cantonese
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- honest0
What are your ultimate goals and expectations? Sometimes, the best thing to do is to go a local Chinese community class.
- WeLoveNoise0
well eventually have to learn as much as i can but looking to learn basic communication
tried local community but no joy
- honest0
where in the world are you?
- manchester, ukWeLoveNoise
- was thinking bout buying a book/cd thing. u think it would help ?WeLoveNoise
- akrokdesign0
http://www.rosettastone.com/ - might work.
- looked promising until i saw they only teach mandarinWeLoveNoise
- just tang:erate. lol.akrokdesign
- Orbit0
GFY Ja hai jai
- Which I believe means "Shoe shine boy"Orbit
- lolWeLoveNoise
- honest0
First off, start watching Hong Kong cinema. I mean A LOT OF IT. Make sure the movies are in Cantonese (that helps). This will help with the pronunciation sounds. There are 9 pitch levels in Chinese – both Mandarin and Cantonese.
The writing will be much more difficult. Oriental characters are based upon a memory system. So from youth, you're to practice writing and writing and writing until you remember each character.
Character sets are organised in familys that will help categorise them though so don't fret.
I suggest getting yourself to Chinatown to find a show that has a Chinese-English dictionary with large enough text to read without a magnifying glass. You can get electronic versions, but I think the better ones are in Hong Kong and you'd get ripped off buying one here.
If you haven't already, get some Cantonese friends to start familiarising you with everyday phrases – the basic holiday stuff.
I'm surprised you can't find a local community chinese school, Manchester has by far the largest schools in the country.
- 9 pitch levels? You mean tones, and there're only 4.funkage
- not bothered about writing at this point but will have another with the community. GF is chinese and she is a useless teacherWeLoveNoise
- teacherWeLoveNoise
- WeLoveNoise0
what about a book/cd honest - think its worth the investment ?
- a book with an accompanying tape is good. Look online for language podcasts. You will benefit more from reading and listening to characters so that there will be a memory association between the character you see and how it should sound. Because there are no relations between the visual and the vocal, it needs to be memorised.honest
- honest0
I stand by my original statement, there are 9 levels of 'tone'. Try ordering 3 small bowls of extra spicy beef noodles – typical pronunciation exercise used to get sounds perfect.
- typist0
i speak cantonese!
- was gona email u actually bout it
easy to learn ? not bothere about writing itWeLoveNoise
- was gona email u actually bout it
- typist0
not as easy as mandarin for a foriegner, the pitch and tone for cnatonese is faster and higher, also cantonese is evolving pretty fast, always have new slang and combinmation coming up every now and then, your girl freind speak cantonese as well? do speak to her everyday in cantonese, little by little, yea, see more canronese movie, so you can feel the tone and speed,
you can start from here, http://cantonese.ca/
let me know if you need some help- cheers mate
her cantonese isnt great - she knows enough and her parents know whats she trying to say half the time.WeLoveNoise - half the timeWeLoveNoise
- she is a designer as well?typist
- no worse - marketing manager !!!!WeLoveNoise
- endless arguments that why i wana know what the fuck shes saying to me in chinese.WeLoveNoise
- lol already know what puckguy is :)WeLoveNoise
- well, say "chu hei!" to her next timetypist
- grauntee you hv a slap and no sex for a week at leasttypist
- LOL
whats it mean ?WeLoveNoise - chu as in swine
hei as in cunttypist - try call her "lo pau jai"
probably get you bj and some hot mama love tonite, : )typist - haha sweeeeeeeetWeLoveNoise
- lo pau jai means ???? i love u maybeWeLoveNoise
- means "my lovely little wife"
i love you is "or oi lei "typist
- cheers mate