<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-06/takeover-melbourne-teen-and-the-cantonese-language/103069564>
'Take a walk through Chinatown in one of Australia's major capital cities, and
you're more than likely to hear the Chinese dialect of Cantonese being spoken.
It's a tonal, guttural language, and one that 17-year-old Chloe's parents speak
at their home in Melbourne's west.
But increasingly, Chloe now responds in English to their Cantonese-speaking
parents.
Chloe said finding the balance between retaining their culture and the need to
adapt to their new home was overwhelming at times.
"I feel guilty for not being able to speak the language, like I should have
tried harder to not lose my culture," Chloe said.
While Mandarin (otherwise known as Putonghua) is the official language of China
by law, different regions of the country speak different dialects.
In southern parts of the country including Hong Kong, Macao and Chloe's native
Guangzhou, the more commonly spoken language is Cantonese.'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
