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Is Mandarin worthless in Hong Kong? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5828 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 18 31 May 2012 at 3:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've heard that if you live in Hong Kong and ever really want to integrate into local society and live outside the expat bubble, then Cantonese is an absolute must.
Likewise, if you want to find work in Hong Kong that isn't just aimed at expat workers, then a decent command of Cantonese is a neccessity and a decent command of Mandarin doesn't account for much in Hong Kong, possibly even less than English. Is this true or is this an underestimation of the usefulness of Mandarin in Hong Kong? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| eggcluck Senior Member China Joined 4698 days ago 168 posts - 278 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin, Japanese | Message 2 of 18 31 May 2012 at 4:00pm | IP Logged | ||
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Madarin is usefull in Hong Kong. I have been there I have used it. Of course the local dialect would be more benificial.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Camundonguinho Triglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 4746 days ago 273 posts - 500 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Spanish Studies: Swedish | Message 3 of 18 31 May 2012 at 4:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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Most foreign companies have sites only in English and Cantonese (in traditional characters), for example
the site of Canon Hong Kong. So, Mandarin in simplified characters is not promoted. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| nway Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/Vic Joined 5412 days ago 574 posts - 1707 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean | Message 4 of 18 31 May 2012 at 4:50pm | IP Logged | ||
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Aside from English, it's hard to think of a more useful second language anywhere in the world than Mandarin in Hong Kong.
Nowadays, more commonly asked (by expats) is the question, "Is Cantonese worthless in Hong Kong?". (Not that I'm suggesting you make a thread about that, too..) Edited by nway on 31 May 2012 at 4:52pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Tropi Diglot Groupie Austria Joined 5428 days ago 67 posts - 87 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 5 of 18 31 May 2012 at 5:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think it's out of question, that Mandarin is beneficial in Hong Kong, but in order to "integrate into local society and live outside the expat bubble". I personally don't think the statement made above is an exaggeration, but then again, every region has a dominant language, and if you don't speak it you are an outsider. Edited by Tropi on 31 May 2012 at 5:40pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5828 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes Speaks: English* | Message 6 of 18 31 May 2012 at 5:42pm | IP Logged | ||
Would you say Mandarin is more useful than English? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| versuss Pentaglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5371 days ago 20 posts - 25 votes Speaks: Taiwanese, Cantonese, Mandarin*, English, Malay Studies: French, Japanese, Esperanto | Message 7 of 18 31 May 2012 at 6:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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If your goal is to integrate into local society, then Mandarin is virtually useless.
Most of the people in Hong Kong only learn it for business purpose. In fact, most of them even struggle to speak a word or two. You shouldn't expect a local will speak Mandarin with you, especially when you're a Caucasian. It would be as weird as speaking Spanish to a French. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| nway Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/Vic Joined 5412 days ago 574 posts - 1707 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean | Message 8 of 18 31 May 2012 at 7:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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About 28 million mainlanders visited Hong Kong last year. By comparison, Hong Kong has a population of 7 million.
Certainly Cantonese is the language of choice of Hong Kongers—but Hong Kong doesn't just consist of Hong Kongers. 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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