Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese , a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family . It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton ) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta .
139-448: Cantopop (a contraction of " Cantonese pop music") is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese . Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hong Kong popular music from the middle of the decade. Cantopop then reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s before slowly declining in
278-570: A linguistic discrimination that has also contributed to social conflicts between the two sides, with a growing number of Chinese Americans (including American-born Chinese ) of Cantonese background defending the historic Chinese-American culture against the impacts of increasing Mandarin-speaking new arrivals. In Northern California , especially the San Francisco Bay Area , the California Cantonese have historically dominated in
417-431: A loan shark . Man has Kit arrange a game of pai gow. Kit arranges a game of pai gow with some friends, including a wealthy man and his wife Pei-pei. However, Kit has very poor luck and soon loses all his borrowed money. He desperately calls Man to come over and help him, but Man refuses, giving the excuse that he has a stomachache, when in reality he just want to rest and relax. Having run out of money, Kit decides to leave
556-629: A Chinese community. The majority of Cantonese-speakers in Canada live in the Greater Toronto Area and Metro Vancouver . There are sufficient Cantonese-speakers in Canada that there exist locally produced Cantonese TV and radio programming, such as Fairchild TV . As in the United States, the Chinese Canadian community traces its roots to early immigrants from Guangdong during the latter half of
695-476: A bookie placing bets over a telephone, and remembers what Kit says about the possibility of bookies forgetting to telephone. He quickly realises that Kit's plan could actually work. He then decides to use the winnings and have Ching's bookie bet on the favorite through off-track betting. Man and Kit agree to do the following: Kit will go to the greyhound track in Macau to bet on the remaining hounds, while Man will find
834-461: A cantopop song for big band or jazz combo arrangement. Standard Cantonese Cantonese is regarded as an integral and inextricable component of the cultural identity of its native speakers across a vast expanse of southeastern China , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as in overseas communities . In mainland China , Cantonese is the lingua franca of the Chinese province of Guangdong (being
973-482: A certain degree. By definition hybrids are still considered Cantonese songs due to the Cantonese lyrics, though the rights borrowed varies country to country. Songs like "Tomorrow sounds like today" ( 明日話今天 ) by Jenny Tseng , "Life to seek" ( 一生何求 ) by Danny Chan , "Snowing" ( 飄雪 ) by Priscilla Chan , and "Can't afford" ( 負擔不起 ) by Jade Kwan were originally composed outside of Hong Kong. Many critics disapprove of
1112-416: A common practice among Hong Kong record companies. At that time, Hong Kong's constantly growing music industry acknowledges simply by using those hits, whose already gained popularity, will be the easiest way to reach success in the market. Cover versions were also widely used as a solution to address the shortage of the local hits due to the lack of local composers. Another reason for the use of cover versions
1251-488: A culturally challenging atmosphere for the industry. Establishment of Basic Law and language ordinances made the adoption of Mandarin inevitable. In 2019, Andy Lau spoke of his desire for a reunion of the Four Heavenly Kings in an interview with the press. At the turn of the century, Cantonese was still dominant in the domain of Chinese pop . The deaths of superstars Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui in 2003 rocked
1390-451: A date with her. Kit eventually takes Siu-mei out on a date at the beach. While Siu-mei is changing in a changing room, Kit spots a group of gamblers playing poker nearby. He decides to con them by using his own cards to deal himself a full house , but is soon exposed by one of them, who notices Kit's cards. Kit is beaten up and badly injured. After Kit sees a doctor, Siu-mei informs him that she has gotten tickets for him to participate in
1529-608: A descending bassline . Cantonese is a pitch sensitive tonal language . The word carries a different meaning when sung in a different relative pitch. Matching Cantonese lyrics to Western music was particularly difficult because the Western musical scale has 12 semitones . Through the work of pioneers like Samuel Hui , James Wong ( 黃霑 ) and Jimmy Lo Kwok Tsim ( 盧國沾 ), those that followed have more stock phrases for reference. Famous lyricists also include Albert Leung (林夕) and Wyman Wong (黃偉文). Tonal constraints have been blamed for
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#17328557251251668-435: A distinct classical literature was developed in Cantonese, with Middle Chinese texts sounding more similar to modern Cantonese than other present-day Chinese varieties, including Mandarin. As Guangzhou became China's key commercial center for foreign trade and exchange in the 1700s, Cantonese became the variety of Chinese interacting most with the Western world. Much of the sources for this period of early Cantonese, such as
1807-575: A more important status by the natives than ever before as a common identity of the local people. This has led to initiatives to revive the language such as its introduction into school curricula and locally produced programs on broadcast media. Cantonese has historically served as a lingua franca among overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, who speak a variety of other forms of Chinese including Hokkien , Teochew , and Hakka . Additionally, Cantonese media and popular culture such as cinema of Hong Kong
1946-433: A notorious and influential loan shark named Ching, who operates a large illegal gambling den. Man and Kit decides to gamble there. Ching is a ruthless and violent loan shark, who regularly assaults his thugs for failing to meet standards and even guests who win too much in his place. Kit loses some money while Man wins some. They later meet Bully at a diner, who also tells Man that Ching enjoys playing Mahjong and often have
2085-441: A notorious loan shark named Ching. She had no choice but to pay him $ 6,000 in interest. Man is intrigued by this loan shark, and later leaves Pei-pei's residence with $ 1,000. He then spots Kit sitting outside Pei-pei's home, apparently having spent the whole night waiting for Man to show up. Kit is worried about getting enough money to repay the loan shark. Man reassures him that it is easy to gamble and win more money, but soon loses
2224-541: A relatively minor presence compared to other Southeast Asian nations, being the fourth most spoken Chinese variety after Hokkien, Hakka and Teochew. Despite the majority of Chinese Filipinos are Fujianese , there are also sizeable Cantonese population in the Philippines, with many of them mainly came from Taishan , Guangdong . Many of the Cantonese people and their descendants live in Baguio and its province Benguet , where
2363-555: A segregation of communities based on linguistic cleavage. In particular, some Chinese Americans (including American-born Chinese ) of Cantonese background emphasise their non-mainland origins (e.g. Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, etc.) to assert their identity in the face of new waves of immigration. Games Gamblers Play Games Gamblers Play ( Chinese : 鬼馬雙星 ) is a 1974 Hong Kong comedy film directed by and starring Michael Hui , with action direction by Sammo Hung . The film also co-stars Sam Hui , who also served as one of
2502-421: A separate Hong Kong identity. A similar identity issue exists in the United States, where conflicts have arisen among Chinese-speakers due to a large recent influx of Mandarin-speakers. While older Taiwanese immigrants have learned Cantonese to foster integration within the traditional Chinese American populations, more recent arrivals from the mainland continue to use Mandarin exclusively. This has contributed to
2641-573: A significant proportion of the entertainment industry in China migrated to Hong Kong in the early decades of the 20th century, the Hong Kong-based entertainment industry underwent a transformation to suit overseas as well as domestic audiences. With the bifurcation of the film industry into Cantonese and Mandarin, the use of the Xiguan accent of Guangzhou as a conservative prestige accent of standard Cantonese
2780-401: A way to disable the telephone lines of the gambling den to prevent bookies from placing their bets. Their plan seemingly succeeds, with Man winning $ 320,000 from an increasingly irate Ching. However, Man's act of disabling the telephone lines is discovered by a street bum, who later informs Ching. Infuriated, Ching sends his thugs after Man. Man and Kit's happiness with their newly gotten gains
2919-525: Is also available in the nation and Cantonese is prevalent in locally produced Chinese television. Cantonese spoken in Malaysia and Singapore often exhibits influences from Malay and other Chinese varieties spoken in the country, like Hokkien and Teochew. The Singapore government uses Mandarin as the official Chinese variety and has a Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC) seeking to actively promote using Mandarin at
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#17328557251253058-523: Is also widely spoken as well in the town of Sekinchan in the district of Sabak Bernam located in the northern part of Selangor state and also in the state of Perak , especially in the state capital city of Ipoh and its surrounding towns of Gopeng , Batu Gajah , and Kampar of the Kinta Valley region plus the towns of Tapah and Bidor in the southern part of the Perak state, and also widely spoken in
3197-515: Is an official language alongside Portuguese . As in Hong Kong, Cantonese is the predominant spoken variety of Chinese used in everyday life and is thus the official form of Chinese used in the government. The Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong and Macau is mutually intelligible with the Cantonese spoken in the mainland city of Guangzhou , although there exist some minor differences in accent, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Cantonese first developed around
3336-619: Is becoming increasingly concentrated in Brooklyn's Sunset Park, also known as Little Fuzhou , which is causing the city's growing Cantonese and Fuzhou enclaves to become increasingly distanced and isolated from both each other and other Chinese enclaves in Queens. Flushing's Chinatown , which is now the largest Chinatown in the city, and Elmhurst's smaller Chinatown in Queens are very diverse, with large numbers of Mandarin speakers from different regions of China and Taiwan. The Chinatowns of Queens comprise
3475-516: Is growing, with a number of educational institutes offering Cantonese as an elective language course. Cantonese is widely used as the inter-communal language among Chinese Cambodians , especially in Phnom Penh and other urban areas. While Teochew speakers form the majority of the Chinese population in Cambodia , Cantonese is often used as a vernacular in commerce and with other Chinese variant groups in
3614-540: Is imprisoned once again. Some time has passed, and Man is released again. He meets Kit outside the prison, who is revealed to be married to Siu-mei. Kit starts telling Man about another gambling scheme, but Man points out its many flaws. Kit then tells Man that he used this plan and lost $ 300,000 last week. Man realises that the winnings from Ching are all gone. Gwai ma seung sing is the debut Cantonese album by Hong Kong actor and singer Samuel Hui , released in 1974 by Polydor Records . The first two tracks are heard in
3753-509: Is largely a countermeasure against Hong Kong's influence, as the autonomous territory has the right to freedom of the press and speech and its Cantonese-language media have a substantial exposure and following in Guangdong. Nevertheless, the place of local Cantonese language and culture remains contentious, as with other non-Mandarin Chinese languages. A 2010 proposal to switch some programming on Guangzhou television from Cantonese to Mandarin
3892-571: Is largely influential in the local Chinese media and is used in commerce by Chinese Malaysians. Due to the popularity of Hong Kong popular culture , especially through drama series and popular music, Cantonese is widely understood by the Chinese in all parts of Malaysia, even though a large proportion of the Chinese Malaysian population is non-Cantonese. Television networks in Malaysia regularly broadcast Hong Kong television programmes in their original Cantonese audio and soundtrack. Cantonese radio
4031-453: Is less formal. The lyrics written in colloquial Cantonese make up the majority with compositions done in modern written Chinese . TV shows filmed under modern contexts will use songs written with these lyrics. Most songs share an over-riding characteristic, in which every last word of a phrase is rhymed . The following is an example from the song "Impression" ( 印象 ) by Samuel Hui . The last word of every phrase ends with '–oeng'. Cantopop
4170-407: Is mostly used in informal settings like social media and comic books. In English, the term "Cantonese" can be ambiguous. "Cantonese" as used to refer to the language native to the city of Canton, which is the traditional English name of Guangzhou , was popularized by An English and Cantonese Pocket Dictionary (1859), a bestseller by the missionary John Chalmers . Before 1859, this variant
4309-446: Is now seldom used outside mainland China. In Guangdong and Guangxi, people also call it "provincial capital speech" ( 省城話 ; 省城话 ; Saang2 seng4 waa2 ; Sáangsèhng wá ) or "plain speech" ( 白話 ; 白话 ; Baak6 waa2 ; Baahkwá ). In academic linguistic circles, it is also referred to as "Canton prefecture speech" ( 廣府話 ; 广府话 ; Gwong2 fu2 waa2 ; Gwóngfú wá ). In Hong Kong and Macau, as well as among overseas Chinese communities,
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4448-406: Is only non-verbatim with respect to vernacular Cantonese, it is possible to read Standard Chinese text verbatim in formal Cantonese, often with only slight changes in lexicon that are optional depending on the reader's choice of register. This results in the situation in which a Cantonese and a Mandarin text may appear similar but are pronounced differently. Conversely, written (vernacular) Cantonese
4587-624: Is paramount.” Man is a prison laborer who has a knack for conning others. Kit is a novice conman who has been caught stealing poker chips from another gambler in a casino. While in prison, Kit shares a cell with Man, where they discover their common interest in pai gow . They become friends and decide to devise plans to con their way into wealth. Both are eventually released from prison. Kit tells Man about his plan to work together and gamble their way into riches, but Man expresses his concern about their lack of money before they can even begin to gamble. Kit assures Man that he has borrowed some money from
4726-458: Is popular throughout the region. In Vietnam , Cantonese is the dominant language of the main ethnic Chinese community, usually referred to as Hoa , which numbers about one million people and constitutes one of the largest minority groups in the country. Over half of the ethnic Chinese population in Vietnam speaks Cantonese as a native language and the variety also serves as a lingua franca between
4865-407: Is short-lived, after Bully notifies Man that Ching knows about Man's sabotage. Man and Kit decide to hide at a resort. Seeing this as an opportunity to leave his wife and sister at home, Man also invites Pei-pei to the resort. However, Siu-mei and Man's wife also decide to go to the resort unannounced, as Man's wife knows that Man will be up to no good. She eventually catches Man and Pei-pei together in
5004-403: Is skeptical. Kit mentions a man he knows, Bully, a former pimp who works as a debt collector, who might have connections to get more money for betting. Kit spends the next few days devising a strategy to beat in greyhound racing. He eventually tells Man of his plan - by placing heavy bets on the favorite, while placing smaller bets on the rest of the rounds as a way to maximise their winnings from
5143-478: Is spoken by ethnic Chinese in Portugal who originate from Macau , the most established Chinese community in the nation with a presence dating back to the 16th century and Portuguese colonialism . Since the late-20th century, however, Mandarin- and Wu-speaking migrants from mainland China have outnumbered those from Macau, although Cantonese is still retained among mainstream Chinese community associations. Cantonese
5282-455: Is the translation to Hanyu Pinyin of certain terms which originated from southern Chinese varieties. For instance, dim sum is often known as diǎn xīn in Singapore's English-language media, though this is largely a matter of style, and most Singaporeans will still refer to it as dim sum when speaking English. Nevertheless, since the government restriction on media in non-Mandarin varieties
5421-511: Is to minimise the production costs. The practice is also done for business reasons of filling up albums and re-capitalizing on songs with a proven record. The Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards, which is one of the major music awards in Hong Kong since 1979, can reflect the great reliance on Japanese melodies in Cantopop. During the 1980s, 139 out of 477 songs from weekly gold songs chart were cover versions, and 52% of
5560-545: The 1980s , Cantopop soared to great heights with artists, producers and record companies working in harmony. Cantopop stars such as Alan Tam , Leslie Cheung , Anita Mui , Sally Yeh , Priscilla Chan , Sandy Lam , Danny Chan , Jacky Cheung , Andy Lau quickly became household names. The industry used Cantopop songs in TV dramas and movies, with some of the biggest soundtracks coming from films such as A Better Tomorrow ( 英雄本色 ). Sponsors and record companies became comfortable with
5699-577: The Hong Kong Basic Law . The Chinese language has many different varieties , of which Cantonese is one. Given the traditional predominance of Cantonese within Hong Kong, it is the de facto official spoken form of the Chinese language used in the Hong Kong Government and all courts and tribunals. It is also used as the medium of instruction in schools, alongside English. A similar situation also exists in neighboring Macau , where Chinese
Cantopop - Misplaced Pages Continue
5838-493: The Sacramento River Delta (see Locke, California ). It is a Yuehai variety much like Guangzhou Cantonese but has "flatter" tones. Chinese is the second most widely spoken non-English language in the United States when both Cantonese and Mandarin are combined, behind Spanish. Many institutes of higher education have traditionally had Chinese programs based on Cantonese, with some continuing to offer these programs despite
5977-627: The emergent Chinese American enclaves in eastern Los Angeles County and other areas of the metropolitan region. Cantonese is the most common Chinese variety spoken among Chinese Canadians . According to the Canada 2016 census , there were 565,275 Canadian residents who reported Cantonese as their native language. Among the self-reported Cantonese speakers, 44% were born in Hong Kong, 27% were born in Guangdong Province in China, and 18% were Canadian-born. Cantonese-speakers can be found in every city with
6116-445: The "Five Asian Albums Worth Buying". Besides holding the record for winning the "Ultimate Male Singer - Gold" award (10 times) and "My Favorite Male Singer" award (9 conservative years) at the "Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation" in HK, Eason Chan also won numerous awards at major music award ceremonies locally and in other regions. He became one of the representative figures of Cantopop in
6255-421: The "band fever" cannot put for a long time. Along with the death of the legendary Wong Ka Kui , the leader and co-founder of Beyond , in 1993, and the disband-tide emerged in the early 90s ( Tat Ming Pair disbanded in 1990), the "band fever" gradually faded away and totally got down in the early 1990s. As Cantopop gained large followings in Chinese communities worldwide, Hong Kong entrepreneurs' ingenious use of
6394-476: The $ 1,000 in a gambling den. Man then decides to bring Kit to his own home to meet his younger sister Siu-mei and his wife. Kit soon becomes attracted to Siu-mei. One evening, Kit watches a quiz show hosted by Wong But-man and is able to answer every question correctly. Siu-mei is impressed by Kit's knowledge and suggests that Kit could win a lot of money by going on the show. Over dinner, Man asks Kit about what he thinks of his sister, and convinces Kit to go out on
6533-900: The 18th century rime dictionary Fenyun Cuoyao ( 分韻撮要 ; Fēnyùn Cuòyào ; Fan1 wan5 Cyut3 jiu3 ) and the 1828 Vocabulary of the Canton Dialect by the missionary Robert Morrison , were written in Guangzhou during this period of prosperity. After the First Opium War , centuries of maritime prohibitions ( 海禁 ; hǎijìn ; hoi2 gam3 ) ended. Large numbers of Cantonese people from the Pearl River Delta, especially merchants, subsequently migrated by boat to other parts of Guangdong and Guangxi. These migrants established enclaves of Cantonese in areas that primarily spoke other forms of Yue or even non-Sinitic languages such as Zhuang , for example in
6672-453: The 1990s when that era's "big-name" singers ( 大牌歌星 ) seemed unapproachable. A number of scandals struck some of stars later in the decade. In 2008, the Edison Chen photo scandal , involving Edison Chen and Twins singer Gillian Chung among others, was the subject of explicit photos uploaded online. The scandal occupied the front pages of the local press for a solid month, and also garnered
6811-542: The 19th century. Later Chinese immigrants came from Hong Kong in two waves, first in the late 1960s to mid 1970s, and again in the 1980s to late 1990s on fears arising from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and impending handover to the People's Republic of China. Chinese-speaking immigrants from conflict zones in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, arrived as well, beginning in the mid-1970s and were also largely Cantonese-speaking. The overwhelming majority of Chinese speakers in
6950-411: The 2000s and shrinking in the 2010s. The term "Cantopop" itself was coined in 1978 after "Cantorock", a term first used in 1974. In the 1980s, Cantopop reached its highest glory with fanbase and concerts all over the world, especially in Macau , Mainland China , Taiwan , Singapore , Malaysia , South Korea , and Japan . This was even more obvious with the influx of songs from Hong Kong movies during
7089-507: The 2000s. Cantopop was not restricted only to Hong Kong, but became part of a larger music movement. In 2005, Cantopop began a new upswing. Major companies that drove much of the HK segment included Gold Typhoon Music Entertainment ( EMI , Gold Label ), Universal Music Group , East Asia Entertainment ( 東亞娛樂 ) and Amusic and Emperor Entertainment Group . The decade was also dubbed a "People's singer" era ( 親民歌星 ), as most performers were frequently seen promoting publicly, in contrast with
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#17328557251257228-777: The 2010 proposal put forth by Guangzhou Television , which called for an increase in Mandarin broadcasts at the expense of Cantonese programmes. This, however, resulted in protests in Guangzhou, which ultimately dissuaded the authorities from pursuing the proposal. Furthermore, there are reports of students being punished for speaking other Chinese languages at school, which has led to a reluctance among younger children to communicate in their native languages, including Cantonese. Such actions have further provoked Cantonese speakers to cherish their linguistic identity in contrast to migrants who have generally arrived from poorer areas of China and largely speak Mandarin or other Chinese languages. Due to
7367-457: The 2010s. He was the first Chinese/HK singer who held solo concerts in London's O2 Arena and Beijing's National Stadium (Bird's Nest) . In the 2010s, there was revival for boy groups and bands in Cantopop with the rise of C AllStar , RubberBand , Supper Moment , Dear Jane , etc. JSG Best Ten Music Awards Presentation was highly controversial with the ongoing HKRIA royalties case . The case
7506-480: The Australian Bureau of Statistics listed 336,410 and 263,673 speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese, respectively. By 2016, those numbers became 596,711 and 280,943. Spoken Chinese exhibits a multitude of regional and local varieties, many of which are mutually unintelligible . The majority of these varieties are not widely spoken outside of their native regions, although they may be encountered in other parts of
7645-510: The Cantonese authorities in the early In the 20th century, proponents of the regional uniqueness of their local language and the commercial importance of the region argued that Cantonese should be preserved. In contrast to other non-Mandarin Chinese varieties, Cantonese persists in a few state television and radio broadcasts today. Nevertheless, there have been recent efforts to reduce the use of Cantonese in China . The most notable of these has been
7784-471: The Cantonese made up the majority of the city's and province's Chinese Filipino residents, with some of them have residences in Metro Manila. They speak Cantonese and its dialects such as Taishanese at home or in their circles, though they also learned Hokkien —a community lingua franca and trade language among Chinese Filipinos—to interact with the majority of Chinese Filipinos for business purposes, even to
7923-618: The Chinatowns of San Francisco and Oakland , as well as the surrounding suburbs and metropolitan area, although since the late 2000s a concentration of Mandarin speakers has formed in Silicon Valley . In contrast, Southern California hosts a much larger Mandarin-speaking population, with Cantonese found in more historical Chinese communities such as that of Chinatown, Los Angeles , and older Chinese ethnoburbs such as San Gabriel , Rosemead , and Temple City . Mandarin predominates in much of
8062-546: The Chinese-run schools, colleges and universities currently employs Mandarin as the subject and medium of instruction for teaching Standard Chinese class subjects, often nearly replacing Hokkien and Cantonese, due to the mainland Chinese and Taiwanese influence in the country since the late 20th century. This also made Cantonese, Hokkien and other Chinese variants endangered languages in the country. However, there are efforts to preserve Cantonese Chinese culture and language in
8201-455: The Philippines by volunteers within the Cantonese community to teach it to younger fellow Cantonese. Over a period of 150 years (from 1850 to the 2000s), Guangdong has been the place-of-origin for most Chinese emigrants to Western nations; one coastal county, Taishan (or Tóisàn, where the Sìyì or sei yap variety of Yue is spoken), alone may be the origin of the vast majority of Chinese immigrants to
8340-735: The Thai Chinese commercial sector, it serves as a common language alongside Teochew or Thai. Chinese-language schools in Thailand have also traditionally been conducted in Cantonese. Furthermore, Cantonese serves as the lingua franca with other Chinese communities in the region. In Indonesia , Cantonese is locally known as Konghu and is one of the variants spoken by the Chinese Indonesian community, with speakers largely concentrated in certain major cities like Jakarta , Medan , Surabaya , Makassar , Semarang , Manado and Batam . However, it has
8479-565: The U.S. before 1965. As a result, Yue languages such as Cantonese and the closely related variety of Taishanese have been the major Chinese varieties traditionally spoken in the United States. In 2009, 458,840 Americans spoke Cantonese at home according to an American Community Survey. The Zhongshan variant of Cantonese, which originated from the western Pearl River Delta, is spoken by many Chinese immigrants in Hawaii, and some in San Francisco and
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#17328557251258618-612: The United Kingdom use Cantonese, with about 300,000 British people claiming it as their first language. This is largely due to the presence of British Hong Kongers and the fact that many British Chinese also have origins in the former British colonies in Southeast Asia of Singapore and Malaysia. Among the Chinese community in France , Cantonese is spoken by immigrants who fled the former French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) following
8757-452: The advantage of having extra tiles to win his opponents. Being a skilled Mahjong player himself, Man decides to have Bully arrange a Mahjong session with Ching and other regular players. During the Mahjong session, Man puts up a good fight with Ching and is able to see through many of Ching's tricks, allowing him to win a huge sum of money from the disgruntled Ching. At the same time, he notices
8896-595: The attention of international media. The scandal tarnished the image of the previously "squeaky-clean" Twins, and resulted in their going into hiatus in late June 2008, four months after Gillian was caught up in the scandal. Other events include the street fight between Gary Chaw and Justin Lo . In 2009, Jill Vidal and her singer boyfriend Kelvin Kwan were arrested in Tokyo on 24 February 2009 over allegations of marijuana possession . Kwan
9035-559: The authorities relented, this event reflects attempts at marginalising Cantonese and the ascendency of Mandopop . In the 2010s, Cantopop industry still had outstanding singers and musicians who achieved success beyond the local market and made a mark in the Chinese music scene. Eason Chan is one of the most popular and influential Cantopop superstars. He captures wide audience across different regions, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, Southeast Asia, UK, North America, Australia etc. He successfully held world tours in these regions in
9174-467: The conflicts and communist takeovers in the region during the 1970s. While a slight majority of ethnic Chinese from Indochina speak Teochew at home, knowledge of Cantonese is prevalent due to its historic prestige status in the region and is used for commercial and community purposes between the different Chinese variety groups. As in the United States, there is a divide between Cantonese-speakers and those speaking other mainland Chinese varieties. Cantonese
9313-405: The considerable overlap in vocabulary between Cantonese and Mandarin, as well as other varieties of Chinese , these Sinitic languages are not mutually intelligible. This is due to a combination of factors, including phonological differences and variations in grammar and vocabulary. Notably, there are instances where the sentence structure, particularly with regard to verb placement, differs between
9452-425: The cover versions were covers of Japanese songs. Numerous legendary songs of Cantopop superstars Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, for example "Craziness" (1983), "Monica" (1984), "Foggy Love" (1984), "For Your Love Only" (1985), "Evil Girl" (1985), "The Past Love" (1986), "The First Tear" (1986), and "Fired Tango", were cover versions of Japanese hits, showing that covers contributed to the success of superstars to
9591-598: The credibility of the Award has greatly declined. In 2018, Eason Chan released an album "L.O.V.E. " (mainly in Cantonese), which was successful in Taiwan's 30th Golden Melody Awards , winning nominations to three major awards: Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Producer of the Year, Album. Ultimately, the album's producer, Carl Wong, won the "Producer of the Year, Album" award. This was
9730-443: The decline of Cantopop in the late 1990s, for source of creativity being "mined out". Its ramification includes interpretive constraint, where singers have less room for ad-lib change of pitch without sacrificing intelligibility. As a result, pitch change often encountered in western pop music becomes foreign to most of Hong Kong's singers. The first type is the poetic lyrics written in literary or classical Wenyan Chinese ( 文言 ). In
9869-620: The different Chinese dialect groups. Many speakers reflect their exposure to Vietnamese with a Vietnamese accent or a tendency to code-switch between Cantonese and Vietnamese. In Malaysia , Cantonese is widely spoken among the Malaysian Chinese community in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas in the Klang Valley ( Petaling Jaya , Ampang , Putrajaya , Cheras , Selayang , Sungai Buloh , Puchong , Shah Alam , Kajang , Bangi , and Subang Jaya ). The language
10008-505: The doors for non-TVB artists to perform on the network. The move was described by local media as "reviving the Cantopop music industry." In 2023, Eason Chan released a new album titled "Chin Up!", which included a Cantonese song "Homo Sapiens"（人啊人） with lyrics written by Chow Yiu-fai [ zh ] . This song made Chow won Taiwan's 34th Golden Melody Awards - the Best Lyricist, marking
10147-495: The earliest artists releasing Cantonese records. The generation at the time preferred British and American exports. Western culture was at the time equated with education and sophistication, and Elvis Presley , Johnny Mathis and The Ladybirds were popular. Conversely, those who did not prefer Cantonese music were not considered fashioned or educated. Cheng Kum-cheung [ zh ] and Chan Chung-chug ( 陳齊頌 ) were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted
10286-405: The early 1900s. Cantonese remained a dominant and influential language in southeastern China until the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and its promotion of Standard Mandarin Chinese as the sole official language of the nation throughout the last half of the 20th century, although its influence still remains strong within the region. While the Chinese government encourages
10425-458: The eastern Sabahan town of Sandakan as well as the towns of Kuantan , Raub , Bentong , Temerloh , Pekan , Jerantut as well as Cameron Highlands in Pahang state, and they are also found in other areas like Sarikei , Sarawak, and Mersing , Johor. Although Hokkien is the most natively spoken variety of Chinese and Mandarin is the medium of education at Chinese-language schools , Cantonese
10564-462: The ethnic Chinese population of the two territories largely originated from the 19th and 20th century immigration from Guangzhou and surrounding areas, making Cantonese the predominant Chinese language in the territories. On the mainland, Cantonese continued to serve as the lingua franca of Guangdong and Guangxi even after Mandarin was made the official language of the government by the Qing dynasty in
10703-706: The expense of other Chinese varieties. A little over 15% of Chinese households in Singapore speak Cantonese. Despite the government actively promoting SMC, the Cantonese-speaking Chinese community has been relatively successful in preserving its language from Mandarin compared with other dialect groups. Notably, all nationally produced non-Mandarin Chinese TV and radio programs were stopped after 1979. The prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew , then, also stopped giving speeches in Hokkien to prevent giving conflicting signals to
10842-407: The film's music composers. Although very successful and netting more than 6 million Hong Kong dollars at the box offices, the film was criticized because there “gambling is no longer a social vice but a means by which one can get ahead quickly by achieving instant monetary gains. The concept of morality or righteousness is irrelevant: the utilitarian motive of individual accumulation of instant wealth
10981-542: The first actions taken by the government was to denounce pop music (specifically Western pop) as decadent music. Beginning in the 1950s , massive waves of immigrants fled Shanghai to destinations like North Point in Hong Kong. As a result, many first generation Cantopop artists and composers hail from Shanghai. By the 1960s, Cantonese music in Hong Kong was still limited largely to traditional Cantonese opera and comic renditions of western music. Tang Kee-chan , Cheng Kuan-min ( 鄭君綿 ), and Tam Ping-man ( 譚炳文 ) were among
11120-727: The first time in the history of the Golden Melody Awards that a Cantonese album won this award. Interest in Cantopop was renewed in the early 2020s in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong , which led to border closures and restriction of travel. In addition to the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests and the passing of the Hong Kong national security law in June 2020, the resurgence of Hong Kong pride had led many Cantonese natives to support local music artists. The Cantopop boy group Mirror , which
11259-421: The first time in the history of the Golden Melody Awards that a Cantonese song was nominated and won the award. This achievement created a historical record for Cantopop. In 2024, at the age of 79, the renowned Temple Street King, Wan Kwong (尹光）, was voted to the final five of the "My Favorite Male Singer" category at the " Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation ," marking a record in the Cantopop industry. This
11398-558: The first wave in the 60s, the "band fever" in the 80s did not show an obvious relationship with the global culture at the time being, but much related with the marketing strategy of the local record companies and mass media. Many independent bands and music groups were signed by big record companies, and this made a positive impact to the Hong Kong pop music world, as their works were highly original, with strong individuality, and they were all devoted to writing songs in local language, i.e. Cantonese. The subjects of their works were different from
11537-450: The game and find Man. Pei-pei, on the other hand, plays well and wins $ 7,000. Kit spends the night trying to find Man, but without luck. It is later revealed that Pei-pei is Man's mistress and that Man had been resting in her home. Pei-pei returns home to tell Man about the game, her winnings and Kit's losses. Man later discovers Pei-pei only has $ 1,000 with her and asks where is the rest of the $ 7,000. She then reveals she borrowed money from
11676-434: The greatest impact to the Hong Kong music world. Some renowned bands and groups included: Beyond , Raidas , Tat Ming Pair , Tai Chi ( 太極樂隊 ), Grasshopper ( 草蜢 ), Little Tigers ( 小虎隊 ), Paradox ( 夢劇院 ), Blue Jeans ( 藍戰士 ), Echo , Wind & Cloud ( 風雲樂隊 ), Citybeat ( 城市節拍 ). The second wave of "band fever" also brought a group of new music lovers to the Hong Kong mainstream music world. Most of them were
11815-436: The hot pick and minimise their losses by betting on the other hounds as a safety net. While impressed by Kit's plan, Man then tells Kit that his plan might not work if the favorite does not win, and especially if the bookies place their own bets on the favorite, reducing the odds. Kit then wonders what if the bookies forget to telephone and place their own bets. Man and Kit later meet Bully, who reveals that he has been working for
11954-406: The hotel, resulting in an argument. To escape the ensuing argument, Man accidentally locks himself out of his room, only to realise that Ching and his thugs have tracked him to the resort. A long chase throughout the resort ensues, which involves barging through another hotel guest's ( Lee Kwan ) room, the lobby, a hairdressing salon, a Japanese restaurant and kitchen. The chase ultimately ends in
12093-456: The idea of lucrative contracts and million- dollar signings. There were also Japanese songs with Cantonese lyrics. The "Queen of Mandarin songs" Teresa Teng also crossed over to Cantopop. She achieved commercial success with her original Cantonese Hits under the Polygram Label in the early 1980s. Jenny Tseng was another notable singers, who was born in Macau . In the 1980s, there came
12232-551: The industry. In addition, with the Four Heavenly Kings fading out and the rise of Taiwan Mandopop singer-songwriter superstars like Leehom Wang , David Tao , Jay Chou and JJ Lin , influence of Cantopop started declining with fans turning to Taiwan Mandopop in the 2000s. During the period, a transitional phase also took place with many overseas-raised or overseas-educated artists such as Nicholas Tse and Eason Chan gaining popularity and recognition. In 2006, Time magazine praised Eason Chan 's Cantonese album U87 as one of
12371-476: The influence of Cantonese became vulnerable. Nevertheless, in addition to the 7 million people of Hong Kong and Macau, the genre continues to enjoy popularity among a Cantonese-speaking audience of in excess of 100 million in southern China, plus 10 million Cantonese-speaking diaspora in Canada, Australia and the United States. In 2010, a proposal that Guangzhou Television station should increase its broadcast in Mandarin led to protests in Guangzhou . While
12510-514: The just-grew-up generation, or the music lovers of the western Avant-garde music, also the Euro-American Rock-band lovers. This contributed to a great change in the population and age distribution of the music listeners from the 70s. Record companies were laying ever more stress on the buying power of these young new customers. The second wave of "band fever" emerged from the mid-1980s (around 1984) and reached its climax in 1986–87. However
12649-528: The language is referred to as "Guangdong speech" or "Canton Province Speech" ( 廣東話 ; 广东话 ; Gwong2 dung1 waa2 ; Gwóngdùng wá ) or simply as "Chinese" ( 中文 ; Zung1 man2 ; Jùngmán ). During the Southern Song period, Guangzhou became the cultural center of the region. Cantonese emerged as the prestige variety of Yue Chinese when the port city of Guangzhou on the Pearl River Delta became
12788-570: The largest port in China, with a trade network stretching as far as Arabia. Specifically, the mutually intelligible speech of the Sam Yap ( 三邑 ; Sānyì ; Sam1 jap1 ), the Three Counties of Guangzhou, namely the historical counties of Panyu ( 番禺 ), Nanhai ( 南海 ), and Shunde ( 顺德 ), came to be heralded as the standard. Cantonese was also used in the popular Yuè'ōu , Mùyú and Nányīn folksong genres, as well as Cantonese opera . Additionally,
12927-478: The linguistic history of Hong Kong and Macau , and the use of Cantonese in many established overseas Chinese communities, the use of Cantonese is quite widespread compared to the presence of its speakers residing in China. Cantonese is the predominant Chinese variety spoken in Hong Kong and Macau. In these areas, public discourse takes place almost exclusively in Cantonese, making it the only variety of Chinese other than Mandarin to be used as an official language in
13066-474: The mainstream (which was mostly love ballads ). Politics and social life were popular subjects for the bands in their creation. The "band fever" also brought variety in musical style to the Hong Kong mainstream music world (which was almost monopolised by Pop-ballad for a long time). Styles like Rock, Metal , Pop-Rock , Folk , Neo-Romantic , Pop and some experimental styles (e.g. Cantorock) were introduced. Among them, Beyond and Tat Ming Pair ( 達明一派 ) gave
13205-568: The majority language of the Pearl River Delta ) and neighbouring areas such as Guangxi. It is also the dominant and co-official language of Hong Kong and Macau . Furthermore, Cantonese is widely spoken among overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia (most notably in Vietnam and Malaysia , as well as in Singapore and Cambodia to a lesser extent) and the Western world, such as California . Despite
13344-453: The more traditional lyrical styles. The other was more western style music largely from Polydor Hong Kong ( 寶麗多唱片 ). Notable singers from the era include Liza Wang and Paula Tsui . At the same time, television was fast becoming a household must-have that offered free entertainment to the public. For example, The Fatal Irony ( 啼笑因緣 ) and Games Gamblers Play ( 鬼馬雙星 ) took the local music scene by storm as soon as they were broadcast on
13483-542: The nation. Chinese-language schools in Cambodia are conducted in both Cantonese and Mandarin, but schools may be conducted exclusively in one Chinese variant or the other. While Thailand is home to the largest overseas Chinese community in the world, the vast majority of ethnic Chinese in the country speak Thai exclusively. Among Chinese-speaking Thai households, Cantonese is the fourth most-spoken Chinese variety after Teochew , Hakka and Hainanese . Nevertheless, within
13622-487: The official variety of Chinese in Hong Kong and Macau, both during and after the colonial period, under the policy of ' biliteracy and trilingualism ' ( Chinese : 兩文三語 ; pinyin : liǎngwén sānyǔ ; Jyutping : loeng3 man4 saam1 jyu5 ). Government and law still function predominantly in Cantonese in these jurisdictions, and officials speak Cantonese even at the most formal occasions. The official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English, as defined in
13761-538: The past, Cantopop maintained the Cantonese Opera tradition of matching the musical notes with tones of the language. Relatively few Cantopop songs use truly colloquial Cantonese terms, and fewer songs contain lyrics. Songs written in this style are usually reserved for TV shows about ancient China . Since the 1980s, increasing numbers of singers have departed from this tradition, though some big names like Roman Tam stayed true to traditional techniques. The second type
13900-496: The people. Hong Kong (Cantonese) and Taiwanese dramas are unavailable in their untranslated form on free-to-air television, though drama series in non-Chinese languages are available in their original languages. Cantonese drama series on terrestrial TV channels are instead dubbed in Mandarin and broadcast without the original Cantonese audio and soundtrack. However, originals may be available through other sources like cable television and online videos. Furthermore, an offshoot of SMC
14039-612: The point of assimilating into their Fujianese neighbors, as well as Spanish , English and Philippine languages such as Tagalog / Filipino , Cebuano and Ilocano . Like the Fujianese, newer generations of Chinese Filipinos of Cantonese descent barely speak Cantonese or Hokkien as their second or third languages or none at all due to assimilation into the local Filipino population over the years, making Tagalog/Filipino and other Philippine languages such as Cebuano and Ilocano as their first languages and English as second. Additionally, most of
14178-489: The poll. Early Cantopop was developed from Cantonese opera music hybridised with Western pop. The musicians soon gave up traditional Chinese musical instruments like zheng and Erhu fiddle in favour of western style arrangements. Cantopop songs are usually sung by one singer, sometimes with a band, accompanied by piano, synthesizer, drum set and guitars. They are composed under verse-chorus form and are generally monophonic . Practically all early Cantopop songs feature
14317-470: The population of Hong Kong and Macau arrived from Guangzhou and surrounding areas after they were ceded to Britain and Portugal , respectively. The influx of such migrants into Hong Kong established Cantonese as the main language of the city, supplanting local Yue Chinese varieties, which were closer to the dialects of neighboring Shenzhen and Dongguan , as well as the Hakka and Southern Min varieties of
14456-489: The port city of Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta region of southeastern China. Due to the city's long standing role as an important cultural center, Cantonese emerged as the prestige dialect of the Yue varieties of Chinese in the Southern Song dynasty and its usage spread around most of what is now the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi . Despite the cession of Hong Kong to Britain in 1842 and Macau to Portugal in 1887,
14595-403: The practice of covering foreign music and consider it lacking in originality, and many albums promoted themselves as "cover-free". on January 29, 2010, Jacky Cheung released his Private Corner album coining the phrase "Canto-jazz", to describe the concept of the album and the musical style of the songs. In The South China Morning Post , Rachel Mok described "Canto-jazz" as a "unique fusion of
14734-769: The primary Chinese variety spoken. Socioeconomic statuses are also a factor. For example, in New York City, Cantonese still predominates in the city's older, traditional western portion of Chinatown in Manhattan and in Brooklyn's small new Chinatowns in Bensonhurst and Homecrest . The newly emerged Little Fuzhou eastern portion of Manhattan's Chinatown and Brooklyn's main large Chinatown in and around Sunset Park are mostly populated by Fuzhounese speakers , who often speak Mandarin as well. The Cantonese and Fuzhounese enclaves in New York City are more working class. However, due to
14873-436: The primary cultural center for New York City's Chinese population and are more middle class. While a number of more-established Taiwanese immigrants have learned Cantonese to foster relations with the traditional Cantonese-speaking Chinese American population, more recent arrivals and the larger number of mainland Chinese immigrants have largely continued to use Mandarin as the exclusive variety of Chinese. This has led to
15012-410: The provenance of the prestige accent of Cantonese: that of the district of Xiguan ( 西关 ; 西關 ; Xīguān ; Sai1 Gwaan1 ) in the west of Guangzhou. It is known for its distinctive use of an apical vowel ( /ɿ/ , or in more conventional IPA : /ź̩~ɯ~ɨ/ ) in some cases where modern Cantonese would use a /i/ final. Throughout the 19th century and continuing into the 1900s, the ancestors of most of
15151-465: The provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi in southeastern mainland China. Hong Kong remains as the significant hub of the genre. Western-influenced music first came to China in the 1920s, specifically through Shanghai. Artists like Zhou Xuan ( 周璇 ) acted in films and recorded popular songs. When the People's Republic of China was established by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, one of
15290-482: The quiz show. However, he refuses to appear on TV with his injuries. It was later decided that Man will take Kit's place. Initially, Man does poorly, as he fails to understand the hints given to him by Kit. But later he starts to do well when the following questions are related to poker. Having won some money on the quiz show, Man and Kit treat themselves to a spa. Kit suggests another scheme for them to get rich quickly - by strategically betting on greyhound racing . Man
15429-404: The radio and television. Soap operas were needed to fill TV air time, and popular Cantonese songs became TV theme songs. Around 1971, Sandra Lang , a minor singer who had never sung Cantopop before, was invited to sing a Cantonese TV theme song "A marriage of Laughter and Tears" ( 啼笑因緣 ). This song was a collaboration between songwriters Yip Siu-dak ( 葉紹德 ) and the legendary Joseph Koo . It
15568-554: The rapid gentrification of Manhattan's Chinatown and with NYC's Cantonese and Fuzhou populations now increasingly shifting to other Chinese enclaves in the Outer Boroughs of NYC , such as Brooklyn and Queens , but mainly in Brooklyn's newer Chinatowns, the Cantonese speaking population in NYC is now increasingly concentrated in Bensonhurst's Little Hong Kong/Guangdong and Homecrest's Little Hong Kong/Guangdong . The Fuzhou population of NYC
15707-477: The region. With subsequent waves of migration into Hong Kong, even as late as the 1950s, the proportion of Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong had not yet surpassed 50%; nonetheless, this figure has risen to above 90% since the 1970s. On the other hand, the indigenous variety of Yue Chinese in Macau had been close to that of Zhongshan , and this has had an effect on the tonal phonology of the Cantonese spoken in Macau. As
15846-400: The resort casino, where Man tries to blend in with other gamblers but to no avail. Man ends up running to a craps table. He secretly switches the casino dice with his own to 'win' many rounds of craps, much to the astonishment of other players, the dealer and Ching. Man then admits to the dealer that he has cheated in order to be arrested by security, rather than falling into Ching's hands. Man
15985-506: The rest of mainland China and Taiwan and most often speak Standard Mandarin (Putonghua) as their native language, although some may also speak their native local variety, such as Shanghainese , Hokkien , Fuzhounese , Hakka , etc. As a result, Mandarin is becoming more common among the Chinese American community. The increase of Mandarin-speaking communities has resulted in the rise of separate neighborhoods or enclaves segregated by
16124-432: The rise of Mandarin. The most popular romanization for learning Cantonese in the United States is Yale romanization . The majority of Chinese emigrants have traditionally originated from Guangdong and Guangxi, as well as Hong Kong and Macau (beginning in the latter half of the 20th century and before the handover ) and Southeast Asia, with Cantonese as their native language. However, more recent immigrants are arriving from
16263-679: The second wave of "band fever" (the first wave came in the 1960–70s, which was much influenced by the global Beatlemania at that time. Young people thought that forming bands was fashionable. Many new bands emerged at that time, such as Samuel Hui 's Lotus , The Wynners , and the Teddy Robin and the Playboys . However, the bands emerged in this first wave were just copying the western music style, mostly covering British and American rock songs, and prefer singing in English rather than Cantonese). Different from
16402-543: The then new Laserdisc technology prompted yet another explosion in the market. In the 1990s in Hong Kong , the "Four Heavenly Kings" ( 四大天王 ) — Jacky Cheung , Andy Lau , Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok — dominated pop music, and coverage in magazines, TV, advertisements and cinema. They had wide audience across different regions, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, Southeast Asia, and even South Korea. The female counterparts in this era were Sammi Cheng , Faye Wong , and Kelly Chen . The sovereignty handover created
16541-521: The time. Besides Western pop music, Cantopop is also influenced by other international genres, including jazz , rock and roll , R&B , disco , electronic , ballad and others. Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese . Boasting a multi-national fanbase, the genre has gained popularity in countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Additionally, it has found following in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and
16680-472: The two music styles" of "light jazz" and canto-pop creating a fresh sound with a uniquely local flavour". She cited Jacky Cheung's Private Corner and Karen Mok's "Somewhere I Belong" among artists who have recorded Cantonese language albums in the new jazz genre coined "canto-jazz". An educational study traced the development of jazz in Greater China and explored the cross-cultural issues in rearranging
16819-402: The two varieties. A noteworthy distinction between Cantonese and Mandarin is the manner in which the spoken word is written. Both languages can be recorded verbatim, yet a paucity of Cantonese speakers possess comprehensive knowledge of the written vocabulary. Consequently, a non-verbatim formalised written form is adopted, which bears resemblance to the written Standard Mandarin . However, it
16958-456: The use of Standard Mandarin rather than local varieties of Chinese in broadcasts, Cantonese enjoys a relatively higher standing than other Chinese languages, with its own media and usage in public transportation in Guangdong province. Furthermore, it is also a medium of instruction in select academic curricula, including some university elective courses and Chinese as a foreign language programs. The permitted usage of Cantonese in mainland China
17097-555: The way the Yong–Xun Yue dialect of Nanning emerged. Many Cantonese migrants sailed overseas, bringing the Cantonese language with the overseas Chinese to Southeast Asia, North and South America, and Western Europe. Such enclaves of Cantonese are found in Chinatowns across many of these major cities outside China. During the late 19th century, the pedagogical work Cantonese made easy , written by James Dyer Ball in 1883, articulated
17236-400: The world. Additionally, numerous varieties possess both literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters for newer standard reading sounds. Since a 1909 decree of the Qing dynasty , the government of China has promoted Mandarin for use in education, the media, and official communications. However, the proclamation of Mandarin as the official national language was not fully accepted by
17375-460: The world. Because of their dominance in Chinese diaspora overseas, standard Cantonese and its dialect Taishanese are among the most common Chinese languages that one may encounter in the West. Increasingly since the 1997 handover , Cantonese has been used as a symbol of local identity in Hong Kong, largely through the development of democracy in the territory and desinicization practices to emphasise
17514-404: The younger generation. Connie Chan Po-chu is generally considered to be Hong Kong's 657th teen idol , mostly due to her career longevity. Josephine Siao is also another artist of the era. Local bands mimicked British and American bands. Two types of local Cantonese music appeared in the market nearly concurrently in 1973: one type cashed in on the popularity of TVB 's drama series based on
17653-483: Was Roman Tam . Three of the most famous TV soap opera singers were Jenny Tseng , Liza Wang and Adam Cheng . The Wynners and George Lam also amassed a big fan base with their new style. Samuel Hui continued to dominate the charts and won the Centennial Best Sales Award in the first and second IFPI Gold Disc Presentations twice in a row in 1977 and 1978. Polydor became PolyGram ( 寶麗金 ) in 1978. It
17792-462: Was abandoned following massive public protests, the largest since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 . As a major economic center of China, there have been concerns that the use of Cantonese in Guangzhou is diminishing in favour of Mandarin, both through the continual influx of Mandarin-speaking migrants from impoverished areas and strict government policies. As a result, Cantonese is being given
17931-504: Was also the first time in over fifty years after his debut that he transitioned from performing at Temple Street to appearing at a major music awards ceremony. The "Wan Kwong phenomenon" caused a stir online, with fans appraising his continuous efforts in releasing his latest song, "Dear Myself," which incorporated AI elements while others voting for him as a counterbalance to the idol genre because they had been sick of Mirror individual members’ live performances and Mirror fans' behavior in
18070-495: Was at this time that the term Cantopop was first coined. The Billboard correspondent Hans Ebert, who had earlier coined the term Cantorock in 1974, noted a change in its style to something similar to British-American soft rock , therefore started to use the term Cantopop instead in 1978. In 1974, as the theme song of The Fatal Irony ( 啼笑因緣 ) was very successful, TVB sold to the mainland and other countries and Cantopop reached overseas audiences through drama series. During
18209-454: Was born in the 1970s and became a cultural product with the popularity of two popular TVB drama's themes songs in the early 1970s: "Tower Ballad" ( 鐵塔凌雲 , 1972) and "A marriage of Laughter and Tears" ( 啼笑因緣 , 1974). The majority of "hit" Cantopop, however, is not entirely local produced but the cover versions of "hit" foreign melodies. Since the 1970s, covering "hit" external songs mainly from Japan, Korea, Taiwan or other Western countries became
18348-578: Was formed through the ViuTV singing competition in Good Night Show - King Maker in 2018, skyrocketed in popularity during this time due to their distinctively local image. Media had described them as a "Mirror phenomenon." Yet, their lacking in vocal skills has sparked controversy and disapproval among the public. In February 2021, Hong Kong's biggest television broadcaster, TVB , historically lifted its ban on four of Hong Kong's biggest record labels, opening
18487-481: Was ground-breaking and topped local charts. Other groups that profited from TV promotion included the Four Golden Flowers . Sam Hui is regarded by some to be the earliest Cantopop star. He was the lead singer of the band Lotus formed in the late 1960s, signed to Polydor in 1972. The song that made him famous was the theme song to Games Gamblers Play ( 鬼馬雙星 ), also starring Hui. The star of TV theme tunes
18626-437: Was maintained in mass media, with films from the 1930s making prominent use of it. However, during this time many phonological changes can be detected, indicating the change from Early Cantonese to Modern Cantonese. In mainland China, Standard Mandarin has been heavily promoted as the medium of instruction in schools and as the official language, especially after the communist takeover in 1949. Meanwhile, Cantonese has remained
18765-540: Was often referred to in English as "the Canton dialect". However, "Cantonese" may also refer to the primary branch of Chinese that contains Cantonese proper as well as Taishanese and Gaoyang ; this broader usage may be specified as " Yue speech " ( 粵語 ; 粤语 ; Jyut6 jyu5 ; Yuhtyúh ). In this article, "Cantonese" is used for Cantonese proper. Historically, speakers called this variety "Canton speech" ( 廣州話 ; 广州话 ; Gwong2 zau1 waa2 ; Gwóngjàu wá ), although this term
18904-490: Was relaxed in the mid-1990s and 2000s, presence of Cantonese in Singapore has grown substantially. Forms of popular culture from Hong Kong, like television series , cinema and pop music have become popular in Singaporean society, and non-dubbed original versions of the media became widely available. Consequently, the number of non-Cantonese Chinese Singaporeans being able to understand or speak Cantonese to some varying extent
19043-401: Was released without charge after 32 days in jail, while Vidal later pleaded guilty in Tokyo court to heroin possession, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, suspended for three years. In the 2010s, Cantopop market shrank with fans, particularly the youth, turning to K-pop and Mandopop . Mandarin became more important as a result of fast growing culturally and economically in China,
19182-560: Was reportedly solved in early 2012 though. In January 2012, the JSG Awards 2011 was again controversial since one of the biggest awards, Song of the Year, was handed to Raymond Lam with his unpopular song "Chok". In 2015 and 2018, the Commercial Radio Hong Kong's "Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation " handed "My Favorite Male Singer" award to James Ng and Louis Koo respectively, which were also controversial. Since then,
19321-516: Was the dominant Chinese language of the Chinese Australian community from the time the first ethnic Chinese settlers arrived in the 1850s until the mid-2000s, when a heavy increase in immigration from Mandarin-speakers largely from mainland China led to Mandarin surpassing Cantonese as the dominant Chinese dialect spoken. Cantonese is the third most-spoken language in Australia. In the 2011 census,
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