Articles from the original happyjelyfish.com website

Chanting For Canto

If I told you I’d been to a demonstration in the mainland with thousands of people but all the police did was put up some barriers and stand around holding hands, would you believe me?

What A Surprise

Although it’s written in simplified characters: Cool! As! Bro! 涼! The Cantonese language is under threat, and people all over Hong Kong and Southern China are banding together to show those Mando imperialists that not

Revenge Of The Cantomentalists

The debate about Canto rages on. Now mainland officials are weighing in, in an about-turn saying the government would “release a policy outline and new regulations to boost Cantonese cultural heritage.” So it’s all over

The Day Had To Come …

… when one of my victims spake up. I was just sitting around writing a blog entry the other day when: Wallop! Kristian, who’s currently in Norway working on the Norwegian Coastal Express (Hurtigruta) and

Another Nail in the Canto Coffin

Ahhrghhhh … When I set out to make Cantonese a world language, I was mostly concerned with Hong Kong and its people – the way they look down on Cantonese (their own language!!!) calling it

Fu$$ball

I never thought I would write about football here. Or anywhere. I’ve just watched England being decimated by Germany in record time and it was not a pretty sight. The commentator kept saying: “Here is

People’s Republic of Chai Na

拆 -CHAI. The ugliest word in the Chinese language. (Cantonese: Chaak) It means Knock Down. Demolish. Tear Apart. Chinese people joke about living in 拆拿, Chai Na, Knock Down and Take. When I went to

Guerrilla/Crash Course this Saturday

You know you want to learn Cantonese without really trying! Well, this Saturday, in only 3 short hours  you can learn everything you need to kick-start your Canto career. I’ll give you all the tricks

Sacrificing Self For Tea

Wei! I’ve discovered a new tea! Don’t know how it could have escaped me for so long, as often as I go to yam cha, but there you are. Maybe I’ve become too stick in

Walk Some Steps For The Cause

WEI! Everybody everywhere! I’m off to the motherland for a long but not long enough weekend, to make programmes about … oh, I can’t talk about it. OK, Mandarin. Anyway, when I get back next

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New Podcast! (From Sober to Drunk in 10 Minutes)

Last weekend saw me in Guangzhou with the ridiculously handsome and delightful Kendall, a Guangzhou resident (above) to shoot my new Cantonese-worshipping movie ‘In a Whorehouse – The Sequel’. I will say no more about

New Book on the Block

Hallo, hallo, everybody everywhere. My new book is finally being published and you are invited to the launch. As well as beer and books for sale, there is also my new DVD ‘Going Native’ which

New Canto Adventure

It’s happening! I’m upgrading this website so you can download films and podcasts. There will be two long videos to begin with, and the above is the ‘for total beginners’ one. One hour and 14

Late Lunch With Canto!!!!

Wei, wei, are you doing anything this Saturday? Or: Are you doing lots of things but have two hours free to learn Cantonese in the afternoon? Join Happy Jellyfish People’s Democratic Language Bureau’s YAM CHA

Today’s Classifier: 套

套, mainly classifier for films, as in - 套戲,yat tou hei – a ‘wrapper'(?) of film. Possibly from when films came in big metal cases. By the way, the origin of 戲 hei is ‘Chinese

New Podcast: A Sojourn in Shenzhen!!!!

It’s not a rare occasion for Happy Jellyfish People’s Democratic Language Bureau to go to Shenzhen and have clothes made, as well as buying fake Ray-Ban’s. But no trip to Lo Wu Shopping Center has

So Many Ways To Learn Canto!

As imperial-Mando encroaches on our linguistic liberties, it goes without saying that more and more people who don’t like to be dictated to, want to learn Cantonese. But many are concerned about time, commitment, pain,

Learn All the Mando You Need in One Day!!!

Are you going into mainland China on a tour (with me for example), travelling for business or going there anyway? Even if you’re driven around by a personal guide, waited on hand and foot by

New Service

Hello, my name is Cecilie (pronounced “Cecilia”) and I’m a China-holic. And Hongkie-holic. I’ve been living here for more than 20 years and speak, read and write Cantonese and Mandarin fluently. More than 20 years

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