Guangzhou and Hong Kong support Cantonese

Comment

Too influential to be banned

Most TV channels in Guangdong broadcast programs in Cantonese, including news, finance and sports. Some TV series are even dubbed in Cantonese.

There are many Hong Kong companies in Guangdong and Shenzhen, with bosses and managers all mainly using Cantonese. In big shopping malls, sellers will speak Mandarin, but people always use Cantonese in markets and small shops. Many outsiders are also enthusiastic about learning the dialect.

– Shi Xu, Guangdong native

Dialect is lively and fun

I worked in Guangdong for five years, and now I can almost understand Cantonese. I like watching local channels. Watching sports games on local TV stations is more fun than on CCTV. The commentators speak Cantonese – their accent makes the games more fun.

I don’t think the dialect deters non-locals. I did not devote time to learning Cantonese, but I can catch what people say now. And I prefer Cantonese programs since they closer reflect local customs and culture. Also, the programs have subtitles, so non-speakers can still understand.

– Newstar, a Hunan native working in Guangdong

Popularizing Mandarin is inclusive

If there were only one language in the world, we’d all save a lot of time and effort. I am Cantonese, but I don’t speak much Cantonese. Popularizing Mandarin is the considerate thing to do for non-locals.

– Doll Lin, netizen on gzstuff.com