Hello. Can someone tell me the differences between Cantonese and Mandirin? And which would you suggest would be the best to learn for a native english speaker from the US?
Thank you
Differences
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Dylan Sung
Re: Differences
Cantonese is to Mandarin the way French is to Italian. It all depends on what you want to use your new language for. If you're gonna visit Hong Kong and watch HK movies, then Cantonese. If you're gonna visit China in general, including Taiwan, then I suggest Mandarin. As for an English speaker, there are sounds in both Chinese languages which aren't found in English. From a non-Mandarin speaker's point of view, the retroflex sounds where you have to curl your tongue towards the upper palate is probably the hardest thing about Mandarin. You have to practice that with a real northern Chinese speaker to get it right, or have a very good language tape.
Cantonese has a greater number of tones than Mandarin, and this might also pose an initial problem.
Dyl.
Cantonese has a greater number of tones than Mandarin, and this might also pose an initial problem.
Dyl.