Learn Cantonese

Cantonese is the most commonly spoken language in Hong Kong, according to the 2011 Census, around 90% of the population in Hong Kong use Cantonese as their main form of communication.

Despite this only a small number of Westerners in Hong Kong know how to speak Cantonese since most Hong Kong locals can understand and speak English. Learning the local language will surely make you stand out from the crowd, open more doors and make life much more enjoyable here in Hong Kong.

Introducing Cecilie Gamst Berg a long-time Hong Kong resident and Cantonese fundamentalist, she is self-taught and through her experience and expertise in many languages she has developed a fun and practical approach for learning Cantonese.






Many Westerners are put off by the popular notion that Cantonese is too difficult for beginners since there are up to nine tones. But as Cecilie has shown it is not as difficult as many claim it to be, on the other hand the most challenging thing is finding a local who is more accommodating…



Fortunately there are enjoyable ways where one can create an environment for Cantonese banter and socialization with the locals. Such as playing the most popular card game in Hong Kong and also among many Chinese, called “Cho Dai Di” in Cantonese or “Big Two”.



By learning Cantonese the results can be really rewarding, one can better understand and appreciate Hong Kong and Chinese Culture. The language is by no means useless or dying, as a Chinese language it is second only to Mandarin in its scope of use, with estimates of over 70 million speakers of Cantonese worldwide. It is widely spoken in Macau, the whole Guangdong Province in China and some of its surrounding areas including the eastern part of Guangxi Province.

And since Southern China is so close to the surrounding South East Asian Countries, many established communities of Chinese emigrants found in this region can often speak Cantonese, a large concentration of Cantonese speakers can found in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and especially in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Cantonese can also be useful in many Western Countries with Chinese communities, large Cantonese speaking communities can be found in the U.S. such as New York City and San Francisco, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and especially in Canada where it is the most common Chinese language spoken by Chinese Canadians.

So why not give Cantonese a try, the ability to fully understand Stephen Chow’s Movies is worth the effort in itself.

More information on Cecilie Gamst Berg and her Cantonese Courses can be found here:
http://happyjellyfish.com/
http://www.chinadroll.com/