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How many Cantonese speakers are in the US?
458,840 people
There are an estimated 80 million Cantonese speakers across the world. In the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Census, 458,840 people speak Cantonese and 487,250 speak Mandarin — a very close margin.
Are Cantonese and Mandarin written the same?
Because both dialects share the same origin and have the same base characters, they have almost written the same way. When it comes to writing the characters, Mandarin is written using simplified characters as set by the Chinese government in the 1950s. Cantonese, on the other hand, is still written traditionally.
Do most Chinese Americans speak Cantonese?
In New York City, Standard Mandarin Chinese was spoken as a native language among only ten percent of Chinese speakers as 2002, but was being used as a secondary dialect and replacing Cantonese as their lingua franca….Chinese language and varieties in the United States.
| Year | Speakers |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 2,022,143 |
| 2010 | 2,808,692 |
| ^a Foreign-born population only |
Is Cantonese hard to learn?
After all, Cantonese is a tonal language with its own writing system based on 3000 to 4000 Chinese characters! Even though Cantonese sounds complicated, and is certainly different from European languages such as English and Italian, it’s not that hard to master when you’re using the right tools and approach.
Where can I study Cantonese in the United States?
The Five Colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and University of Massachusetts, Amherst) also offer Supervised Independent Language Programs which include Cantonese. Foreign Service Institute, Arlington, Virginia.
Which universities offer Chinese language and Literature degrees in USA?
Georgetown University offers 1 Chinese Language and Literature degree programs. It’s a large, private not-for-profit, four-year university in a large city. In 2019, 9 Chinese Language and Literature students graduated with students earning 9 Bachelor’s degrees. University of Notre Dame offers 1 Chinese Language and Literature degree programs.
Is Cantonese a language?
LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION As one of the Chinese languages, Cantonese belongs to the Sino Tibetan language family, which also includes Tibetan and Lolo Burmese and Karen (both spoken in Burma). The major linguistic distinctions within Chinese are Mandarin, Wu, Min, Yue (Cantonese), and Hakka (See Li and Thompson 1979).
How are students trained to communicate in Cantonese?
Students are trained to be able to communicate in Cantonese through a one semester program. Emphasis on Cantonese Pronunciation, Intensive Cantonese, Spoken Cantonese and Cantonese Listening.