Mandarian Or Cantonese?

United States
February 8, 2008 5:20pm CST
To Chinese friends Happy belated New Year. Question. Which do you speak,Mandarian or Cantonese?Is one easier than the other? I always wanted to know. Thanks.
3 responses
• China
16 May 09
Hi,friend.I am a chinese and i can give you some information.You know china is big and we do have thousands of dialects.In order to make communications easier,we selected mandarian as the public language of china.Cantonese is only spoken by people in Hongkong and some other places in Guangdong province.It's just one dialect which is very hard for the rest chinese to understand.Mandarian is absolutely the dominent language and is growing stronger and stronger.The so-called chinese is Mandarian.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 May 09
Thanks for your help. Can you understand Cantonese?
• China
17 May 09
I hardly understand Cantonese.It's easier for me to communicate with Americans than the people who can only speak Cantonese.
@greenline (14838)
• Canada
16 May 09
Hello Sarah. I travel to the Far East quite often on my business trips, and I wanted to learn Chinese language too. I tried it once to learn Mandarin, but no success ! I failed in the final exam ! LOL !
1 person likes this
• United States
16 May 09
Bummer. At least you tried. I would have learned hello, goodbye, please , thank you and most of all do you speak English in Mandarin and that's it.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
9 Feb 08
i am neither mandarain nor cantonese, but know many people that are from asia. i have tried to learn mandarin (it is very difficult) and these same people that have taught me mandarin tell me that cantonese is a dying language, whether that is true, i don't know.
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Feb 08
Thanks for responding. I am sad to hear that Cantonese is dying out.