What are the differences between mandarin and cantonese a complete comparison between two most spoken chinese varieties. Nov 22, 2018 what is the difference between mandarin and cantonese. A summary jmft october 21, 2015 this short essay is intended to summarise the similarities and di erences between cantonese and mandarin. The grammar in cantonese is much harder than mandarin grammar by using more particles, which makes it harder for nonnative speakers to learn. They are obviously very closely related and share a lot of vocabulary, but intelligibility is. Cantonese tones, pingyam systems, and the difference between mandarin and cantonese all of which you can actually read on amazon for free using the look inside function. Differences between cantonese and mandarin writing. There are differences in vocabulary and grammar as well. Yes mandarin is more commonly spoken, but cantonese is just as equally a part of the chinese language.
Actually, chinese grammar is much easier than chinese pronunciation and chinese characters. When using the verb to give in cantonese, the direct object the book precedes the indirect. Best chinese grammar book for beginner and intermediate students. I think the difference between cantonese and mandarin is more like the difference between english and swedish. The following cantonese grammatical points are not found in mandarin chinese. But there are significant differences between spoken cantonese grammar and mandarin. Written mandarin should come second, as a natural second language. Though there are some differences in vocabulary and grammar, native speakers can often contextually interpret those differences. The most common variants of the chinese language are mandarin and cantonese. Is there a difference between written cantonese and mandarin. A comprehensive grammar is a complete reference guide to cantonese as spoken by native speakers in hong kong. Check out these four basic chinese grammar patterns, and you will be able to make a lot of chinese sentences. Snow wrote that the different vocabulary systems are the main difference between written mandarin and written cantonese. Finally, the last big difference between the two is the lack of written cantonese.
Naturally, some knowledge of mandarin can be helpful in learning cantonese, but one cannot assume that it is simply a matter of learning a new pronunciation for the same language, or a new set of. Mandarin has some of its own slang anyway that isnt used in cantonese, or would just sound outright weird. Aug 20, 20 so the difference between mando and canto has a lot to do with the register. Differences between mandarin and cantonese ltl mandarin school. Formal written cantonese is pretty much the same as written mandarin, if the written piece is to be respected or serious. If youve recently started learning chinese, its a good idea to make sure youre familiar with these points. Is mandarin grammar different to cantonese grammar. What is the difference between mandarin and cantonese. What people call chinese is actually the written version of vernacular mandarin, or written putonghua. You generally wont see this in books but they do exist. The difference between the enumeration comma and the regular comma can be seen in the following example. Do chinese languages have grammar and how different are. In this case, writing in vernacular cantonese will look different from writing in vernacular mandarin, because of slight differences in grammar, vocabulary, etc.
Regarding standards of written chinese declining in hk, personally i think the priority should be knowing proper. But that is not the case since there are several versions of spoken chinese. Because they have different pronunciation, grammar and lexicon, the two. When they hear a person from china speaking, they immediately say that the person is. It is a known fact that a language may vary, especially how it is spoken, depending on the region where the language is used. Hence to learn cantonese effectively one needs to pay attention to its grammar. Heres an example of different word order in cantonese vs.
If you need to get your documents translated into chinese, or wish to learn this language, or just interested in knowing a little bit more about its linguistic facts, you might already be aware of or confused by its two major versions. Its no surprise that cantonese and mandarin adhere to their own set of grammar rules. This book uses yale cantonese romanization which is the most intuitive romanization system for native english speakers. My sister said that mandarin is the language, and chinese is nationality, and. Naturally, some knowledge of mandarin can be helpful in learning cantonese, but one cannot assume that it is simply a matter of learning a new pronunciation for the same language, or a new set of vocabulary to go with the same grammar. They are obviously very closely related and share a lot of vocabulary, but intelligibility is pretty much zero. I refer, of course to the notorious cantonese classifiers. English is a polysyllabic, nontonal languages whereas chinese is mostly a monosyllabic, tonal language.
As nouns the difference between putonghua and mandarin is that putonghua is while mandarin is historical a high government bureaucrat of the chinese empire or mandarin can be a mandarin orange. Technically mandarin and cantonese are just different spoken dialects of the same language but there are actually characters for spoken cantonese used in comic books and other unofficial writing basically just homophones of official characters. Mandarin is spoken in the mainland and cantonese is spoken in hong kong and. Apr 10, 2017 introduction so far, weve covered some of the more basic structural elements in cantonese. The difference between chinese and korean people, and their culture, is difficult to discern by other nationalities due to the fact that everyone sees the overall asian appearance as a measure of origin. Whats the difference between mandarin and cantonese. When a book written in mandarin is published in hong kong, or vice versa, there obviously has to be a different version, because one uses traditional characters and the other simplified. English and german belong to same language branch but the difference is more significant.
Is cantonese grammar different from mandarin grammar. Technically mandarin and cantonese are just different spoken dialects of the same language but there are actually characters for spoken cantonese used in comic books. Ouyang shan made a corpusbased estimate concluding that one third of the lexical items used in regular cantonese speech do not exist in mandarin, but that between the formal registers the differences were smaller. Many people think that chinese is just one language. The fundamental differences between english and cantonese is just like the differences between european languages and chinese languages. The differences between mandarin and cantonese by a. Aug 06, 2016 the fundamental differences between english and cantonese is just like the differences between european languages and chinese languages. Kok and parker pofei huang developed and published the yale system for their book, speak cantonese in 1958. Cantonese and mandarin is up there on a 70% difference in vocabulary usage, and this figure does not include the occasional differences in grammar. Jul 06, 2018 since mandarin chinese is applicable to every part of china, even in the south, the overwhelming trend in asia and abroad is to learn mandarin chinese for your future benefit. However, there are certain peculiarities to each dialect. Feb 29, 2012 between cantonese and mandarin, they are about as different as italian and french.
Differences between mandarin and cantonese ltl school. Though there are some differences in vocabulary and grammar, native. Because mandarin is based on northern chinas language which didnt use to. Chinese grammar articles covering mandarin chinese from beginner to advanced level. Chinese grammar levels a1 10 basic chinese grammar points for beginners 1400 words 21 minutes here are ten basic chinese grammar points that everyone interested in the language should know. Although the chinese spoken in hong kong is cantonese, they write in the same way as in. Whats the difference between cantonese and mandarin just published this article today. Chinese is spoken by over a billion of the worlds population, but whats the difference between mandarin chinese and cantonese. Korean vs japanese vs chinese, ever wonder what the similarities and differences are between these three languages and how should we go about learning them. So the difference between mando and canto has a lot to do with the register.
So, the next time one of your friends asks whats the difference between chinese and mandarin. In fact, its required that all government documents in hong kong be written in formal chinese, meaning its the same as mandarin, and not colloquial cantonese. Between cantonese and mandarin, they are about as different as italian and french. But this is one of the rare occasions where grammar gets a little messy. Nov 14, 2018 the grammar is also different between cantonese and mandarin, though not dramatically so. Regarding standards of written chinese declining in hk, personally i think the priority should be knowing proper cantonese, since its the language of hong kong. It presents a fresh and accessible description of the language, concentrating. In mandarin verbs of giving, an indirect object precedes a direct object. Difference between mandarin and cantonese compare the. Whats the difference between chinese mandarin and cantonese. Mandarin has only four tones per sound, while cantonese has six to nine tones.
Now, lets look at some of the similarities and differences between mandarin and cantonese. Schools in hong kong are mainly taught in cantonese. First, mandarin is widely spoken in all parts of china. The enumeration comma is used to separate list items. Formal written cantonese is pretty much the same as written mandarin, if the written piece is to be respected or. The direct object precedes the indirect object when using the verb. Both have a svo sentence structure, but structure varies with direct objects and comparisons. This can be done pretty easily by computers, with perhaps a swift check by a human editor to make sure there a. In formal written documents, cantonese and mandarin are the same. Differences between mandarin and cantonese ltl mandarin.
As nouns the difference between putonghua and mandarin is that putonghua is while mandarin is historical a high government bureaucrat of the chinese empire or. The grammar book also has great introductory information about topics mentioned above. Its best to know both spoken cantonese and written chinese to really progress in cantonese. A notable difference between cantonese and mandarin is how the spoken word is written. Northern chinese, also known as mandarin, is the mother tongue of about 70% of chinese speakers and is the accepted written language for all chinese. The difference between written and spoken chinese facts about. The grammar is also different between cantonese and mandarin, though not dramatically so. Another major difference between mandarin and cantonese is the pronunciation. Its not as popular nowadays but its still used by many older textbooks. As an international translation agency were regularly asked about translation into mandarin and cantonese, but the differences. Cantonese comprehensive grammar 2nd routledge comprehensive. Know three main differences between mandarin and cantonese.
Jul 21, 2012 cantonese and mandarin is up there on a 70% difference in vocabulary usage, and this figure does not include the occasional differences in grammar. It presents a fresh and accessible description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in current cantonese. The written form of both mandarin and cantonese are very similar, except in hong kong traditional chinese characters are used instead of simplified. How to describe differences between cantonese and mandarin. The second issue is that cantonese does not make the difference between long and short vowels that is found in english. Cantonese and mandarin are chinese languages, just as french and italian are european languages. So what are the main differences between chinese mandarin and. The difference between mandarin chinese and cantonese esl.
Even though most chinese people speak a minority chinese dialect, they mostly use it at home and within their own community and will use mandarin or cantonese to communicate with people outside of. And so far, weve seen that as long as you understand these principles, you can start producing natural sounding, and more importantly, correct sentences. Is there a difference between written cantonese and. Zhan 1988 gives correspondences for dialects of guanghou and hong kong. In a way, there are some similarities and you isolate certain words, but overall vocabulary, grammar and. Whats the difference between chinese, mandarin and. So, lets look at some of the main differences between cantonese and mandarin. Comparing and contrasting the english and chinese language. When people say do you speak chinese, or im learning chinese, theyre normally referring to a specific type. Whats the difference between chinese, mandarin and cantonese. Mar 15, 2020 in this article, were going to look at four of the most recommended chinese grammar books for beginner and intermediate students. Ouyang shan made a corpusbased estimate concluding that one third of the. Ouyang 1993 gives guangzhou cantonese to mandarin correspondences. For mandarin speakers to understand your cantonese writing 100% of the time, you would be required to write cantonese in mandarin grammar.
As two major languages spoken in china, the difference between mandarin and cantonese is very interesting topic to a linguist. Zeng 1986 gives correspondences between cantonese, mandarin, and. The core grammar of standard mandarin and cantonese is very similar, with the main differences between the two forms of chinese actually being in their pronunciation and vocabulary. Essentially, cantonese is just a local dialect, and when cantonese people write proper, the grammar, vocab, sentence structuring are all based on the mandarin language even though a different version of character is used. There is approximately a 50% difference in vocabulary words between cantonese and mandarin. The first is that cantonese contains only 7 of the 12 or so vowel sounds found in english so you will need to teach completely new sounds to your students. History of english origin of english language romans leave britain brought latin language words such as. In a way, there are some similarities and you isolate certain words, but overall vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation differ greatly. Even though most chinese people speak a minority chinese dialect, they mostly use it at home and within their own community and will use mandarin or cantonese to communicate with people outside of those communities. Mandarin and cantonese fall into the former, referring to the two most common verbal dialects in china.
Children in china are taught mandarin in school and mandarin is the language for national tv and radio so fluency is fast increasing. Because they have different pronunciation, grammar and lexicon, the two languages sound totally different. Zeng 1986 gives correspondences between cantonese, mandarin, and english. What are some of the biggest differences in grammar and syntax, not pronunciation and vocabulary, between chinese.
This book uses yale cantonese romanization which is the. There is also a difference between mandarin and cantonese in the placement of the adverbs. I asked my family what is the difference between chinese and mandarin. Standard chinese, also known as modern standard mandarin, standard mandarin, modern standard mandarin chinese msmc, or simply mandarin, is a standard variety of chinese that is one of the. Since 1995 our family has been using this cantonese grammar, beginning with the 1st edition. There are five distinguishing factors between cantonese vs. As chinese itself isnt clear which dialect you mean. Cantonese is an analytic language in which the arrangement of words in a sentence is important to its meaning.
However, some differences in their grammar do exist. When they hear a person from china speaking, they immediately say that the person is speaking in chinese. However, it is one of the five major languages in mainland china that also includes cantonese language. Mandarin and cantonese may both be chinese, but they are not spoken in the same places. This also highlights one of the differences between cantonese and mandarin, if youre studying both. The poster who compared the difference to american and british english is totally wrong. The mandarin name of the enumeration comma is dun hao. Before we begin its important to note that there are two forms of language in china the spoken language and the written language. If you need to get your documents translated into chinese. Mar 10, 2019 the enumeration comma is used to separate list items. May 20, 20 the first is that cantonese contains only 7 of the 12 or so vowel sounds found in english so you will need to teach completely new sounds to your students. Both languages are being pronounced differently even if they use almost the same written characters and some exceptions of course. What are the differences between the cantonese and mandarin.
There is not one single chinese language, but many different versions or dialects including wu, cantonese and taiwanese. Youll see it in gossip magazines and newspaper articles, comic books, advertisements. Learn all about the differences between these two languages. Improve your chinese with expert explanations and highquality chinese example sentences. Difference between chinese and korean difference between. Lesson 4 the definitive guide to cantonese classifiers. Both languages are being pronounced differently even if they use almost the same written characters and. It is a short dash going from top left to bottom right. What are the fundamental linguistic differences between. A comprehensive grammar is an extremely helpful resource. There are many more speakers of mandarin than there are of cantonese. A teach yourself guide by hugh baker is a great book to get started with when you want to learn cantonese. How can you tell the difference between cantonese and mandarin.
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