New York Chinatown

[opper567]

What dialect do people speak in New York city's Chinatown? How about Flushing? I only hear Mandarin and Cantonese about half the time?

[ddjiii]

Chinatown was traditionally largely Chaozhouhua, which I think is Fujianese. Is that the same as Hakka? Flushing is primarily standard 普通话。These days immigration is strong and you can usually use 普通话 anywhere.

[bhchao]

Mandarin is the dominant language in Flushing, while Fujianese and Cantonese are the dominant languages in Manhattan's Chinatown.

[Ian_Lee]

There are two types of Fujianese:

Fuzhouhua and Xiamenhua.

The former is the dialect spoken by the people around the province's capital -- Fuzhou.

The latter is spoken by the province's southern seaport -- Xiamen.

There are great differences between these two dialects.

However, Xiamenhua is very close to Chaozhouese since Xiamen is just several hour's drive from Shantou (Swatow -- a seaport at eastern Guangdong province where people speak Chaozhouese).

Both Xiamen and Chaozhou have a long history of overseas emigration.

Chinese/overseas Chinese in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines are mainly descendants of Xiamenese. President Corazon even went back to her southern Fujian hometown to rever her ancestors.

Overseas Chinese in Thailand and former southern Vietnam are mainly descendants of the Chaozhouese. Thai royal family even has Chaozhouese blood.

However, those recent Chinese immigrants in NYT are mainly from Fuzhou. So they speak Fuzhouhua which is totally incomprehensible to Chaozhouese/Xiamenhua speakers.

[bhchao]

The bride's family in the wedding I recently attended in Manhattan's Chinatown are 福州人.

That is why the bride and the groom had to bow three times before each of the bride's relatives, since this was a Fuzhouese custom. Not sure if this custom is practiced elsewhere in China.

My friend who was the groom, said he was so frustrated during the performance of this custom, being himself originally from Zhejiang. Of course he did not show his frustrations during the formal bowing.

[Xiao Kui]

I'm from Flushing, and I always wished I would have learned Chinese from my friends in high school (Bayside) so I wouldn't be struggling now, but there were just too many languages going on to pick one (just Cantonese and Mandarin as far as Chinese goes, but there are a lot of Pakistanis, Koreans, and Latin Americans there as well.) Living in Flushing you would hear so many different languages on the bus that you would learn to just block out all foreign languages. This habit really hindered my tingli when I moved to China as a young adult because I would involuntarily block out native conversations instead of intentionally eavesdropping so I could learn a thing or two. Looking back, most of my Chinese friends in Queens were Cantonese speakers, so I guess it's a good thing I never learned from them since Cantonese wouldn't have done me much good in SW China. I miss Flushing - it's like Epcot Center gone ghetto - so cool.

[bhchao]

Flushing is now a neighborhood of white-collar workers from Taiwan and mainland China earning over $45,000 a year. Most of these white-collar workers are immigrants from Taiwan who originally came to the US to earn advanced degrees, work in Manhattan, and live in Flushing.

It is quite practical of Asian immigrants in NYC to live in Queens and work in Manhattan, especially considering the exorbitant real estate prices in Manhattan. They also get to take advantage of the 7 train that takes them directly to and from work daily. I think the 7 train should be cleaner than its current condition.

there were just too many languages going on to pick one (just Cantonese and Mandarin as far as Chinese goes, but there are a lot of Pakistanis, Koreans, and Latin Americans there as well.

One thing I like about Flushing is that it is a closely knitted neighborhood of ethnic enclaves adjacent to each other. There are the Chinese shops and restaurants (like the Taiwan-based Tenren and seafood restaurants) on Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, while a Koreatown is situated nearby on Union Street.

It is also very convenient to buy produce from those Cantonese sidewalk vendors in Flushing.

Compared to Manhattan's Chinatown, Flushing is far more diverse, an all-Asian neighborhood. There is another Chinatown in NYC: Sunset Park in Brooklyn. I wonder what is the predominant dialect there.