Case Study: Cantonese Literature & Language Essay Pape

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Case Study: Cantonese
Cantonese represents a diversity of languages that traces its roots to the southeast of China. It is especially prominent in Hong Kong, Guangxi, and Macau, amongst others; the heart of Cantonese language is the province of Guangzhou and its environments, specifically, Southeastern China. In such dominant regions in china, Cantonese has been adopted as an official language. Cantonese is not only spoken in China, but it has cross borders to expand its span of influence to include various nations that comprise the U.S, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Canada, and many more. Many of the jobs that are posted in Chinatown in New York demand an applicant to be Cantonese fluent; this illustrates the degree of Cantonese reign. Some Chinese families speak exclusively Cantonese, and most of the soap operas and hospitality areas in Chinatown use Cantonese (China Daily). The emergence of Cantonese speakers in overseas countries is due to extensive emigration. This paper will focus on the Cantonese language in .US.
The word ‘Cantonese’ is derived from the term ‘Canton,’ which is the former English name of Guangzhou (Cantonese.ca.). The Cantonese in America dates back to the 1820s when the Chinese began moving towards the U.S. The early Chinese migrants went to the U.S due to the California gold rush. The majority of Chinese went to the United States of America, in search of better economic opportunity, while others left China either as contract laborers or refugees. These migrating Chinese groups moved with cultural institutions and customs, and over-time, they made an impression by trying to fit into U.S systems while retaining their original homeland tenets of traditions. This period marks the Chinese inhabitation and exploration of America; this could have been coupled with the increased usage of Cantonese across the borders. Ever since the Gold Rush days in the 19th century (Soennichsen pp.7), the Chinese have continued to migrate to America as laborers and merchants. These merchants and laborers form an integral part of ethnic minorities in the U.S, and as they progress, they have been establishing the U.S as part of their homeland. The fundamental historical reason that explains the existence of Cantonese in America is the migration phenomenon. There was a migration of Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong, Guangdong area, and Hong Kong, which are major Cantone speaking provinces, to the rest of the world, including the U.S, Australia, Canada, and Singapore, amongst others. Though Mandarin is classified as an official language in mainland China, it has existed for a lesser period than Cantonese. Cantonese and Mandarin speakers may appear to speak the same language, but they might not be able to converse fluently if any of one of the two speakers speaks Mandarin or Cantonese exclusively. Cantonese is considered a dominant language overseas because there was massive mobility of Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong.
Cantonese, also referred to as Yue, is one of the five leading Chinese languages. They ordinarily called dialects, but the differences that exist amongst and between them are sufficient to consider them as separate languages. According to the China Daily website, Cantonese is a dominant language amongst Chinese communities who reside in the U.S. The Cantonese strong influence in the U.S is since the majority of the immigrants come from Cantonese speaking areas in China. Thus, it appears that the original features of Cantonese language have maintained its native dialect and freshness.
Cantonese is historical and has existed for centuries. Cantonese was presented in writing since the 17th century through comics, literature, poetry, newspaper, personal correspondence n diaries, amongst others (Omniglot.com). There are two approaches to writing Cantonese, which includes formal and colloquial versions. The two versions may show differences, but they are of closer similarity to standard Chinese, which can be understood well by Mandarin speakers (Omniglot.com). According to Omniglot.com, a colloquial Cantonese is composed of standard Chinese characters and extra characters that are designed for Cantonese. Cantonese is commonly an oral language, and people tend to use standard Chinese in Hong Kong, especially when reading and writing. Cantonese is spoken in daily interactions. However, as a colloquial language, Cantonese is characterized by slang; it can rapidly evolve, and it has been embraced by the youth because it is trendy (Cantonese.ca.)
The Chinese depicted their culture in the U.S in early 1920 (Rao, pp.107) through Chinese theatres. These theatres reflected an exuberant Cantonese opera culture that cut across major cities in the U.S. The theatre performance involved stellar singers and productions (Rao, pp.107). The Chinese revere performance, theatres, and opera cultures because of their aesthetic and social reasons. The Chinese cultural ...