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... Cultural Lesson: ... "Cantonese", one of the eight regional dialects in China, is spoken widely ... throughout Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macao and many overseas ... communities. It is the most influential local vernacular in South China. ... Based on different pronunciations and variations in meaning, it can be ... subdivided into several local branches. The most prestigious is the ... Guangzhou dialect, also referred to simply as "Cantonese". It is the pri- ... mary language of not just Guangdong Province, but also for the overseas ... Cantonese diasporas. Worldwide Cantonese is spoken by some 70 million ... people. ... If you are traveling to Southern China or Hong Kong, it is a good goal to ... learn "Cantonese". But bear in mind that it has between 6 to 10 tones ... (depending on the variation and who you speak with). These additional ... tones make "Cantonese" more difficult to learn than "Mandarin", which ... has only 4 tones (or 5, if you count 'neutral' as a tone). |