduo" ( Store), taxis are “Taxi”…. However, these words are rarely seen in the mainland, and have gradually developed into words unique to the Pearl River area. However, the word "taxi" has spread almost all over the country. In the past, it was said to be "cutting a taxi" to now it is a popular saying. "Hit." When you enter a country, do as the Romans do, and when you enter a country, ask what is forbidden. When you arrive in other people's areas, you must obey the local customs, act according to the local customs, and follow the local customs and habits. Asking about taboos also means to know the local taboos and prohibitions and avoid doing things that violate local customs. Interpretation is a wonderful use, and you can be at peace with the situation. Mao Zedong was in Guangdong and interacted with friends in Guangdong. Of course, he would respect the local customs and drink tea in the Cantonese style. In 1949, he wrote the popular poem "Drinking tea in Guangdong will not be forgotten." When Chinese people went abroad, they talked about The language is English, and the environment is English everywhere, but just like the Tang poem "The local pronunciation has not changed, the hair on the temples has faded", your own Chinese and your own local pronunciation will not be easily lost. The foreign population cannot understand Cantonese, and we must cooperate with you to improve the soft environment of the Asian Games. , it is not to cancel Cantonese across the board, but to promote Mandarin. The idea of ??using Cantonese to resist "promoting popularization" is also wrong. If Guangzhou people no longer speak Guangzhou dialect, can they still be called Guangzhou? It should be understood that Guangzhou is not just for Guangzhou people. Guangzhou is one of the central cities in China and an international Guangzhou.

During the Asian Games, we should give the foreign population a sense of belonging and take care of and sympathize with them. "Promoting popularization" is not to popularize Cantonese, it is not to "sweep out" Cantonese, it is not to "protect" but to "maintain". Hometowns that do not speak dialects are tasteless, and more importantly, they must be promoted. ?

The pronunciation included in the "Guangzhou Phonetic Dictionary" (1983) is used as the standard.