Cantonese: The 2014 Goals and Progress Thread

[querido]

Share your goals and report your progress here!

 

My goal is to post audio, by of the year, proving that I can converse a little in Cantonese.

"A little" is, I don't know, at least a respectable showing. :-)

[querido]

To Angelina (who asked me about my study materials): I have a terrifying mountain of stuff for Mandarin. For Cantonese I have the free materials that are often mentioned in Cantonese resources threads but I since bought things (from Greenwood Press above all) that sound better or whatever, I subscribe to CantoneseClass101, which I recommend, and I bought Imron's Chinese Text Analyser (which can use a cedict-formatted Cantonese dictionary).

 

Here is the source of the Anki deck I mentioned in the other thread.

Google Input Tools. Cantodict and Cantonese Forum. WorkAudioBook (haven't tried to use it yet). 

Cpime_lshk (haven't tried it with Windows 8 yet). I've been using just Google Input Tools (Google Translate) and Cantodict.

 

I could post again about it if I can get organized.

 

[Angelina]

Thanks

[Angelina]

My progress:

 

I can say basic stuff like 小姐  and 多謝. Also, I know that 喜歡  rhymes with 輕撫 

 

Goals:

 

- to be able to have more meaningful conversations;

- to improve my karaoke skills;

- to learn more about grammar. Maybe buy this book http://www.amazon.com/Cantonese-Comprehensive-Grammar-Routledge-Grammars/dp/0415471311

[Angelina]

BTW The end of the year is coming soon 

[querido]

Do you intend to stick with just one of the two major Romanization systems, Jyutping or Yale, or both? This could be annoying but really, it's a tiny issue compared to everything else. I think the real authority must be audio itself, with the Romanization just a way to write it down while you're trying to learn words. Just that.

 

I saw that you're interested in Cantonese Comprehensive Grammar. It's great, and a great, dense, challenge. It's in Yale with characters. But I skimmed my Greenwood Press books for something to recommend that would have audio and exercises. It's probably "A Cantonese Book". It's also in Yale with characters. It even has "substitution drills" and "pyramid drills". 

 

I can't revisit all the thoughts I went through while getting started. If you can commit to one good thing, like "A Cantonese Book" or CantoneseClass101, and get a solid start, you could put off thinking about a lot of other things. (I'm speaking to myself too, as I have trouble putting aside all the toys and websites and just studying.)

 

October update: I still vow to post audio of myself.