By Popular Demand (Journey Into the Hinterland)

.. an old podcast: A Sojourn in Shenzhen. Yes, one whole person has expressed interest in hearing it, so I must oblige. Also I happen to be going to Shenzhen again tomorrow as part of →

It’s So Close, I can Almost Feel Its Rancid Breath …

Yes, soon you’ll be able to download more than three hours of Canto magic from this very site!I met my computer expert friend yesterday behind the third toilet from the left, and handed over the →

Farewell Naked Cantonese, Well Hello There … Name?

SO! That was the end of Naked Cantonese. Four years of laughter and tears, trying not to say “crap” on live radio, trials and tribulations, toilets and twits. Although I’ve only ever listened to one →

Summertime, And The Living Are Busy

Wei wei, everybody! Summer has descended with quite blue skies and the accompanying 34 degrees, and my students are leaving town in droves. This clears up space and time for you. But you don’t have →

Two Reminders

Behold my student Ah-Mei. Not only is she beautiful, she’s also learning Cantonese at a galloping speed. Why? Well, one reason is that all her notes and papers are in order. Look how she’s had →

Just A Little Experiment

My first experimentation with iMovie’s trailer software. Wow – not half fast and furious cutting! But the point is: Soon you’ll be able to download a new and comprehensive Cantonese information video from this very →

Old China Hand Foot and Mouth Disease

Last weekend again saw me in my beloved Shenzhen to shoot some of the last scenes for the upcoming Cantonese teaching DVD called DWD 2. Yes, the ultimate in the latest teaching technology, in colour. →

Russia and Canton – The Twain Shall Never Meet?

This week was my third week of Russian lessons, and although the teacher insists stubbornly on talking about Anna who is a ballerina and Anna and Maria being ballerini, I’ve decided to practise what I →

Old Film Buddy Rears Not So Ugly Head

Yesterday we did a live show on RTHK with ah-Sa shivering with fear as usual – what would I say this time? Last time I said “screw you” about the evil students castigating our dear →

Я Студентка!!!!

That’s right, to sympathise with my clients’ plight and understand once again what it is to learn a language from scratch, I’ve decided to learn Russian. That and the fact that I’m going to Kazakhstan →

Gone With The Wind 2

SUNDAY – Go Home! 返屋企

Last night I started watching the third season of Orange Is The New Black, an American show about life in a women’s prison. The first two seasons were pretty riveting in a ‘far too many women but good drama’ kind of way (although there are enough guys there to get the inmates pregnant) but now they’re running out of steam.

So instead of following the story, I let my thoughts drift to Cantonese and yet another way where it’s completely different from English. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The best thing you can do if you want to learn Cantonese, is to forget all about English. Not on a permanent basis, you understand. That would be impractical. But as you’re uttering the Cantonese words, never think what it would be in English and then translate. It’s never what it would be in English.

Let’s take the word go. For example go to prison. While we all know what it means, it sounds a little like ‘go to the cinema’ or ‘go to church.’ In Cantonese it’s 坐監 (cho gam – sit prison). And go to the cinema; to do what? Paint it? Shoot down 12 people watching Batman? In Cantonese it’s 去睇戲 (heui tai hei – go see film). More accurate, wouldn’t you say? So instead of always reaching for the ‘go’ word, think about what the action is in Cantonese.

But when it comes to stuff that is actually to go, like going home, it gets really interesting. Instead of 去 (heui – go), Cantonese, in what I call the four big fans, uses 返 (faan – return).

Go home 返屋企 (faan uk kei – return home)
Go to work 返工 (faan gong – return work)
Go to school 返學 (faan hok – return study)
Go to the mainland 返大陸 (faan dai lok – return big landmass)

New Website!

Finally I’ve got my new website with modern features such as Cantonese teaching videos downloadable to your electric iPaddage or phone!!!!
I’ve waited three years for this. Thank you Trystan Grace