Is Cantonese a vernacular language?

Colloquial Cantonese is what you hear on the streets, on TV and on radio, people talking to each other – in everyday conversation. This is the native language and mother tongue of most Hongkongers, what is spoken at home, what you hear from the moment you are born. It is the vernacular, the oral or spoken variant.

Why is written Cantonese different from spoken?

Written Standard Chinese was largely formalised after Classical Chinese fell out of official use in the early 1900s, and was based on spoken Mandarin. Therefore, when one ‘writes in Chinese’, Mandarin speakers write as they speak, Cantonese speakers do not.

Is written Cantonese and written Mandarin the same?

Cantonese and Mandarin are written in the same way, though Cantonese favors traditional Chinese characters rather than simplified. Mandarin has 4 tones. Cantonese has 9. Spoken Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually intelligible.

What is Cantonese written in?

Chinese
Written Cantonese is the written form of Cantonese, the most complete written form of Chinese after that for Mandarin Chinese and Classical Chinese….

How do Mandarin and Cantonese sound different?

Cantonese is more gutteral and sounds kind of badass. Mandarin is more lyrical and easy on the ears. And the sound is very different coming from Northern and Southern Chinese.

What is the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese writing?

Written Chinese between Mandarin and Cantonese: Mandarin use simplified, while Cantonese prefer to use traditional Chinese characters. Spoken Chinese: both 2 languages are mutually unintelligible. Tones: Mandarin has five (5) tones, on the other hands, Cantonese has nine (9) Tones including historical tones.

How is Cantonese written?

Written Cantonese is the written form of Cantonese, the most complete written form of Chinese after that for Mandarin Chinese and Classical Chinese….

Is Cantonese written in simplified or traditional?

In Hong Kong, Cantonese is the predominant dialect while people write in Traditional Chinese. The exception is Taiwan where people speak Mandarin and write in Traditional Chinese….