5 comments about A Dictionary of Cantonese Slang: The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs And City Life.

1. Before you purchase a copy just remember this is a dictionary for CANTONESE slang. Cantonese being one of the many Chinese dialogues, obviously not every Chinese speaks Cantonese.
   So having said that, I must inform everyone that Cantonese has the most vivid descriptions and usages of slang of the entire Chinese language (yet, being the least awful sounding). How do I know, because I was born in that wonderful city of Hong Kong! It's my native tongue, so trust me, we know how to slang in style~~ However, not all Cantonese slangs are entirely cruses nor are they offensive, you can use many of them safely in any environment. And this book presents the best of them in their original forms, including the usage of each slang and how to apply it within your speech. I am amazed by how accurate the dictionary truly is. The definations are all better than I thought they would be (as well as its entertaining value)! So if you are ever tired from repeating the same old phrases over and over again, then try adding a few Cantonese slangs into your speech to spice things up a little bit.



2. waited a long time for this to come out, and well worth it..the book is a fantastic contribution to Cantonese language study.
   Cantonese is difficult anyway, and has very few good books for those learning the language, in contrast to Mandarin.
   well done to the authors and publishers for sticking it out, anyone seriously studying Cantonese will need to learn the wonderfully rich and varied slang, and this really is a serious and valuable work, also rather amusing..thank you!.



3. This is the type of cantonese colliquial I was looking for, one that doesn't just include all the usual phrases that are just slightly colloquial. This book goes all the way in terms of slang language. A lot of swearing and gangster talk is included. When I saw the book cover the first thing that came to mind was the hk movie 'young and dangerous'. Although I have to say ever since my mother brought another colloquial book from hk 'common cantonese colloquial expressions' I found that if you want the usual colloquial phrases like "ar chi don gum say" (ie pretending teeth to be used as gold - I highly take in/treausre every word you say) or "bou yee li" (ie cheating with another woman while married) it'll probably be better to get that book. This book is very slang although it does include many of the usual everyday phrases. The language in this book is probably not used by a majority of civilised hk people although many in hk do swear a lot but I guess they won't use that many variations of harsh expressions. I know this as I was born in hk myself and have visited hk once in a while as I live overseas. I myself do swear a lot in canto (although sometimes I try not to) so this book was suitable for me. It is good as a read for amusment and englightening to what can be said when hk people get pissed or are under pressure.. which is a lot of the time. The yale organisation of the book is very useful for those that can't read chinese as it is in alhapbetical order. It also helps you to pronouce the words if you figure out how to read with the sounding of the high and low tones. Overall I think that this book was well written and it isn't expensive for such a thick book as this I have to say.
   
   
   hk.style



4. Excellent book. Though born and raised in Hawaii, Cantonese was my first language. During trips to Hong Kong and Guangzhou to visit family, my Chinese was understood perfectly and they marvelled at how well I spoke colloquial Chinese, but I never realized I wasn't speaking "proper" Cantonese, until I read this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone desiring to learn the usage and context of Cantonese as spoken on the streets of any Chinatown in the U.S. as well as Hong Kong & Guangdong.



5. An excellent book and worth it for both native Cantonese speakers and people learning to speak Cantonese. I'm a native Cantonese speaker (and also fluent in English) and there are lots of slang phrases I have a hard time translating to English and this book helps with it. It should be noted that the vernacular in this book are often particular to the Cantonese in Hong Kong and may not reflect the vernacular of Cantonese spoken in Guangzhou.
   
   There are a few mistakes in the book, however, but not a big problem. For instance, some characters that actually can be written in Cantonese are left "blank" (indicated by a square).
   
   I recommend this book 100%

2 comments about Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledgegrammars).

1. This book is an excellent sequel to: "Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook" by the same authors. It (and its predecessor) are the best sources I've seen as far as really explaining how Cantonese works. There has been some other good material published in recent years for Cantonese learners (I give high marks to "Colloquial Cantonese" by Tong and James and "Teach Yourself Cantonese" by Baker and Ho) but this is the best treatment of Cantonese syntax I've come across- having worked through it I now feel confident that I can speak good, authentic Cantonese. It is written from a linguistic point of view but it is so well-organized and the material is so neatly presented that even someone without much linguistic background would find it a help. There are some comparisons made with Mandarin usage which are interesting and helpful to someone who learned Mandarin first (as I did) but previous knowledge of Mandarin is not assumed or required. A further plus: Lots of contemporary vocabulary. If you think you'd like to be able to say: "The boss has sexually harassed her" "My daughter is giving me an attitude again" or "very soon one will be able to get on the Internet via mobile phones" look no further!



2. Intermediate Cantonese is a great textbook to upgrade your knowledge of Cantonese, a language spoken by over 100 million people in southern China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macau) and among many overseas Chinese. It's very didactical and quite easy to understand. Cantonese is not easy to learn, but the book makes it pretty easy to learn.

5 comments about Read and Write Chinese: A Simplified Guide to the Chinese Characters.

1. To support some of the other comments, this would be a 5 star plus book if "simplified guide" meant using the simplified characters. Having a character guide which I am able to read without a magnifying glass is a major plus. If the next revision switches to simplified characters, it will be the "best" in class.



2. This book is wonderful and I do not consider that having only unsimplified forms of the characters is a flaw. While simplifid characters are more useful in Mainland China, they are not used at all in Taiwan, Hong Kong or Singapore and are only used rarely in Chinese communities in the U.S. and Canada. This book is most useful when visiting one of these places or studying there, since it is well nigh impossible to find an unsimplified guide or dictionary in most book stores. Also, it provides pronunciation in "bopomofo" the phonetic system used in Taiwan by foreigners and natives alike, far superioir to Wades-Giles or Pinyin.



3. It's a nicely laid-out book. Wish there was an audio accompaniment to these series that is packaged with the book. This book and also Understanding Chinese by the same author is, however, not for beginners. It serves as a good supplement.



4. This is great book if you are studying the art form of chinese characters. It is one of the only books available with an index of the characters in English which makes it invaluable. I highly recommend it.



5. This book is a must for learning Chinese. The cross reference dictionaries are a life saver. The book is well thought out and very easy to use. You can learn from the book and also use it for reference!

5 comments about Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge Grammars).

1. Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews have done it well. This is the clearest, most useful Cantonese language book yet. Each lesson builds on the previous one, as you would expect, but the inclusion of vocabulary that actually is useful in the world, and their clear method for discribing tonal pronunciations goes far beyond what has been available to date. Yip and Matthews draw on film, radio and t.v. for many of their examples, presenting this vital language as it is currently spoken. Using this book in conjuction with their "Essential Cantonese Grammar" will move your studies ahead vigorously and easily.



2. I first studied Cantonese in 1974, using the Yale University text of Parker P.F. Huang. In 2002 I acquired Basic Cantonese by Yip & Matthews. It was an excellent review and also clarified certain points further. In addition, it had the benefits of more recent linguistic scholarship.

   Another good feature was the answer key at the back of the book, which is immensely helpful when the learner has to rely on self-study.

   Also, it is helpful when the learner needs to get an informal Cantonese tutor, like a spouse or other family member. The vast majority of Cantonese speakers have no acquaintance with the Yale University spelling system used in this and other books. So one of the first steps is to teach the spelling system to the tutor. And this book does an excellent job. I recommend it without reservation.




3. This is one of the few books I've seen that uses phonetics that are
   accurate to the Cantonese language, as opposed to the "Romanized" Cantonese in other books. It is definitely a good supplement to other books that teach you words by topic area (i.e. food, travel, clothing, etc.).



4. The title says it all. Written very well, but make sure you have access to someone who is a native speaker (optimal) or some audio source, just to hear the pronunciations.



5. Basic Cantonese, as well as Intermedia Cantonese, are very useful textbooks to learn Cantonese. Well written, well explained, well presented and, most importantly, relatively easy to understand.

5 comments about Pimsleur Chinese (Cantonese).

1. I was originally skeptical but found the lessons to be good. Cantonese is a challenging language due to it's specific use of intonation and this program does well to emphasize this. Like any language, a lot of repetition is required but since it is in CD format it is convenient in the car or any travel situation. This is definitely a good start to learing Cantonese but instruction from someone fluent is needed in order to perfect the pronounciation.



2. i was surprised how my understanding went up very quickly. this is different since it tells you just keep going through the lessons, even if you don't get everything. it then starts clicking all of a sudden since it does repeat lots of the words over the course of the lessons but with a different twist that applies to actual situations rather than boring drills.
   
   this is good.



3. from what I can gather from the blurb printed inside the cd case, pimsleur uses several techniques to optimize memory retention. for example, they introduce a word or phrase, get you to repeat it, re-repeat it in several contexts, then after a period of dealing with other words and phrases, they start going over them again. basically they keep coming back over the same words and phrases, but with greater and greater intervals between them, since each reinforcement pass allows the phrases to stay in your memory that much longer. the only downside is that the frequent repetition means that new material gets introduced relatively slowly, which at times is a little frustrating, but the good news is that the material that you cover you do actually master, retain and can use, extremely quickly. and the best part for me, is that my memory is usually pretty poor (i don't remember people's names well for example).



4. Pimsleur is the easiest method for a learner to start speaking another language. It is pleasant, non-intimidating and introduces the words used in the dialogues slowly along with an explanation of each word. However, its drawbacks are no written transcripts although the speakers' voices are quite clear; no individual tracks for each lesson making review of certain sections more difficult; and limited vocabulary due to the reliance on memory retention. Pimsleur is pricey considering its drawbacks but with the limited selection of Cantonese learning materials available, this still ranks as one of the better ones.



5. Prior to buying this, I was very interested in learning conversational Cantonese, but had zero previous experience. I'm the kind of person who tries to find "free" solutions online, but everything I tracked down was very overwhelming. Someone suggested Pimsleur, so I decided to check it out.
   
   It was a bit pricy, but I think it has been worth it. I'm half way through the program, and I'm able to speak/listen to some simple phrases that are commonly used by native speakers. Thus far the vocabulary is very guided for an American travelling to Hong Kong.
   
   It has also helped to understand some simple grammatical structure, so I'm able to construct my own phrases not necessarily on the CDs. My friends from Hong Kong are very impressed with how quickly I'm picking things up.
   
   Anyone considering this product should note that it is a set of 15 cds with 30 half hour audio lessons, where you repeat phrases and answer questions that the narrator has. There are no transcripts, so don't expect to learn how to read or write Cantonese.
   
   Highly reccomended.

No comments about Cantonese Phrasebook.

1 comments about Chinese For Dummies Audio Set (For Dummies (Language & Literature)).

1. These CDs are helpful for people who have to learn some Chinese conversation in a very quick way. It's handy to listen to them.

4 comments about Conversational Cantonese Chinese: Learn to Speak and Understand Cantonese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur).

1. Although the conversational Cantonese used is correct...many of the word phrases could be greatly improved with more commonplace word usage and phrases. A small written booklet - written in the romanized Yale system for conversational Cantonese would be most help for those of us 21yrs. and older:who's native tongue is English.



2. I listen to it on the way to work. I am up to lesson 12 and it really works. Not enough vocabulary for general use, but it gets you off to a wonderful start. I now know the chinese girls at work often talk about eating.
   
   I rcommend it over Berlitz or the other brands. This is taylored to the cantonese language and it teaches you in a natural way.
   
   Warning. If you have the Basic Contonese, the first five discs are the same.



3. I am trying to learn Cantonese because my son-in-law's family speak it and I want to encourage my daughter to learn it. I was amazed that I could understand some of what he said within a week.



4. I've listened to many a language tape for several languages, and while I've never adored any of them, this one is just too painful to listen to. The first few discs consist of a voice saying a phrase, then silence while you repeat, then another phrase, silence, then back to the old phrase, silence, etc. Lots of long pauses and repetition, which could be helpful for someone, but was completely unappealing and boring for me.

4 comments about Pocket Cantonese Dictionary: Cantonese-English English-Cantonese (Periplus Pocket Dictionaries).

1. NO RADICAL INDEX OR CHARACTER CHART, that sums it up and then some. If you don't know what you're looking for, you won't find in here. Too bad, I seldom can find NOTHING good to say about a book but this one would get a negative star rating if I could give one. Sorry, but this thing is useless, spend your money on something that will actually be of use like Langenscheidt's.



2. Not an extensive dictionary but considering the low price, the dictionary is mediocre. The vocabulary is very limited with no sentence examples but I personally found it extremely handy for verifying the pronunciation of most every day words. Cantonese is a fading language, its materials are limited and for most people, not worth spending much money or effort on.



3. I don't think the other reviewers actually read cover of the dictionary. It says, "Contains the 3,000 most useful words for everyday communication". I'm not sure why someone would be surprised by the fact that it has "limited vocabulary". That's actually the point. Direct your attention to the words needed for daily communication before learning how to say things like, "grandiloquent". Basically, if it's in this dictionary, you need to know it. Not to mention, it is a pocket dictionary. Also, it's not a character dictionary. You look things up either by Cantonese pronunciation or English.
   As far as Cantonese being a "fading" language, there are 55 million speakers worldwide, in Guangdong province in China, news is broadcast in Cantonese, school up to university level is conducted in Cantonese. Cantonese won't be making its exit from the world language stage anytime soon.
   This dictionary does what it claims to do very well, namely giving you simple definitions for the most common 3000 words (not characters, although the characters for each word are given which is a huge plus). In addition, it works great as a list of "must know" vocabulary. Once you finish some beginning course (I highly recommend the two FSI courses by Elizabeth L. Boyle), this is a great way to expand your vocab.



4. I'm in agreement with one of the reviewers below; I'm curious what other two critics were looking for too, because this is meant to be a limited vocabulary reference book. I like that this includes words not common in most of the other dictionaries, and an additional bonus is that it has the Chinese characters, which are legible and clear. This is the one title that consistently comes up in the "recommended texts" at universities and language schools. Thumbs up for me.

5 comments about Teach Yourself Cantonese Complete Course Audiopack.

1. As a Mandarin speaker I found this course extremely easy to use. It is organized very well mixing grammar, vocab and culture sections together. Before I used this, I really struggled to pick up Cantonese tones, because there are more than there are in Mandarin. But after using this I have pretty well got the hang of it after only a week or two. The romanization used here is also the standard used in moat other texts (not that there are many). For the price, there is nothing better, and this will give you a good speaking foundation. Also, the Hong Kong characters are included which helps so you can practice with a native having them read the dialogue with you! These people thought of everything! This is the best Teach Yourself I have used.
   
   For a more thourough but more expensive course, try Dana Bourgeries (Sp? I cant spell french sorry) Cantonese course which is all on cd for the computer.



2. I think this is a very good course. The way it combines listening comprehension (CD) with grammar and vocabulary (book) works very well for me.



3. Not overally comprehensive but given the limited amount of resources available for the language, is relatively simple to use to get a basic understanding. I wish the CD's would cover the complete vocabulary list for all of the lessons instead of only the dialogues. But at this low price, the course is hard to beat.



4. Other reviewers have already pointed out that this is among the best books for learning Cantonese, so here just a few additional comments:
   
   - this book is quite dense. There is a lot of material in those 26 chapters. This means you get a lot of value, but also that it can seem frustrating to be stuck somewhere in the middle of the book. The audio material is also good, but a little more limited.
   
   - in general, if you are serious about learning Cantonese, consider taking at least a few lessons with someone at the very beginning, then continue on your own. Otherwise it will be very hard. Also, if you can afford it, buy a combo of materials, maybe this book plus the Basic Cantonese grammar of Matthews and Yip, plus a small dictionary ("Pocket Cantonese Dictionary" from Periplus or "Phrases in Cantonese" from Hung).
   
   - this book comes in different versions, with CD or audio cassette. Make sure to get the CD so you can easily move the material to your mp3 player or computer for flexible playback. Amazon is not always clear on which version you are dealing with, so I first got the one with tapes.
   
   - also, there are older versions of the Baker/Ho books that do not use Yale romanization but their own system. Stay away from those or anyone who has their own system. Stick with Yale or maybe Jyutping.
   
   - if there is something missing in this book, it would be a more complete coverage of the grammar. Also get the Matthews/Yip book for this! And the list of vocabulary at the end is missing the chinese characters - even if you don't learn characters, it is still useful to have them written out to disambiguate certain cases.
   
   - this book distinguishes between high and high falling tone, and thus has one more tone than some other books. I am not convinced this actually makes a difference or is needed to be understood.



5. I've always wanted to learn conversational Cantonese and this book is a nice book for it. The audio cd's are nice too. I wish the cd's would go over more of the pronunciations listed in the book. But for this price, I really can't complain.