Comparison Learn A Foreign Language
2011
How useful is Mandarin in Hong Kong for a short trip?
I am currently learning Mandarin, but will be visiting Hong Kong shortly and was wondering how useful the language is there for getting around in comparison to English? I know the native language of the region is Cantonese, and that Mandarin for the majority is pretty much a foreign language, but I’m guessing the majority of people from HK are resonably proficient in Mandarin?
Also, with foreigners, do the people have any preferance over whether they use English or Mandarin to speak with foreigners? If a white person were to address someone from HK in Mandarin (assuming it was pronounced well enough for comprehension) would they be more likely to respond in Mandarin or English?
I’m a bit worried as I’d like to practice Mandarin, but some people have been giving me the impression that Cantonese speakers in general don’t like Mandarin and that in HK it’s essentually useless if you speak English better than your Mandarin.
Thanks
Hong Kong people won’t necessarily appreciate your use of Mandarin. It’s equivalent maybe to speaking in Spanish while visiting Portugal. However, you won’t need any Chinese to get around to the most basic sites. Most street signs and maps are bilingual, and the tube is very easy to navigate. (Purchase an Octopus card as soon as you arrive.) Also, have your hotel concierge write everywhere you want to go in Chinese characters, for instance the name and address of a particular restaurant you want to go to.
If you still feel insecure, another tip to get you past the inevitable language challenge here or there is to carry a small pocket sized phrasebook or dictionary. When you have challenges communicating you can refer to the Chinese character in the book. (Most likely, you won’t be able to pronounce it, but they can read it.) In China I regularly used a dictionary like this for the first two years I lived there, though in Hong Kong I never felt a need to carry a phrasebook.
All that said, your Mandarin won’t hurt you. Most Hong Kong people of any age will know enough Mandarin to understand anything you could say after one or two years of study. For instance, if you ask for a xi zao jian or wei sheng jian, or if you say yao or bu yao, everyone will know what you mean. Also, you will overhear many native Mandarin speakers talking to each other in Putonghua. Feel free to practice speaking with them; they will be delighted with your interest.
A final tip is that it’s quite worthwhile, IMO, to learn basic phrases in Cantonese, particularly “thank you” (m’goi), counting and money words (yat yi sam, gei cheena, etc). A little bit goes a long way in communicating that you respect another culture enough to try and learn some of their language.
I hope you make it over to China, where you can experience the vast difference between China and Hong Kong and practice your Putonghua.
English Learning – Productivity Research in Foreign Language Acquisition Brazil 2005-09
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