For Chinese bros

[anthrax]

Since Mandarin and Cantonese use the same writing system, how come they don't understand each other (oral language) ?

 

[super_rice]

because bros that speak cantonese are retards (actually, i speak both and don't really see why people can't understand both)

 

[perkele]

Since Mandarin and Cantonese use the same writing system, how come they don't understand each other (oral language) ?

I see this bothers you deeply.

 

[BrothaBill]

Dont urinate in my coke!

 

[anthrax]

I see this bothers you deeply.

Trully, this question prevents me from sleeping

Don't you want to fell smarter (when you read the explanation) than you were before reading this thread ?

 

[jaded]

I don't know... I'm Chinese but don't speak any Chinese.

 

[anthrax]

I don't know... I'm Chinese but don't speak any Chinese.

I work with both (cantonese and Mandarin speaking colleagues) and when we go to the restaurant they can both translate the chinese menu in english but only the Mandarin speakers can order

 

[perkele]

Trully, this question prevents me from sleeping

Don't you want to fell smarter (when you read the explanation) than you were before reading this thread ?

Hong tong li nao tsu. Sure.

 

[wootoom]

i hate the sound of hondas when they put the fart cans on there car

 

[theoak01]

in mandarin doesnt how long you hold a certain part of a word completely change its meaning.

 

[EnderJE]

I'm not Chinese, nor do I speak it.

 

[jackangel]

mods please lock this racist thread, thank you

 

[Moderate_THIS]

Wow. So only two of the four Candadians in this thread are Chinese.

I guess Wotoom and Ender must be Korean.

 

[The Red Dragon]

It's a very sensitive language, lotsa homonyms (just a different pronounciation will change the meaning), thats because the words are monosyllabic.

I can't speak Mandarin or Cantonese (I do speak a very rare dialect). The written language is the same.
I'd rather learn Mandarin though, its the official language of the country. Cantonese is just used in Canton (Hong Kong and its periphery).

Not only are the Chinese people Canadian here, but we're all Torontonians in this thread lol.

 

[Mastardo]

The chinese writing system is most grammatically similar to spoken mandarin. When a cantonese speaker writes chinese he'll either use a hybrid grammar including some of the aspects of spoken cantonese and even some cantonese specific characters, or he'll just use mandarin-like grammar and characters. Some of the characters in written chinese are rarely spoken by cantonese (or other dialect) speakers yet they generally have ways to pronounce such characters in their dialect.

 

[Mastardo]

Mandarin and cantonese are more similar than english and spanish.
Mandarin: ni hao ma
Cantonese: l/nei hou ma
I can speak cantonese and I can have dialogues wth mandarin speakers while they speak mandarin and I speak a cantonese-mandarin hybrid.

 

[SoreArms]

White Power!

 

[jackangel]

White Power!

nice try sanchez

 

[SoreArms]

nice try sanchez

oombelly belly

 

[jackangel]

oombelly belly

buwada buwada

 

[Mastardo]

To answer the question actually (in a simplified way):

Almost all of the languages spoken in East Asia come from 4 languge families originating from within what is now China. People of SE Asia were replaced thousands of years ago by people most similar to Chinese people and those 4 language families spread. Chinese is mainly in the sino tibetan language family and obviously regional variation caused differentiation among the dialects (for instance in canton province rice became more important than in Beijing and thus the two languages diverged in kind - many examples like this). Beijing was the political center of China and thus the standardized writing system and spoken language came from Beijing.

 

[SoreArms]

buwada buwada

lol

You must spread some Karma around before giving it to jackangel again.

 

[anthrax]

To answer the question actually (in a simplified way):

Almost all of the languages spoken in East Asia come from 4 languge families originating from within what is now China. People of SE Asia were replaced thousands of years ago by people most similar to Chinese people and those 4 language families spread. Chinese is mainly in the sino tibetan language family and obviously regional variation caused differentiation among the dialects (for instance in canton province rice became more important than in Beijing and thus the two languages diverged in kind - many examples like this). Beijing was the political center of China and thus the standardized writing system and spoken language came from Beijing.

Thanks for the explanations