Category Archives: Ideology

The Sociolinguistics and Ideology of Learning Cantonese in Hong Kong

This is a continuation of my earlier piece on Learning Cantonese in Hong Kong. I wrote Part 1 (So yuh wanna learn Cantonese, eh?) in a semi-playful and tongue-in-cheek manner. On the surface, it was a rant about the problems “foreigners” sometimes face learning the Cantonese language in Hong Kong. It listed several common beliefs, presented [...]
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So yuh wanna learn Cantonese, eh? (Part 1)

You do? Think again! Unless you take the time to understand the politics and ideologies surrounding speaking and learning Cantonese, you may find the difficulties of actually using the language far outweigh
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China’s role in BC Chinese classes: Mussolini or Sunzi?

When I first read Jonathan Zimmerman’s Christian Science Monitor op/ed Beware China’s role in US Chinese classes, I wondered if Canadians would react as he did. Jonathan, a Professor of Education and History at New York University attempted to draw parallels between the funding of Mandarin classes in the US by the Chinese Government and [...]
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Ideology and Mandarin Teaching: The end of history?

Maybe one day Global Hanyu will become a multi-billion dollar language industry on a par with Global English. And despite the belief among some that the number of people learning the language is exaggerated, perhaps there really will be a “Global Hanyu”. But it may take a while. Becoming a global language is not easy. As [...]
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A borrowed word

All languages at one time or another borrow words from other languages. Most of the scientific and technical vocabulary in English is composed of Greek and Latin roots. And for some reason, lost in history for most people, our swear words are Germanic. Loanwords in Chinese are not so obvious – but they are still [...]
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