Cantonese areas of Guangdong.

[Floridaray]

In a way the question seems redundant but what are some very Cantonese parts of Guangdong. I think I will mostly be in Guangzhou so are there areas of the city where it is spoken more than Putonghua? I have heard Guangzhou is about 50/50 now. If anyone knows a teacher It would be interesting to take a few hours of instruction. I might go to Macau but not really looking for upscale stuff this trip but just to be in China. I will also travel to Vietnam probably in Hanoi. If I was travelling in Saigon I have heard Cantonese is a prominent dialect in Cholon Chinatown. I have heard that Kuala Lumpur   has a lot of speakers as well. 

 

  Thanks ahead Ray

[Dawei3]

Hi Ray,   

While I can't give you an answer on location, a friend from Guangzhou who now lives in the US mentioned something that might be of interest to you, i.e., that the answer can be generational as well, i.e., younger people from Guangdong are more likely to speak Mandarin.  She said if she begins a conversation with her younger brother, she uses Cantonese, whereas if he begins it, he uses Mandarin.  I didn't ask the age difference; my friend is in her late 20s.  

 

 

[suMMit]

id say anyone local speaks cantonese, even if they are also able to speak mandarin. I think it would be pretty interesting to visit some smaller cities in guangdong , maybe southern gd, rather than 广州。In gz Liwan district

 

there are also lots of villages around guangzhou, and its nice countryside,  but i cannot say whether they speak cantonese

[Floridaray]

Ok note to self talk to all the old people...…..

 

My mandarin is ok but not at a very high level. Here in the states there is  a lot higher resistance when you try to talk to Cantonese or Vietnamese speakers. My tones and pronunciation are crap in those 2 languages. 

 

This is a little separate from the current conversation but I found some online dictionaries on Archive.org that are Vietnamese to French that include Chunom or Vietnamese Hanzi. It is interesting to me as I recognize some of the Hanzi and know a little French. This just inspires me to learn a bit. 

 

Search for annamite  francaise dictionnaire. Annam was the French protectorate of Vietnam.

 https://archive.org/details/DictionnaireAnnamiteFrancaisBonet/page/n10

 

 

 

 

 

[abcdefg]

Quote

In a way the question seems redundant but what are some very Cantonese parts of Guangdong.

 

Eastern Guangdong, in and around Chaozhou 潮州 and Shantou 汕头, use a Min dialect that sounds very different from Cantonese or Putonghua. That area would not fit your specs. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teochew_dialect 

 

I spent a few days in Zhuhai 珠海 last week and was impressed again at how much of a melting pot it is. (I used to live there.) People come from all over China and bring their native dialects with them. Not particularly Cantonese at all. 

[889]

Hong Kong is probably the most Cantonese part of Guangdong Province. Certainly it's the epicentre of Cantonese culture.