Cantonese
Cantonese belongs to the Sino Tibetan language family, which also includes
Tibetan, Lolo Burmese and Karen (both spoken in Burma). Cantonese is one
of several major languages in China and has approximately 64 million speakers,
the majority of whom live in Southern China including Hong Kong. The various
Chinese languages are often referred to as dialects because they share a common
writing system. These "dialects," however, are not mutually intelligible,
hence, from a linguistic point of view, they are properly considered separate
languages. The term Cantonese comes from 'Canton', the former name of
Guangzhou, a port city in southeast China and capital of Guangdong province.
Although used extensively by native speakers on many occasions, Cantonese
is not used in any official or formal capactiy in Guangdong since Mandarin is
still the official language in the Peoples' Republic of China In Hong
Kong, however, it is the medium of instruction in many schools and most television
and radio programs are in Cantonese.
Cantonese, like other Chinese languages, is a tonal language where the meaning
of words and sentences is affected by the pitch with which they are spoken.
It has either six or nine tones (depending on the method of classification)
which differ in terms of contour (melody) and register (pitch).
Sources:
UCLA Language Materials Project
Information on writing system:
Independent Study Courses Available at UCSD:
Conversational Cantonese, LIDS 19
Foreign
Service Institute, Cantonese Basic Course (Tape)
Other Local Resources:
UCSD International Center
Mingei museum of folk art
SD cultural events
International channel
Balboa Park House
of Pacific Relations
International web radio
Landmark
Theaters: foreign films
Chinese
events in San Diego