Edward speaking Hong Kong Cantonese | Sino-Tibetan languages | Wikitongues

Hello everyone, my name is Edward

So I'm a Hongkonger

So today I'm filming this video
to introduce to everyone to

my mother tongue, Yue,
Hong Kong variety Yue,

that is Cantonese spoken by Hongkongers

So actually besides at work,
or sometimes when

chatting with friends from
a different country

I may speak in English

But usually most of the time
I would speak Cantonese

So Hong Kong Cantonese,
compared to other places like

Guangzhou, Malaysia, etc.

There are many differences

So I’ll give you a brief introduction now

So first, Hong Kong Cantonese
has a lot of English loanwords

So in daily life, the ones
most commonly used include

“Bus”, which is bus

Taxi, which is “taxi”

Store, which is “store”

File, which in English is “file”
and so on

So besides loanwords from English,
when Hongkongers speak

a lot of times they will actually
mix in a few English sentences

We speak a blend of Chinese and English

So for example when planning
a meal with a friend

You might need to “book” a table
ahead of time

meaning reserve a table

And when at work, you might talk about
“project” and “deadline”,

working every day
like a “jack” [servant]

And travelling on vacation
is never complete without

going to an “outlet” to go shopping

And in fact there are a lot of other
examples of mixing Chinese and English

but I’ll stop here for now

So lastly, Hong Kong Cantonese
actually uses a lot of words

that are different from
other places that speak Cantonese

I recently saw on the Internet
an article about

Guangzhou and Hong Kong Cantonese
and their difference in vocabulary

So it turns out what Hongkongers
usually call ticket [CE FEI],

in Guangzhou Cantonese is called
ticket [CE PIU]

And Hongkongers will say
swipe card [LUK KAAT]

in Guangzhou Cantonese it is
swipe card [CAAT KAAT]

Hongkongers will say photocopy [JING JAN]

Guangzhou people will say
photocopy [FUK JAN]

Hongkongers will go to class [SOENG TONG]

Guangzhou people will say
go to class [SOENG FO]

What Hongkongers call straw [JAM TUNG]

Guangzhou people will say
straw [KAP GUN]

So there’s a lot more examples

In fact sometimes when you hear
someone speak Cantonese

Their vocabulary will roughly tell you
what region they are from

So Cantonese has a long history

It has its own unique
pronunciation system and vocabulary

so although a lot of people say
it’s difficult to learn Cantonese

but personally I think if you have
a little more patience and time

you will realise Cantonese is actually
pretty fun and interesting

So I hope there will be more of you
who will get to know and learn Cantonese

Together we can pass down
this unique linguistic culture

So okay, I’ll end today’s video here

maybe I’ll see you next time, bye bye!