Fun facts
In this page, we will be telling you fun facts about the three dialects we are teaching - Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew. You will be able to know more about it's culture, origins and many other facts about the dialects here!
1. There are many many dialects and sub-dialects out there, more than we can teach. For example, Hokkien can be broken down into its sub-dialects, one of which includes Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese) & Malaysian-Hokkien. The one we are currently teaching is Singaporean Hokkien.
2. Hokkien vocabulary is quite similar to Korean in terms of pronunciation. For example, cek in hokkien means book. For Korean, chaek means book.
3. Cantonese is spoken by about 100 million people in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi and neighboring areas such as Hong Kong and Macao, as well as throughout South-East Asia in places such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Migration of Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong and the Guangdong area caused Cantonese to be spoken even in Chinatowns of western countries like U.S., Canada and Australia.
4. Hokkien is the surviving language of the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD), China 's Golden Age of Culture. The Hokkien we hear today have "evolved" from its original form 2,000 years ago, but it still retains the main elements of the Tang Dynasty Language.
5. Hokkien and Cantonese has 8 tones instead of Mandarin's 4. Linguists claim that ancient languages tend to have more complex tones.
6. Teochew is well-known worldwide as part of world heritage. Teochew had existed for more than 1000 years and is regarded highly for it's opera, distinctive food taste and tea. The Teochew dialect is considered one of the oldest... dialects for it preserves many features from ancient Chinese which had been lost long ago in some counterparts. This dialect is spoken by 10 million people in Mainland China and 5 million people overseas.
7. The collection of the famous "Three Hundred Tang Dynasty Poems(唐诗三百首)" sound better when recited in Hokkien/Teochew if compared to Mandarin.
8. There are about 5 million Teochew speakers worldwide. Teochew actually originated from Hokkien. Because of geographical barrier and the influence from Hakka and Cantonese, the language gradually evolved into an
independent Teochew language.
9. Teochew, originates from Zhengzhou, Southern Shanxi, Northwestern Jiangsu, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Henan, Hebei and Shaanxi of Northern china. Teochew people moved from these places to Guangdong to escape war during the Jin Dynasty and now they are being regarded as Southern Chinese instead.
10. Mandarin is just a Northern Chinese dialect (heavily influenced by non Han Chinese) that was elevated to the status of National Language by Sun Yat Sen for the sake of China 's national unity. It is not a main language with all the sub-dialects under it.
11. Hokkien was commonly used as a language of instruction for trainees in the Army. However, from October 1978 onwards, all instructions are to be passed only in either English, Malay or Mandarin. This is another sign of diminishing dialects.
12. One of the most famous Cantonese delicacies is "Dim sum" and it means touch the heart. It is usually served at breakfast, and ladies will wheel trolleys around the restaurant laden with bamboo baskets, which they will lift up to show you what is inside - small tasty dishes such as "Har gow" and "Siew mai".
2. Hokkien vocabulary is quite similar to Korean in terms of pronunciation. For example, cek in hokkien means book. For Korean, chaek means book.
3. Cantonese is spoken by about 100 million people in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi and neighboring areas such as Hong Kong and Macao, as well as throughout South-East Asia in places such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Migration of Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong and the Guangdong area caused Cantonese to be spoken even in Chinatowns of western countries like U.S., Canada and Australia.
4. Hokkien is the surviving language of the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD), China 's Golden Age of Culture. The Hokkien we hear today have "evolved" from its original form 2,000 years ago, but it still retains the main elements of the Tang Dynasty Language.
5. Hokkien and Cantonese has 8 tones instead of Mandarin's 4. Linguists claim that ancient languages tend to have more complex tones.
6. Teochew is well-known worldwide as part of world heritage. Teochew had existed for more than 1000 years and is regarded highly for it's opera, distinctive food taste and tea. The Teochew dialect is considered one of the oldest... dialects for it preserves many features from ancient Chinese which had been lost long ago in some counterparts. This dialect is spoken by 10 million people in Mainland China and 5 million people overseas.
7. The collection of the famous "Three Hundred Tang Dynasty Poems(唐诗三百首)" sound better when recited in Hokkien/Teochew if compared to Mandarin.
8. There are about 5 million Teochew speakers worldwide. Teochew actually originated from Hokkien. Because of geographical barrier and the influence from Hakka and Cantonese, the language gradually evolved into an
independent Teochew language.
9. Teochew, originates from Zhengzhou, Southern Shanxi, Northwestern Jiangsu, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Henan, Hebei and Shaanxi of Northern china. Teochew people moved from these places to Guangdong to escape war during the Jin Dynasty and now they are being regarded as Southern Chinese instead.
10. Mandarin is just a Northern Chinese dialect (heavily influenced by non Han Chinese) that was elevated to the status of National Language by Sun Yat Sen for the sake of China 's national unity. It is not a main language with all the sub-dialects under it.
11. Hokkien was commonly used as a language of instruction for trainees in the Army. However, from October 1978 onwards, all instructions are to be passed only in either English, Malay or Mandarin. This is another sign of diminishing dialects.
12. One of the most famous Cantonese delicacies is "Dim sum" and it means touch the heart. It is usually served at breakfast, and ladies will wheel trolleys around the restaurant laden with bamboo baskets, which they will lift up to show you what is inside - small tasty dishes such as "Har gow" and "Siew mai".
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