You’re a Cantonese NooB. You find yourself in a situation where you don’t know the Cantonese word you need. What do you do?
a. keep your mouth shut
b. use a circumlocution (e.g. “smelly” + “fruit” for ‘durian’)
c. code-switch to English
d. gesture or point (e.g. I want one of “THOSE”)
e. look up the word in a dictionary
f. ask the person you’re talking to
There’s no right or wrong answer. But there will be implications for your learning of Cantonese depending on which you choose. Clearly some of the options have more desirable outcomes than others.
Choose a. and you lose in two ways. First, you won’t get what you want because nobody understands what you’re trying to say. Second, you won’t learn any Cantonese or practice what you already know. At least if you choose b. you can practice using Cantonese.
Option c. is also pretty useless and is essentially a cop out. You don’t get to practice speaking Cantonese. Neither do you learn anything new. You also reinforce a pattern of communication that’s all too common in Hong Kong – locals speak English to “outsiders” – even when the outsider can speak Cantonese. All it takes is one tiny dis-fluency and a Cantonese conversation can quickly change into an English one. If you’re a serious learner of Cantonese, you’ll surely want to avoid this.
Option d. will likely get you what you want – assuming it’s a concrete object. You won’t learn any new words, though.
How about e.? Well, it has its pitfalls, too. Look up the word in a dictionary and you risk finding an outdated, incorrect or just plain different word from that used by most Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong. This option may or may not be helpful for your Cantonese. Unless you carry a dictionary around with you, you also won’t get to practice speaking Cantonese. Even if you do, will your average stressed out Hong Konger have the time and patience to help a struggling Cantonese NooB learn a new word in their language? Go ahead and see what happens. I wish you luck!
This leaves us with option f. Potentially, you win in two ways. First, you get to ask in Cantonese. Next, assuming the other person understands you and wants to help, you will learn a new Cantonese words.
What I described above is a “communication strategy”. It is a way of handling situations where your language skills are lacking. As a beginning language learner, these situations will be all too numerous. But, with a few simple Cantonese phrases, you can prepare yourself for the inevitable. Even better, though, is that by understanding how communication strategies work, you’ll be able to choose positive techniques for building on your existing skills and therefore compensating for any deficiency.
Choices such as a. and c. above are the least helpful. These are actually “avoidance strategies”. By using them we make no attempt to resolve our deficiency. In Hong Kong, you will frequently have the ultimate avoidance strategy at your disposal – speaking English.
On the other hand, option e. is the ultimate compensatory strategy that puts you in control of the communication AND also adds to your linguistic inventory. Even if the other person insists on speaking English, you are making it practically impossible for them NOT to speak Cantonese (one word, at least!). Regardless of who you are communicating with, by using this strategy, you have a good chance of adding to your daily vocabulary, while at the same time actually communicating in Cantonese.
My latest video for learning Cantonese is aimed at NooBs. It teaches you one phrase that will help you gain control of communicating in Cantonese – even though your vocabulary may be very small. If you don’t know a word in Cantonese, and you think your interlocutor speaks some English, just learn how to use the phrase in this video. It will be a step in the right direction for taking control over your own Cantonese language learning.
Of course, if you are a Cantonese NooB, you’ll certainly want to find a Cantonese language course in Hong Kong. There are a number of places that offer Cantonese courses. But, in the end, how successful you are in learning the language may depend on how you – the learner – go about it. You may have much to gain from emulating the best practices and learning strategies of successful language learners.
I’ve assumed a bilingual situation where the person you’re speaking to knows some English. If you find yourself in the company of unilingual Cantonese speakers, simply change “How do you say ’some English word’ in Cantonese”, to “How do you say THAT (pointing at some object) in Cantonese”. I’ll make another video for that one day.
Other options:
ask somebody to write down the Chinese characters
ask them to repeat the Cantonese word – this time slowly etc etc.
For Cantonese learners hungry for authentic interaction, the possibilities are endless.
If you are a NooB, what are you waiting for? Make the Cantonese-speaking world your teacher now!
Learning Cantonese for NooBs: Communication Strategies
You’re a Cantonese NooB. You find yourself in a situation where you don’t know the Cantonese word you need. What do you do?
a. keep your mouth shut
b. use a circumlocution (e.g. “smelly” + “fruit” for ‘durian’)
c. code-switch to English
d. gesture or point (e.g. I want one of “THOSE”)
e. look up the word in a dictionary
f. ask the person you’re talking to
There’s no right or wrong answer. But there will be implications for your learning of Cantonese depending on which you choose. Clearly some of the options have more desirable outcomes than others.
Choose a. and you lose in two ways. First, you won’t get what you want because nobody understands what you’re trying to say. Second, you won’t learn any Cantonese or practice what you already know. At least if you choose b. you can practice using Cantonese.
Option c. is also pretty useless and is essentially a cop out. You don’t get to practice speaking Cantonese. Neither do you learn anything new. You also reinforce a pattern of communication that’s all too common in Hong Kong – locals speak English to “outsiders” – even when the outsider can speak Cantonese. All it takes is one tiny dis-fluency and a Cantonese conversation can quickly change into an English one. If you’re a serious learner of Cantonese, you’ll surely want to avoid this.
Option d. will likely get you what you want – assuming it’s a concrete object. You won’t learn any new words, though.
How about e.? Well, it has its pitfalls, too. Look up the word in a dictionary and you risk finding an outdated, incorrect or just plain different word from that used by most Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong. This option may or may not be helpful for your Cantonese. Unless you carry a dictionary around with you, you also won’t get to practice speaking Cantonese. Even if you do, will your average stressed out Hong Konger have the time and patience to help a struggling Cantonese NooB learn a new word in their language? Go ahead and see what happens. I wish you luck!
This leaves us with option f. Potentially, you win in two ways. First, you get to ask in Cantonese. Next, assuming the other person understands you and wants to help, you will learn a new Cantonese words.
What I described above is a “communication strategy”. It is a way of handling situations where your language skills are lacking. As a beginning language learner, these situations will be all too numerous. But, with a few simple Cantonese phrases, you can prepare yourself for the inevitable. Even better, though, is that by understanding how communication strategies work, you’ll be able to choose positive techniques for building on your existing skills and therefore compensating for any deficiency.
Choices such as a. and c. above are the least helpful. These are actually “avoidance strategies”. By using them we make no attempt to resolve our deficiency. In Hong Kong, you will frequently have the ultimate avoidance strategy at your disposal – speaking English.
On the other hand, option e. is the ultimate compensatory strategy that puts you in control of the communication AND also adds to your linguistic inventory. Even if the other person insists on speaking English, you are making it practically impossible for them NOT to speak Cantonese (one word, at least!). Regardless of who you are communicating with, by using this strategy, you have a good chance of adding to your daily vocabulary, while at the same time actually communicating in Cantonese.
My latest video for learning Cantonese is aimed at NooBs. It teaches you one phrase that will help you gain control of communicating in Cantonese – even though your vocabulary may be very small. If you don’t know a word in Cantonese, and you think your interlocutor speaks some English, just learn how to use the phrase in this video. It will be a step in the right direction for taking control over your own Cantonese language learning.
Of course, if you are a Cantonese NooB, you’ll certainly want to find a Cantonese language course in Hong Kong. There are a number of places that offer Cantonese courses. But, in the end, how successful you are in learning the language may depend on how you – the learner – go about it. You may have much to gain from emulating the best practices and learning strategies of successful language learners.
I’ve assumed a bilingual situation where the person you’re speaking to knows some English. If you find yourself in the company of unilingual Cantonese speakers, simply change “How do you say ’some English word’ in Cantonese”, to “How do you say THAT (pointing at some object) in Cantonese”. I’ll make another video for that one day.
Other options:
ask somebody to write down the Chinese characters
ask them to repeat the Cantonese word – this time slowly etc etc.
For Cantonese learners hungry for authentic interaction, the possibilities are endless.
If you are a NooB, what are you waiting for? Make the Cantonese-speaking world your teacher now!