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A podcast about all things learning Cantonese, hosted by a teacher and a student. We upload conversations in Cantonese meant to help students improve their listening ability, while also highlighting the global Cantonese-speaking community.
43 Episodes
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This episode features an interview with Dr. Zoe Wai-Man Lam, a lecturer in Cantonese at the University of British Columbia and the main instructor and curriculum advisor for the Cantonese Saturday School at the Mon Keang School in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown. Dr. Lam has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of British Columbia as well as both a masters and bachelors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Our conversation focuses on Zoe’s experiences with teaching Cantonese within th...
This episode features the conclusion of our conversation with Jennifer Feeley. Where in previous episodes we discussed specific Hong Kong literature that Jennifer has translated, here she shares some advice for anyone interested in getting into literary translation. We are also thrilled to announce that since taping this episode, the American Literary Translators’ Association has announced two emerging translator mentorships for Hong Kong literature, including one with Jennifer. We have inclu...
This episode features the second portion of our conversation with the award-winning literary translator Jennifer Feeley. Where last time we learned about her journey to Cantonese and her work translating the poetry and prose of the Hong Kong author Xi Xi, this time we hear about her recent translation of the psychological thriller Tongueless, by Lau Yee-Wa. Set in a Hong Kong secondary school, it zeroes in on the pressure-cooker environment faced by contract teachers as they navigate the shif...
In this episode we interview the award-winning literary translator Jennifer Feeley. Jennifer has helped introduce English-language readers around the world to a variety of works of Hong Kong poetry and fiction. She has been particularly prolific this year—her translation of Lau Yee-Wa’s novel Tongueless came out in June, and her translation of Xi Xi’s Mourning a Breast just came out this month. Our conversation with Jennifer is split into three parts, with this portion focusing on how she cam...
Measure words (also referred to as "classifiers" in linguistics, or 量詞/loeng6 ci4) appear in multiple languages, but they have some special functions in Cantonese. Today we begin to discuss what to watch out for when studying or teaching them, as well as some of the ways that their usage differs between Cantonese and Mandarin.
In this episode, we are joined by Israel, Kenny, and Samuel from the podcast seoi6 jin4 kwong4 soeng2. In that podcast, the trio uses Cantonese to discuss learning just about every other language in the world, and we highly recommend it to listeners of Chatty Cantonese. Another portion of our conversation appeared on the seoi6 jin4 kwong4 soeng2 feed back in January, so once you finish this episode, you might as well listen to the other part–you’ll find a link in the show notes. 以下呢一集係特...
Born and raised in Canada, Allan Lau is a versatile musician, doing everything from orchestrating movie scores to crafting commercial theme tracks for multinational corporations. He is also a voice artist and bass singer, bringing to life video game characters and movie trailers. Duck Lau Cho Tak is an award-winning Hong Kong musician/composer actively engaged in various music scenes. He is also an experienced singer, having served as chorus member and performance director for numerous conce...
Welcome to Season 3 of Chatty Cantonese! We start things off with a double-interview with two notable figures from the world of Cantopop, Allan Lau and Duck Lau. In addition to talking about their own musical experiences, the pair explain some Cantopop history and how newbies can learn more about the genre and its connection with Hong Kong culture. Link to vocabulary and transcript
Inspired by a listener question, this episode addresses an issue all beginning Cantonese students face: in thanking someone, when should you use do1 ze6 (多謝) and when should you use m4 goi1 (唔該)? The underlying principle becomes clear with the help of a few hypothetical situations. Transcript and vocabulary
1A discussion about where Hongkongers found cool refreshment in the olden days leads Raymond to share some unique drinks. Wonder what "a monk jumping into the ocean" is? Or how you could drink "veggie honey?" Listen to find out. Vocabulary and transcript
Bernice Chan is a reporter whose career has stretched across the Pacific, reporting for both the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and CBC in Vancouver. She also hosted the award-winning podcast Eat Drink Asia. In the second part of our interview, we talk about our favorite dim sum picks, why Hongkongers love trying new flavors, and where on YouTube you can learn Cantonese cooking. 陳志媺 Bernice Chan 係一名資深記者，佢嘅事業橫跨太平洋，任職於香港嘅《南華早報》同喺溫哥華嘅加拿大廣播公司。 她仲主持過屢獲殊榮嘅 Eat Drink Asia 播客節目。 喺訪問嘅第二部分，我哋傾吓我...
Bernice Chan is a reporter whose career has stretched across the Pacific, reporting for both the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and CBC in Vancouver. She also hosted the award-winning podcast Eat Drink Asia. In the first part of our interview, we talk about the trajectory of her career and the influence Hong Kong had on how she learned Cantonese. Be sure to check back next episode for the conclusion of our conversation. 陳志媺 Bernice Chan 係一名資深記者，佢嘅事業橫跨太平洋，任職於香港嘅《南華早報》同喺溫哥華嘅加拿大廣播公司...
How can this be happening?! In this episode, we dig into SFPs (sentence final particles) useful for expressing surprise, reacting to information that should have been known previously, or relaying sketchy things someone else said that you disagree with. References: Basic Sentence-final Particles in Hong Kong Cantonese, by Yuen-lam Tsang Transcript and vocabulary
A little chat about time in the digital age... How do we stay focused when there are so many distractions out there? And what do you call a "bedside table" in Cantonese? Transcript and vocabulary
This episode features the second half of our discussion with Dr. Gina Anne Tam, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University, and author of Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860 – 1960 from Cambridge University Press. In this episode, we talk about the relationship between Mandarin and Cantonese in teaching and academia, as well as English’s immense power in the global linguistic landscape. Works mentioned in this episode: Silencing Shanghai, by Fang Xu Gerald Roche (various articl...
This episode features the first half of our discussion with Dr. Gina Anne Tam, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University, and author of Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860-1960 from Cambridge University Press. In this episode we talk about the distinction between “dialect” and “language” and what it means for Cantonese. Check back next week for the conclusion of our discussion. 今集有我哋同三一大學歷史副教授，劍橋大學出版社發行《中國方言與民族主義 1860-1960》作者譚吉娜博士討論嘅第一部份。呢一集我哋討論方言同語言嘅區別同埋對粵語嘅意義。大家記得下個禮拜返嚟聽埋後半部份討...
More sentence final particles in this episode, this time centering around ones beginning with "z." They can be helpful for talking about quantity, degree, and justification--like when you're talking about that person who's "just" a friend... Episode transcript and vocabulary
Pop quiz: How would you write "Give me that book" in Cantonese?「畀嗰本書我」or 「給我那本書」? The answer is... well, complicated. But where might you read the former vs. latter? In this episode we chat about the different ways Cantonese is written, as well as the fancy term "diglossia." Don's Snow's Cantonese as Written Language Vocabulary and transcript
This episode features the second part of our conversation with Jade Wu, where we discuss her publishing process and some of the ways her students have taught her over the years. Resources suggested at the end of the episode: Language Reactor Hong Kong Connection Rhapsody in Lingo CantoTalk Resonate Literary Magazine Episode vocabulary and transcript
Part one of our interview with Jade Wu, author, podcaster, and teacher of Cantonese, Taishanese (Toisanese), and Mandarin. She has published textbooks for teaching all three languages, with Learn to Speak Taishanese I having come out just this year. In this episode we talk to Jade about what got her into writing textbooks, as well as some of the differences between Cantonese and Taishanese–she even gives us a little lesson. InspirLang Website Episode transcript and vocabulary
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Thank you for starting up this podcast. As someone who learned Cantonese in Hong Kong in the late 1980s, I have tried to keep up on my Cantonese. However, I live in the USA in a state with very few speakers of Cantonese, and very very opportunities to practice. I know other non-native speakers, but when we speak to each other, it is like children speaking to each other; we don't know if we are saying it right, and we aren't really learning and expanding our vocabulary. I'm looking forward to more of your podcasts.