Reasons To Learn Cantonese

Behold one of my students, 五天 (- M Tin, Five Heavens)! He is doing everything right; practising every day, doing language exchange with locals and learning characters. Here he is in the middle of showing me some electronic stuff, I think it’s called a APE. No! APP.

Yes my phone is a Nokia from 2006 and perhaps I’m missing out on something by not having apps and stuff. But you know what? I can already write Chinese characters and look them up manually in the dictionary. I think iPhones and online everything is killing people’s ability to write, especially Chinese characters.

But anyway! Here’s another reason to learn Cantonese, of which my student 亞力 (ah-Lek, Power, Force) reminded me.
He is a manager in a company that makes useful stuff, and they hire a lot of local office staff. He said that after he started experimenting with Cantonese in the office, the pathologically shy underlings who used to run away when his towering frame hove into view, now actually dare to approach him with their halting English.

Quite right. It creates a good, less scary atmosphere at work when those who are supposed to be one’s superiors try to learn something new, something that’s considered “too difficult for them”, something that those who are supposed to be their inferiors know better than them. Everybody loves to help, and giving shy and insecure people a chance to do something for you makes them feel good about themselves.

Helping your staff feel better during working hours – yet another reason to learn Cantonese! Cantonese wins again.

伙記 (fo gei – staff)
寫字樓 (seh ji lau – office)