Bill Powers wrote:
[From Bill Powers (2005.08.02.0743 MDT)]
This is very interesting Bill, and helpful in understanding the different "parts" in language learning.
But, I curious about whether your work is in preparation for CSG06 in Guangzhou, or for a brouder scope in Chinese. I think I've heard that Guangzhou is in the south, so do they speak Mandarin, or Cantonese around there? And how different are the dialects?
Best,
Dick R.
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[From Bill Powers (2005.08.02.1323 MDT)]
Dick Robertson (2005.08.02.1159) --
But, I curious about whether your work is in preparation for CSG06 in Guangzhou, or for a brouder scope in Chinese. I think I've heard that Guangzhou is in the south, so do they speak Mandarin, or Cantonese around there? And how different are the dialects?
I'm not planning to move to China, if that's what you're asking about. I hope to be able to greet our hosts in good Mandarin with a very short set speech, which I will either say or play from a CD (but not a Sony CD). If I can learn any more than that, I'll try to use it.
Cantonese was the traditional language of the south of China, and really still is. But even Zhang, who speaks Cantonese and said he has very poor Mandarin, advised me to learn Mandarin rather than Cantonese. It's becoming the official language of all China.
All that the different dialects in China have in common is the written language. The spoken dialects are mutually unintelligible, as I understand it, so probably shouldn't be called "dialects".
Best,
Bill P.