INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

This is the first post of this new blog. In this very first post I will explain the reasons why I decided to create yet another blog concerning the Cantonese language. In 2007, while I was still in Hong Kong, I created a blog called “ Cantonese Stories”, which was basically a place where I gathered a few recordings of stories in Cantonese with a transcript and translation. At that time, it was my perception that there was a shortage of material for learners of Cantonese, especially intermediate and advanced learners. I do not find , however, this view to be true any longer.I plan to discuss this particular issue on a later post.

I started learning Cantonese in 2006/2007 when I was an exchange student in Hong Kong. I spent 10 months there and when arrived at the city I spoke no Cantonese whatsoever. I pretty much started learning it from the word go, or from the word nei hou… After coming back to my country, I continued learning it for two or three more months, but finally gave up. I didn’t have much motivation to learn it…

However, the other day I was talking on skype with a learner of the language whom I have known from that time and he was speaking very advanced Cantonese. That’s when I had a realization : if I had continued studying I could be already speaking fluently by now. All of a sudden this sense of empowerment took over me and I decided to start my road to polyglotery.

But anyhow, what then would be the purpose of creating such a blog? These are the reasons I have to create a new – and different -blog :

1)It’s a good way to keep me motivated in my studies. Motivation is probably the most important factor that will pave your way to success in language learning. Basically, if you have motivation, you will continue studying, and if you do so, you are more likely to succeed eventually. However, keeping motivated throughout the years ( unlike that sheer enthusiasm that you have in the first few months) might be a very difficult thing to do. Therefore writing such a blog is a way of not let dying that initial enthusiasm that we all have when starting to learn a foreign language.

Furthermore, this enthusiasm is a spark that is not only lit in one learner, but also in a great many other people as well. When you see a person who is learning something passionately and successfully , it’s common to also feel swept away by their enthusiasm. I myself have felt this way after seeing many polyglots and their remarkable achievements. I hope that, by writing this blog, I will not only motivate myself, but also encourage other people to learn the language and continue studying it.

2)It’s a good way to mesure my progress. I intend to post some audioclips of me speaking Cantonese. My intention is not showing of or anything of that sort, but rather measure my progress throughout the months and years and get constructive criticism from learners who are more advanced than myself.

3)Since my objective in learning foreign languages is the possibility of accessing different cultures, especially their literature, history and music, I thought it would be interesting not only to just post a bunch of stories in Cantonese, but also to discuss issues regarding Hong Kong and Chinese culture in general. I plan to provide interesting links to articles and videos related to Chinese culture, especially when related to Cantonese and other Chinese languages and dialects. For this reason in particular, I decided to create a new blog, since the last one was just a collage of stories in Cantonese, as its name indicates.

4) After the reasons indicated above, I still have another good one : I lost the password of Cantostories. Therefore, everything conspires to the creation of a new blog, which I hope will be of interest to anyone who learns Cantonese.

On a side note, I will continue posting short stories and monologues. But this new blog has broader scope and will encompass other things too.