Cantonese [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONThe Cantonese LanguageCantonese is one form or "dialect" of the Chinese language. It is spoken in Kwangtung, the most south-easterly province of China, of which Canton is the capital. The word 'Canton' is a rather rough rendering by early European visitors of the name of the province, Kwangtung, the city itself being to the Chinese Kwangchow. The province of Kwangtung has a population of some forty million, most of whom speak Cantonese as their mother tongue. There are other Chinese dialects in Kwangtung (Hakka, Hainanese and Ch'aochow) but most people who speak them can also speak and understand Cantonese.Outside China Cantonese is by far the most widely-spoken form of the Chinese language. It is the native speech of Hong Kong (population 4 million) and of Macao. In Malaysia Cantonese is the most important form of Chinese among the 4 million people of Chinese race who live there. It is true that the Chinese of Singapore and Penang are mainly speakers of Hokkien but they also understand Cantonese. (Hokkien is the speech of Amoy and other places in south Fukien, the province adjoining Kwangtung to the north-east.) Cantonese dominates Chinese-speakers in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Seremban. In Malaysia generally Cantonese has higher prestige and a wider currency than the other Chinese dialects. Most of the Chinese in Vietnam and Cambodia are Cantonese speakers. In Thailand they are few, the majority being Ch'aochow speakers. Their numbers are also small in the Philippines, Indonesia and Burma.In Britain practically all the proprietors, waiters and cooks of the numerous Chinese restaurants are Cantonese