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Cantonese and English are the official languages of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
(HKSAR), and Putonghua (Mandarin) is increasingly being used since the
Handover in 1997. English is widely spoken and understood, and is still
used by the Government and in the law courts. Hong Kong Island has a wider base of spoken English than either
Kowloon or the New Territories, and there is little problem communicating
with hotel staff, in restaurants or with taxi drivers.
China
has over 1,500 recorded dialects, and the most frequently used forms of
spoken Chinese are Cantonese and Putonghua (Mandarin). Most Cantonese
speakers originate from the southern province of Guangdong, and this is the
main dialect spoken in Hong Kong. Putonghua (Mandarin) is the official
language spoken in Mainland China, and speakers of this dialect are mainly from the
northern, central and south-western regions of China.
It is interesting to note that
written Chinese is the same, no matter what dialect is spoken. The spoken
dialects are unrelated from region to region and mostly unintelligible from
each other.
The following organisations run language courses in
Cantonese or Putonghua (Mandarin):
Berlitz Languages Limited
Suite 708, One Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Admiralty
Tel: +852 2826 9223
www.berlitz.com.hk/default.htm
The University of Hong Kong
Pok Fu Lam Road
Pok Fu Lam
Tel: +852 2859 2111
www.hku.hk/
Hong Kong Institute of Languages
6/F Wellington Plaza
56-58 Wellington Street
Central
Tel: +852 2877 6160
www.hklanguages.com/mmm/hkil/index.jsp
Or to learn some basic vocabulary, log on to:
Talking Cantonese Directory
www.ypexpat.com/en/html/be/be_rt_cd.asp
www.hklanguages.com/mmm/hkil/index.jsp
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