Colloquial Cantonese

The Complete Course for Beginners

Dana Scott Bourgerie, Keith S T Tong, Gregory James

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317305552
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Colloquial Cantonese: The Complete Course for Beginners has been carefully developed by an experienced teacher to provide a step-by-step course to Cantonese as it is written and spoken today. Combining a clear, practical and accessible style with a methodical and thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Cantonese in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. Colloquial Cantonese is exceptional; each unit presents a wealth of grammatical points that are reinforced with a wide range of exercises for regular practice. A full answer key, a grammar summary, bilingual glossaries and English translations of dialogues can be found at the back as well as useful vocabulary lists throughout. Key features include: A clear, user-friendly format designed to help learners progressively build up their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills Jargon-free, succinct and clearly structured explanations of grammar An extensive range of focused and dynamic supportive exercises Realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of narrative situations Helpful cultural points explaining the customs and features of life in Hong Kong?An overview of the sounds of Cantonese Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Cantonese is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Cantonese. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills..

Unit One

Gāaujai

Meeting people

In Unit 1 you will learn about: • introducing yourself and others • greeting people • enquiring about someone • the verbs “to be” and “can” • forming negative statements • forming choice-type questions and questions with question-words • naming conventions, names of countries, languages, and nationalities

Dialogue 1

(Audio 1; 12) John and Carmen are at a gathering of the Cantonese Students’ Club, where foreigners learning Cantonese meet and practice their Cantonese. Carmen is talking to Richard.

(a) What country does Carmen come from?

(b) What country does Richard come from?

CARMEN:	Néih hóu, ngóh haih Carmen.
RICHARD:	Néih hóu, Carmen. Ngóh haih Richard. Carmen, néih haih bīndouh yàhn a?
CARMEN:	Ngóh haih Náusāilàahn yàhn.
RICHARD:	O, néih haih Náusāilàahn yàhn.
CARMEN:	Gám néih nē, Richard?
RICHARD:	Ngóh haih Méihgwok yàhn.
CARMEN:	How are you? I am Carmen.
RICHARD:	How are you, Carmen? I am Richard. Where are you from?
CARMEN:	I am a New Zealander.
RICHARD:	Oh, you are a New Zealander.
CARMEN:	And how about you, Richard?
RICHARD:	I am an American.

Dialogue 2

(Audio 1; 14) John is talking to Emily.

(a) Where does John come from?

(b) What languages does he speak?

(c) Where does Emily come from?

(d) What languages does she speak?

JOHN:	Néih hóu. Ngóh giujouh John. Néih giu mātyéh méng a?
EMILY:	Néih hóu. Ngóh giujouh Emily. Haih nē, John, néih haih-mh-haih Yīnggwok yàhn a?
JOHN:	Mhaih. Ngóh haih Oujāu yàhn. Ngóh sīk góng Yīngmán tùhng Dākmán.
EMILY:	Ngóh haih Gānàhdaaih yàhn. Ngóh sīk góng Yīngmán tùhng síusíu Faatmán.
JOHN:	How are you? My name is John. What is your name?
EMILY:	How are you? My name is Emily. By the way, John, you are English, right?
JOHN:	No, I am Australian. I speak English and German.
EMILY:	I am Canadian. I speak English and a little French.

Dialogue 3

(Audio 1; 16) Carmen is introducing her friend Grace to John.

(a) Where does Grace come from?

(b) What languages can she speak?

CARMEN:	Dáng ngóh lèih gaaisiuh. Nīgo haih Grace. Nī go haih John.
GRACE:	Néih hóu, John.
JOHN:	Néih hóu, Grace.
CARMEN:	Grace haih Yahtbún yàhn. Kéuih sīk góng Yahtmán, Yīngmán tùhng Póutūngwá.
JOHN:	Ngóh tùhng Carmen sīk góng síusíu Gwóngdōngwá, bātgwo ngóhdeih msīk góng Póutūngwá. Haih nē, chéhng mahn Grace néih gwai sing a?
GRACE:	Ngóh sing Sawada.
CARMEN:	Let me make an introduction. This is Grace. This is John.
GRACE:	How are you, John?
JOHN:	How are you, Grace?
CARMEN:	Grace is Japanese. She speaks Japanese, English, and Mandarin.
JOHN:	Carmen...