HSK Exam - Putonghua-ization or Cantonization in Guangdong? - Page 5 -

> Learning Chinese > Non-Mandarin Chinese
Putonghua-ization or Cantonization in Guangdong?
Home New Posts

Login: Pass: Log in or register for standard view and full access.





Page 5 of 5 First < 34 5






Ian_Lee -

Atitarev:

Moreover, there is hardly any "brainwashing" against simplified script as you conceive in HK.

In fact, a lot of Mainland printing houses participate in the annual Book Exhibition held in HK.
If there is any kind of "brainwashing" against simplified script as you said, then these
publishers would not bother to participate at all!

And there is even a bookstore that specializes in selling books published in simplified script.
Moreover, many people cross border to Shenzhen just to buy books (because simplified-script books
are cheaper than traditional-script books even though they are of the same content).

Whether HK police needs to learn simplified script is up to their job requirement. As far as I
know it used to be if they can converse in any additional language or dialect, they will receive
extra pay. Back then (before '97) the police had a red color shoulder badge to show that they
could converse in English. But I bet now it is almost a prerequisite.

IMO the HK Customs officials should know simplified script since they have more chance to get into
touch with Made in China products which may have simplified script labels.



Pleco Software Learn Chinese with our Dictionaries for Palm and Pocket PC.
Learn Chinese in China Learn to speak Chinese 1MonthChinese.com -Mandarin School in China.
Chinese Textbooks Wide range, cheap, varied languages. Also Chinese cartoons, toys, gifts.
Study Chinese in Beijing Affordable Mandarin language courses at BLCU with ChinaUnipath.com.
HNHSoft Dictionary Learn Chinese on Smartphone and PDA with real person's voice.
XueXueXue IQChinese Get beyond the plateau.Take your Mandarin to a new level.
Chinese in Lijiang Short term Chinese study in a beautiful town with a focus on daily life.
MandarinTube Chinese Access to current everyday Chinese language and culture, 24/7.
Learn Chinese Homestay Chinese course, cultural activities & volunteer events in China.
Learn Chinese Online 1-on-1 instant tutoring, diverse courses, native teachers. FREE trial now!
Nihao Chinese Progam Free one-on-one Chinese lesson. Win 5-years of free lessons now!


About Ads (and how to hide them) -- Your message here









Mark Yong -



Quote:

Ian_Lee wrote: But how do you define "modern Chinese"?

This thread has clearly illustrated that there can be as many as three different types of
so-called modern Chinese, as exemplified by that of Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong - subtle
as the differences may be.

My best answer to this, and one that can blanket all three of the above into the same general
category of modern Chinese, would be:
1. The 白話文 modern vernacular style of writing based on (but not exclusively) the vocabulary
and grammar of the Northern dialect
2. That which also includes the vernacular writings of the previous centuries, e.g. 紅樓夢,
西遊記, 三國演義 and 水滸傳
3. That had its origins in the Council of 1917, which was adopted as the national written language
to supplant文言文 Classical Chinese.

Of course, there will inevitably be minor divergences over the past century, with influences from
local usage, but the general model is common.










Mark Yong -



Quote:

gato wrote: I doubt HKer and Taiwanese find it hard to read modern Chinese.

For native Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong, I will need to seek the expert opinion of a Hong
Kong resident who has been educated under that system (Ian Lee, perhaps? ):

Do you find a 'gap' between learning a written language that is based on a grammar (and to a
smaller extent, vocabulary), i.e. Mandarin (if one may correctly call it that), that is different
from the spoken language, i.e. Cantonese? If so, are Hong Kong-ers in general consciously aware of
that gap, and how do they reconcile it? In particular, 'speech words' such as 吧, 呢 are
peculiar to Mandarin speech, and alien to the Cantonese dialect - do Hong Kong-ers find it 'weird'
to use them in writing, and are they often consciously aware of it?

I suppose the phenomenon would not be unlike that of pre-modern China, where all Classical Chinese
texts were read exclusively using the pronunciation of the local dialect. (the only difference
being, Classical Chinese stands on more 'neutral' ground than Mandarin. ). I personally am a
proponent for the revival of Classical Chinese as the true model for good Chinese language
writing... but that's a different story, which I have written at lengths in another thread
elsewhere!

Given that Mandarin is more widely used in Taiwan than Hong Kong, I would imagine that this is
less of a problem. Any comments?












All times are GMT +8. The time now is 04:52 PM.














Learn Chinese online, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet