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China’s endangered languages | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| strikingstar Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5178 days ago 292 posts - 444 votes  Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Cantonese, Swahili Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written) | Message 25 of 29 15 January 2011 at 5:57am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Silly me. I posted the wiki link and didn't even read it. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| CheeseInsider Bilingual Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5127 days ago 193 posts - 238 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin* Studies: French, German | Message 26 of 29 16 January 2011 at 1:22am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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There are two arguments I have for the Cantonese language.
On one hand Cantonese is spoken mostly in Hong Kong. It's only a matter of time before Hong Kong loses it's autonomy. I think it's around 50 years before they must become fully integrated into China. But on the other hand, Hong Kong is literally used as a bridge between Taiwan and China. Taiwanese people are not allowed to fly directly into China, they have to fly first to Hong Kong and then second to China. And vice versa. So there is a (tiny tiny) possibility that they would want to keep the Hong Kong region autonomous for this purpose. Other than that I can't think of any other reason why Cantonese would survive. Also, Taiwan is totally autonomous and China has no control over it (Thanks America ^_^). And in Taiwan the people speak Mandarin and Minnan and another dialect I forgot the name of. Yes it's true that Mandarin is used as the language of instruction in school, but learning of Minnan in school is mandatory. So even though most of the newer generations will have Mandarin as a native language, as long as Taiwan is in control of it's school system, Minnan will survive. So I think it's safe to assume that at least one Chinese dialect (or language, whichever you prefer) other than Mandarin won't die out. Ps. I think it would be a tragedy if English became the national language of China... At least with Mandarin, it's still a CHINESE language, thus, more fit to be a national language of CHINA than English. Edited by CheeseInsider on 16 January 2011 at 1:28am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Darklight1216 Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5105 days ago 411 posts - 639 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German | Message 27 of 29 16 January 2011 at 3:15am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Do the children actually learn Minnan? I only ask because "learning Spanish" was manadory for myself and that didn't work ou tso well. They say you can tell if a language has a future by whether or not children speak it. Also, is English anywhere near becoming a major language in China or were you just venting? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| lichtrausch Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5965 days ago 525 posts - 1072 votes Speaks: English*, German, Japanese Studies: Korean, Mandarin | Message 28 of 29 16 January 2011 at 4:19am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
That ban on cross-straight flights was lifted not long ago. People can now fly freely between the mainland and Taiwan. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| CheeseInsider Bilingual Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5127 days ago 193 posts - 238 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin* Studies: French, German | Message 29 of 29 16 January 2011 at 6:51am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Yes, they learn it very well. Partly because their parents and their grandparents speak it. The instruction is also good, at least that's what my family in Taiwan tells me ^_^. There are many ways for them to practice Minnan. For example, there exists a plethora of Minnan songs. Most famous people in general are bilingual, so it's not as if speaking Minnan is an "uncool" thing to do. Tons of shows are dubbed into Minnan too. Half the shows my mom watches I can't understand because they either were dubbed from Mandarin into Minnan, or are Minnan shows that have not been dubbed into Mandarin. Minnan and Mandarin bilingualism is encouraged and in Taiwan, everywhere you go you can speak to people in either language. In fact, I've learned some of it just from osmosis, certainly not to a working level (as I only get to visit in summer) but it just proves how widely used it is. I would go as far as to say that someone who only spoke Minnan could live perfectly fine in Taiwan, which is certainly not the case for English. And I don't know first hand the state of English in China, but I can tell you how it is in Taiwan. Basically, students take some English in highschool, they learn to say Hello, Goodbye, How are you, and that's it. The only place you could live in Taiwan with just speaking English would be near Taipei 101, where some of the staff employed there have a working knowledge of English. I would assume that something like that can be observed in China, where the more international areas have some English speakers. Especially places where a lot of business takes place.
Well, there goes my "Cantonese will survive argument"! Oh well :S Edited by CheeseInsider on 16 January 2011 at 6:58am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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