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Cantonese input material

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Cowlegend999
Groupie
CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5145 days ago

72 posts - 94 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Mandarin, Cantonese

 
 Message 1 of 14
27 December 2010 at 1:18am | IP Logged 
Hi! I am currently going through the teach yourself course to try and learn Cantonese. I am still definitely at
a beginner level. Through reading this forum I always see people talk about the importance of listening to
the language and being exposed to it. First of all, should I listen to random Cantonese songs, and watch
random movies in Cantonese or should I only listen to stuff that I can understand atleast some of? Next,
does anybody know anywhere I can download free songs in Cantonese (would songs for 4 year olds be
better since they would use simple vocabulary, I wouldn't know where to get any though) and free
Cantonese movies and tv shows (including kids shows if they would benefit me more until I can start to
understand actual movies)? Finally, when I listen to the music do I need to be actively listening or can I just
listen to Cantonese music for almost the whole day without paying much attention (example using the
computer, in the car etc. like I would listen to my normal music) thanks for your help, and if anyone has any
other advice, even if it's completely off topic (but it will help me in some way), I would greatly appreciate it
1 person has voted this message useful



WANNABEAFREAK
Diglot
Senior Member
Hong Kong
cantonese.hk
Joined 6828 days ago

144 posts - 185 votes 
1 sounds
Speaks: English*, Cantonese
Studies: French

 
 Message 2 of 14
27 December 2010 at 3:35am | IP Logged 
Don't listen to music. It's not using spoken language and you'll not benefit.

I can speak very very fluent Cantonese and understand nearly everything 99.9% of what people say to me or what I hear on TV. But when it comes to music, I only can get like 15% or some small number. Simply because it is not spoken and they are singing in written language.

I believe cantoneseclass101.com is pretty good from what I've seen.
4 persons have voted this message useful



Cowlegend999
Groupie
CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5145 days ago

72 posts - 94 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Mandarin, Cantonese

 
 Message 3 of 14
27 December 2010 at 4:58am | IP Logged 
WANNABEAFREAK wrote:
Don't listen to music. It's not using spoken language and you'll not benefit.

I can speak very very fluent Cantonese and understand nearly everything 99.9% of what people say to me
or what I hear on TV. But when it comes to music, I only can get like 15% or some small number. Simply
because it is not spoken and they are singing in written language.

I believe cantoneseclass101.com is pretty good from what I've seen.

Oh ok I didn't know that it was that difficult to understand singing in Cantonese. Do you know anywhere I
can download free tv shows/movies in Cantonese? How did u become very very fluent in Cantonese; what
did you use from when you were a beginner to your current level? Thanks
1 person has voted this message useful



WANNABEAFREAK
Diglot
Senior Member
Hong Kong
cantonese.hk
Joined 6828 days ago

144 posts - 185 votes 
1 sounds
Speaks: English*, Cantonese
Studies: French

 
 Message 4 of 14
27 December 2010 at 8:49am | IP Logged 
Cowlegend999 wrote:

Oh ok I didn't know that it was that difficult to understand singing in Cantonese. Do you know anywhere I
can download free tv shows/movies in Cantonese? How did u become very very fluent in Cantonese; what
did you use from when you were a beginner to your current level? Thanks


I live in Hong Kong, so I don't know where you can get free shows and movies as it's all free for me here. How I became fluent? on the left side under my user handle is my website blog, you can read about what I did to get fluent and even watch me talk :-)

What I used to go from beginner to my current level? Well lots and lots of input. You can also read about all this on my blog.

Yes, singing is not even the same language as spoken. I can't even imagine any of the vocab from songs is helpful in any situation of daily life being at work or watching the tv.
1 person has voted this message useful



pfn123
Senior Member
Australia
Joined 5084 days ago

171 posts - 291 votes 
Speaks: English*

 
 Message 5 of 14
27 December 2010 at 9:46am | IP Logged 
Hi. This is my first post on the forum, so forgive any errors...

I plan to study Cantonese in the coming year, so I'm getting my resources in order. I think input is important, especially for a language so different from English. Like you Cowlegend999, I've got Teach Yourself. But I've edited the the tracks so I have each dialogue as an mp3, without English and without long pauses. Every day when I go for a walk, I'll listen again and again to these. I'll still use the full tracks with English to use with the textbook, but it's good to have just the dialogues on their own as well.

Also, I've got Sidney Lau's Elementary Cantonese Vols 1&2. These seem like they present structures and vocabulary that are immediately useful, though they are a little dry. Unfortunately, they do not come with audio. And input is important. But you can download the audio here:

http://cid-c9a3db8e36b1648f.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Si dney%20Lau%20Cantonese?sa=67197709

They are definitely not studio-produced recordings. I think a Cantonese learner just got his friend or tutor or whomever to record the sentences. Still, they will be useful.

I have found -- and expect Cantonese will be no different for me next year -- that using the ears before the eyes brings better all-round results. So I'll listen listen listen... and listen :D

Cowlegend999, I hope you keep up the Cantonese.Let me know if you want my edited TY dialogues. All the best.
3 persons have voted this message useful



clumsy
Octoglot
Senior Member
Poland
lang-8.com/6715Registered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5179 days ago

1116 posts - 1367 votes 
Speaks: Polish*, English, Japanese, Korean, French, Mandarin, Italian, Vietnamese
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swedish
Studies: Danish, Dari, Kirundi

 
 Message 6 of 14
27 December 2010 at 1:30pm | IP Logged 
Well, on tudou they have some anime with CAntonese dubbing, just search ofr 粤語
2 persons have voted this message useful



qiaochan
Newbie
Hong Kong
Joined 5077 days ago

1 posts - 1 votes
Speaks: Cantonese*
Studies: Japanese, German

 
 Message 7 of 14
01 January 2011 at 6:16am | IP Logged 
As a native Cantonese speaker, I can tell the language used in the lyrics of the pop song is not in general same as the spoken language we use everyday. TV dramas definitely resemble much more to (and actually do influence) our spoken language.

The lyrics are at best the Written Chinese pronounced in Cantonese pronunciation (Yes, the characters in Written Chinese has Cantonese pronunciation and it is the way we read out the Chinese written material),

Edited by qiaochan on 01 January 2011 at 6:50am

1 person has voted this message useful



Snowflake
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5960 days ago

1032 posts - 1233 votes 
Studies: Mandarin

 
 Message 8 of 14
01 January 2011 at 6:46am | IP Logged 
http://www.mysoju.com/ has some free Hong Kong dramas toward the bottom of the page. The dramas and movies on that site generally have English subtitles. Good luck!

Edited by Snowflake on 01 January 2011 at 7:09am



2 persons have voted this message useful



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