Colloquial Cantonese
The Complete Course for Beginners
Dana Scott Bourgerie, Keith S T Tong, Gregory James
- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Colloquial Cantonese
The Complete Course for Beginners
Dana Scott Bourgerie, Keith S T Tong, Gregory James
About This Book
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..
Frequently asked questions
Information
Unit One
GÄaujai
In Unit 1 you will learn about: âą introducing yourself and others âą greeting people âą enquiring about someone âą the verbs âto beâ and âcanâ âą forming negative statements âą forming choice-type questions and questions with question-words âą naming conventions, names of countries, languages, and nationalities |
Dialogue 1 |
(Audio 1; 12) John and Carmen are at a gathering of the Cantonese Studentsâ Club, where foreigners learning Cantonese meet and practice their Cantonese. Carmen is talking to Richard. |
CARMEN: | NĂ©ih hĂłu, ngĂłh haih Carmen. |
RICHARD: | Néih hóu, Carmen. Ngóh haih Richard. Carmen, néih haih bīndouh yà hn a? |
CARMEN: | NgĂłh haih NĂĄusÄilĂ ahn yĂ hn. |
RICHARD: | O, nĂ©ih haih NĂĄusÄilĂ ahn yĂ hn. |
CARMEN: | GĂĄm nĂ©ih nÄ, Richard? |
RICHARD: | NgĂłh haih MĂ©ihgwok yĂ hn. |
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. |
JOHN: | NĂ©ih hĂłu. NgĂłh giujouh John. NĂ©ih giu mÄtyĂ©h mĂ©ng a? |
EMILY: | NĂ©ih hĂłu. NgĂłh giujouh Emily. Haih nÄ, John, nĂ©ih haih-mh-haih YÄ«nggwok yĂ hn a? |
JOHN: | Mhaih. NgĂłh haih OujÄu yĂ hn. NgĂłh sÄ«k gĂłng YÄ«ngmĂĄn tĂčhng DÄkmĂĄn. |
EMILY: | NgĂłh haih GÄnĂ hdaaih yĂ hn. NgĂłh sÄ«k gĂłng YÄ«ngmĂĄn tĂčhng sĂusĂu FaatmĂĄn. |
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. |
CARMEN: | DĂĄng ngĂłh lĂših gaaisiuh. NÄ«go haih Grace. NÄ« go haih John. |
GRACE: | NĂ©ih hĂłu, John. |
JOHN: | NĂ©ih hĂłu, Grace. |
CARMEN: | Grace haih YahtbĂșn yĂ hn. KĂ©uih sÄ«k gĂłng YahtmĂĄn, YÄ«ngmĂĄn tĂčhng PĂłutĆ«ngwĂĄ. |
JOHN: | NgĂłh tĂčhng Carmen sÄ«k gĂłng sĂusĂu GwĂłngdĆngwĂĄ, bÄtgwo ngĂłhdeih msÄ«k gĂłng PĂłutĆ«ngwĂĄ. Haih nÄ, chĂ©hng mahn Grace nĂ©ih gwai sing a? |
GRACE: | NgĂłh 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... |