Kelcie Lee
Despite pressure from the Chinese government, the will to preserve the Cantonese language remains strong in China and around the world.
Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province. Loeng Lig. Unsplash.
Cantonese is the prominent language in Southern China, including Hong Kong, the Guangdong Province and Macau, and it is also extremely popular in California’s Bay Area. However, the language is under significant pressure to dissipate, compromising the culture and identity of many Cantonese-speaking people around the world. The fight to preserve the Cantonese language has been ongoing, both in China and globally.
The main language of China is Mandarin, which is also the most spoken language in the world in terms of native speakers, with approximately 940 million people. Following Mandarin is Cantonese, with approximately 80 million native speakers both in China and across the global diaspora, including communities in Canada, the United States, Australia, etc.
Recently, the Chinese government has been rolling out Mandarinization laws, which promote the use of Mandarin and ethnic integration through the language. These policies have the intention of fostering a strong sense of community through a unified national identity. Due to the pressure from the government, more than 70% of Hong Kong’s elementary schools now use Mandarin as the language of instruction, as opposed to Cantonese, the main language of the region. While the promotion of Mandarin was written into China’s 1982 constitution, a 2010 suggestion to increase Mandarin programs on Cantonese TV received backlash from Guangdong. Many Cantonese speakers are concerned that these laws may cause language extinction, further worrying about a loss of cultural identity in China’s densely populated southern region.
Over time, Cantonese gained the reputation of maintaining the identity of Hong Kong, a region that has struggled with autonomy from Chinese rule. According to Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, Hong Kong’s independence has been a sore spot for the Chinese government, as it has repressed the freedoms of the region. In this way, Tsang said the Hong Kong people’s identity with Cantonese, speaking a different language, has become a form of political pushback, resilience and pride.
The worries surrounding the preservation of the Cantonese language surround the next generation not being able to speak it. Without Cantonese being taught in China’s schools, older generations fear that the language and culture may not survive another generation.
However, there have also been several efforts to preserve the language and cultural heritage that comes with it. Some universities and community colleges have continued to offer Cantonese language courses all over the world. In San Francisco, a major Cantonese language hub due to mass immigration from South China to the Bay Area in the 19th century, there are Chinese immersion schools that teach Cantonese to students in elementary schools.
Traditional dim sum. Sushant Vohra. Unsplash.
Cantonese culture and heritage are also felt globally, with the increasing popularity of dim sum, a Cantonese-style brunch consisting of a wide variety of shareable dishes, and Cantopop, a music subgenre of Cantonese pop. While the Cantonese language has been at the forefront in representing Cantonese culture, iconic food dishes and pop culture continue to represent Cantonese.
Zoe Lam, a lecturer at the University of British Columbia’s Cantonese language and culture program, puts it aptly. She says, “The future of a language depends on how many people speak it. So as long as there are people who speak it, then it's still all right. If we do nothing, then, of course, we would be pessimistic. But we are the people who determine the future, and we can definitely still do something about it.”
Kelcie Lee
Kelcie is a second-year student at UC Berkeley majoring in history and sociology, with a minor in journalism. She developed her passion for writing and journalism in high school, and has since written for a variety of news and magazine publications over the last few years. When she isn't writing, Kelcie can be found drinking coffee, listening to music or watching the sunset.