MODERN CANTONESE BOOK 3

The third volume of Modern Cantonese aims to broaden learners’ Cantonese

language skills by teaching students how to deal with, discuss, persuade, and
summarize topics related to sophisticated work-related situations.
This book provides scenarios talking about abstract topics, as well as cultural
and social issues in both formal and semi-formal settings. Learners gain the skills
to discuss a variety of complex topics and abstract issues.
This book is designed for intermediate to advanced learners who have reached
Intermediate Mid (ACTFL) or B1 (CEFR) proficiency. Language teachers, linguists,
and researchers interested in Cantonese as a second language may also find the
book informative.

Siu-lun Lee is Senior Lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has over
25 years of experience teaching Cantonese at the tertiary level. His research interests
include applied linguistics, Cantonese studies, Chinese linguistics, sociolinguistics,
and language teaching pedagogy.
MODERN CANTONESE
BOOK 3
A textbook for global
learners
Siu-lun Lee
Designed cover image: Siu-lun Lee
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Siu-lun Lee
The right of Siu-lun Lee to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-367-53914-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-53913-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-08370-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Access the Support Material: www.routledge.com/9780367539139
CONTENTS

A note on the volumes vi

Introductionvii
How to use this book xv
Meet the characters in this book xvii

1 Discussing an urban revitalization project – Tóuleuhn sìhngsíh

wuhtfa gaiwaahk1
2 Aspects of popular culture – Gwāanyū làuhhàhng màhnfa11
3 Joining an ecotour – Chāamgā sāngtaai léuihyàuh20
4 Discussing a job search – Tóuleuhn dímyéung wán gūng31
5 Attending a job interview – Heui gin gūng42
6 Researching religions and folk beliefs in Hong Kong – Yìhn'gau
Hēunggóng jūnggaau tùhng màhngāan seunyéuhng52
7 Discussing the environment – Tóuleuhn wàahn'gíng yíhtàih63
8 Introducing Mid-Autumn Festival – Gaaisiuh Jūngchāu Jit74
9 Organizing a cultural event – Chaakwaahk màhnfa wuhtduhng85
10 Living and studying in Hong Kong – Hái Hēunggóng sāngwuht
tùhng duhksyū96

Appendix 1  Glossary of linguistic terms 107

Appendix 2  English translation of poems 108
Appendix 3  List of learning points 111
Appendix 4  List of relevant phrases 113

v
 A NOTE ON THE VOLUMES

This book series is designed for learners of Cantonese as a second language. The
book series is targeted at learners who are English speakers or who use English
as an additional language. It is designed for learners from novice to intermediate
level, and for institutions or schools providing structured courses in the modern
Cantonese language, as spoken in Hong Kong. These books can be used for teach-
ing Cantonese in colleges and universities, as well as other schools and institutions
in the Asian region and elsewhere in the world. The examples of language use in
the book series are drawn from authentic data, including an 800,000-word corpus
collected from L1 (first-language) Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong. In all, the
series contains around 2000 relevant phrases, 150 constructions and structures used
in thirty language scenarios. All the lessons in the series are systematically struc-
tured according to increasing levels of difficulty, and the book series uses the Yale
romanization system to demonstrate and teach Cantonese pronunciation.

vi
INTRODUCTION

Book 3 in the series is designed for intermediate to advanced learners of Cantonese.

This book focuses on scenarios concerning abstract topics, as well as cultural and
social issues. After using this book, learners will attain key skills related to discuss-
ing a range of concrete and abstract topics. The scenarios are related to semi-formal
and formal settings, including work-related situations, and traditional customs and
festivals in Hong Kong and southern China.

The Cantonese language

The term ‘Cantonese’ refers to the language varieties used by immigrants who
came to Hong Kong from various districts in Guangdong province, including
Macau, Panyu, Taishan, Xinhui, and Zhongshan. Over time, their speech coa-
lesced into the contemporary variety of Cantonese used in Hong Kong from the
late nineteenth century onwards. Cantonese is often used to refer to the entire Yue
subgroup of Chinese, which includes varieties of Cantonese spoken in southern
China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, and among overseas Chinese in
North America, Europe, and Australia. It is currently estimated that there are about
70 million Cantonese speakers in the world. Cantonese has been and is still the
major language variety used by people in daily life in Hong Kong (Bacon-Shone,
Bolton, & Luke, 2015; Bolton, Bacon-Shone, & Lee, 2020; Bolton & Lee, 2020).
Currently, the language policy of the Hong Kong government promotes ‘trilingual-
ism and biliteracy’. Trilingualism refers to the three major spoken languages used
in Hong Kong, that is, Cantonese, Putonghua, and English, while biliteracy refers to
the use of two written languages, written Chinese and written English. According
to the census results, around 90 percent of Hong Kong’s population use Cantonese
as their usual spoken language (Hong Kong SAR Government, 2011, 2016). The
Cantonese language also reflects aspects of traditional life and popular culture in
Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou.

Cantonese grammar
This book series uses a practical approach to grammar and focuses on describing
how words are used and sentences formed. A glossary of linguistic terms used in vii
the book may be found in Appendix 1.
Introduction Grammatical constructions
The notion of ‘grammatical construction’ refers to words and phrases that form the
constituents of sentences. Grammatical constructions are presented in the ‘Learning
points’ and ‘Relevant phrases’ sections. For example, in English, the grammatical
construction, ‘the easier, the better’, is not just a fixed phrase, but a general pattern
(‘the – er, the better’) with slots that can be filled by almost any comparative phrase.
In this book series, grammatical constructions are the fundamental building blocks
of sentences, paragraphs, and discourse, which are useful patterns for learners to
acquire, to experiment with, and to use creatively.

Discourse structures
The term ‘discourse structure’ refers to the ways in which extended speech is organ-
ized. The discourse structures highlighted in this book include formal presentations
and speeches. Some sample discourse structures are presented in the ‘Learning
points’ sections.

Appropriateness of language use

In learning a language, not only is accuracy important, but it is equally important to
use the language appropriately. Advanced learners need to be aware of the different
uses of language when talking to different people on different occasions, in diverse
settings. This book deals with the appropriate use of Cantonese in different situa-
tions, including formal presentations and workplace discussions.

Spoken Cantonese, written Cantonese

and written Chinese
The relationship between spoken Cantonese, written Cantonese and written Chinese
is complex. When the educational authorities of the People’s Republic of China started
to promote spoken Putonghua and simplified characters on the mainland after 1949,
Hong Kong retained the use of ‘standard written Chinese’ in full characters in most
schools in the territory. Accordingly, until recently, most children were taught to read
‘standard written Chinese’ aloud with spoken Cantonese pronunciation. However, in
addition to standard written Chinese, there is a distinct variety of ‘written Cantonese’,
which is popular in informal written communication, commercial advertisements,
television subtitles, and comic books (Snow, 2004; Bauer 2018). However, the use
of ‘written Cantonese’ is stigmatised in schools and in official settings, and in Hong
Kong there is a ‘diglossic’ situation in operation, where ‘written Cantonese’ and infor-
mal spoken Cantonese are both regarded as ‘L’ forms, and ‘standard written Chinese’
viii
and its corresponding spoken forms are regarded as the ‘H’ forms, and are used in Introduction
educational and other formal settings. For example, mātyéh 乜嘢 (a question word
meaning ‘what’) is the spoken form in Cantonese, while the form sahmmō 甚麼 is
used in standard written Chinese. This book series does not include Chinese charac-
ters, but uses Yale romanization to represent spoken Cantonese.

The Yale system and Cantonese pronunciation

A syllable in Cantonese is composed of 3 elements:

(1) an initial formed by a consonant or consonant cluster at the beginning of a syllable,

(2) a final formed by a vowel or vowel glide in open syllables and a vowel or vowel
glide with a consonant in a closed syllable,
(3) a tone, which is the pitch contour of a syllable, including ā (high-level tone), á
(high-rising tone), a (mid-level tone), àh (low-falling tone), áh (low rising tone),
ah (low-level tone). Cantonese is a tonal language, in which tones play a very
important role in identifying the meaning of words. This book series uses the Yale
romanization system to mark the initials, finals, and tones for teaching purposes.

Cantonese initials
According to their phonological features, the 19 initials (sīngmóuh 聲母) are
divided into 5 groups as shown in Table 1.
Table 1  Cantonese initials with examples

Initials in Yale International Example Chinese English

romanization Phonetic Alphabet word characters gloss
Stops
p [ph] po 破 to break
b [p] bō 波 ball
t [th] tō 拖 to drag
d [t] dō 多 many
k [k h] kāt 咳 to cough
g [k] gō 哥 elder
brother
kw [k wh] kwā 誇 to praise
gw [k w] gwa 掛 to hang
Nasals
m [m] mē 咩 what
n [n] nī 呢 this
ng [ŋ] ngō 痾 diarrhea
(Continued )
ix
Introduction Table 1  (Continued)

Initials in Yale International Example Chinese English

romanization Phonetic Alphabet word characters gloss
Fricatives and affricates
f [f] fū 夫 husband
s [s] sō 梳 comb
h [h] hah 夏 summer
ch [tsh] chē 車 car
j [ts] jē 遮 cover
Lateral approximants
l [l] la 罅 crack
Semi-vowels
y [j] yeh 夜 night
w [w] wā 蛙 frog

Cantonese finals
Table 2 shows 51 Cantonese finals (wáhnmóuh 韻母) transcribed in Yale romani-
zation system. Note the following:

• Cantonese has single vowel sounds, e.g., a, e, i, o, u, eu, yu and diphthongs, e.g.,
aai, aau, ai, au, ei, iu, oi, ou, and ui. When single vowels in open syllables, they
are pronounced as ‘long vowels’, e.g., ma [ma:], me [mɛ:], mi [m i:], mo [mɔ:],
mu [mu:].
• The -p, -t, -k, consonants in word ending position are unreleased.
• The o, e.g., sō (‘comb’), is similar to the vowel in ‘got’ in English, pronounced
with rounded lips.
• The u, e.g., fú (‘bitter taste’), is also similar to the vowel in ‘wood’ in English,
pronounced with rounded lips.
Table 2 below presents 51 Cantonese finals in real life Cantonese syllables.

Table 2  Cantonese finals with examples

Initials in Yale International Example Chinese English

romanization Phonetic Alphabet word characters gloss
a [a:] gā 加 to add
aai [a:i] tāai 呔 necktie

x
 Introduction
Initials in Yale International Example Chinese English
romanization Phonetic Alphabet word characters gloss
aau [a:u] gāau 膠 plastic
aam [a:m] tāam 貪 greedy
aan [a:n] chāan 餐 meal
aang [a:ŋ] sāang 生 to give birth
aap [a:p⸣] gaap 鴿 pigeon
aat [a:t⸣] chaat 刷 brush
aak [a:k⸣] jaak 窄 narrow
ai [ɐi] sāi 西 west
au [ɐu] sāu 收 to recieve
am [ɐm] jām 針 needle
an [ɐn] jān 真 real
ang [ɐŋ] dāng 燈 lamp
ap [ɐp⸣] jāp 汁 juice
at [ɐt⸣] chāt 七 seven
ak [ɐk⸣] sāk 塞 piston
e [ɛ:] chē 車 car
eng [ɛŋ] geng 鏡 mirror
ek [ɛk⸣] sek 錫 to kiss
ei [ei] gēi 機 machine
eu [œ:] hēu 靴 boot
eung [œŋ] hēung 香 fragrant
euk [œk⸣] geuk 腳 leg
eui [ɵi] tēui 推 to push
eun [ɵn] jēun 樽 bottle
eut [ɵt⸣] sēut 恤 shirt
i [i:] dī 啲 some
iu [i:u] sīu 燒 to burn
im [im] jīm 尖 sharp
in [in] sīn 鮮 fresh
ip [ip⸣] tip 貼 to stick
it [it⸣] tit 鐵 steel
ing [ɪŋ] sīng 星 star
ik [ɪk⸣] sīk 識 to know
o [ɔ:] sō 梳 comb
oi [ɔ:i] sōi 鰓 gill
on [ɔn] gōn 乾 dry
ong [ɔŋ] chōng 倉 warehouse
ot [ɔt⸣] got 葛 yam bean
ok [ɔk⸣] gok 角 corner
ou [ou] jōu 租 to rent
(Continued )
xi
Introduction Table 2  (Continued)

Initials in Yale International Example Chinese English

romanization Phonetic Alphabet word characters gloss
u [u:] fū 夫 husband
ui [u:i] būi 杯 cup
un [un] būn 搬 to move
ut [ut⸣] put 潑 to splash
ung [ʊŋ] jūng 鐘 clock
uk [ʊk⸣] lūk 轆 wheel
yu [y:] syu 恕 forgive
yun [yn] syūn 酸 sour
yut [yt⸣] syut 雪 snow

Cantonese tones
This book series adopts a six-tone system and uses diacritics to transcribe
Cantonese tones (sīngdiuh 聲調). Table 3 shows the pitch contours of the six
Cantonese tones.

Table 3  Pitch contours of the six Cantonese tones

Cantonese High-level High-rising Mid-level Low-falling Low-rising Low-level

tones tone tone tone tone tone tone
55 25 33 21 13 22
Pitch
direction 5 5 2 5 3 3 2 1 1 3 2 2

4
Pitch
3
Level
2

There is also a High-falling tone (53) in some Cantonese varieties to stress words.
However, the distinction between High-level tones (55) and High-falling tones (53)
is not majorly significant for most practical purposes, and is not highlighted in this
course.

xii
Table 4  Cantonese tones with examples Introduction

Cantonese tones High-level High- Mid-level Low- Low- Low-level

tone rising tone falling rising tone
tone tone tone
Yale romanization yī yí yi yìh yíh yih
Example in Chinese 醫 椅 意 疑 已 易
characters
English gloss medical chair meaning doubt already easy

Other features of the transcription system

• The diacritic tone-marks for high-level tones as in ā, rising tones as in á, as well
as falling tones as in àh, are placed above the first vowels.
• The high-level diacritic tone-marks in open syllables and in closed syllables are
placed above the first vowels, as in gāai 街 (‘street’) and hēung 香 (‘fragrant’).
• The high-rising tone-marks in open syllables and in closed syllables are also
placed above the first vowels, as in hói 海 (‘ocean’) and góng 講 (‘to speak’).
• An h is placed behind the vowel or diphthong to indicate a low pitch tone in a
syllable.
• The low-falling tone-marks in open syllables and in closed syllables are put above
the first vowel and an ‘h’ is put behind the vowels or diphthongs to indicate the
low pitch in a syllable, as in sìh 時 (‘time’) and yàhn 人 (‘people’).
• The low-rising tone-marks in open syllables and in closed syllables are put above
the first vowel and an ‘h’ is put behind the vowels or diphthongs to indicate the
low pitch in a syllable, as in kéuih 佢 (‘he/she’) and in séuhng 上 (‘to go up’).
• There is no diacritic for the Cantonese mid-level tone, as in baat 八 (‘eight’),
leng 靚 (‘pretty’).
• There is no diacritic for the Cantonese low-level tone. An ‘h’ is put after the
vowel or diphthong for low-level tone in open syllable and in closed syllable to
indicate low pitch tone in a syllable, as in deih 地 (‘ground’) and in faahn 飯
(‘cooked rice’).
• A single straight apostrophe ' is used to separate a syllable boundary, if an open
syllable is followed by another syllable starting with or is preceded by another
syllable ending with m, n, ng, p, t and k, such as in gā'tìhng 家庭 (‘family’),
āam'āam 啱啱 (‘just now’), as well as when a syllable ended with an n followed
by a syllable started with a g, such as chēun'gyún 春卷 (‘spring roll’) and when

xiii
Introduction a syllable ended with a g or a k followed by a syllable started with a w, such as
yihng'wàih 認爲 (‘to think that’).

References
Bacon-Shone, J., Bolton, K., and Luke, K. K. (2015). Language use, proficiency and
attitudes in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Social Sciences Research Centre, HKU.
Bauer, R. S. (2018) Cantonese as written language in Hong Kong. Global Chinese,
4, 103–142.
Bolton, K., Bacon-Shone, J., and Lee, S-l. (2020). Societal multilingualism in Hong
Kong. In Peter Siemund and Jakob Leimgruber (eds.), Multilingual global cities:
Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, 160–184. London: Routledge.
Bolton, K., and Lee, S-l. (2020). A socio-historical approach to multilingualism in
Hong Kong. In Peter Siemund and Jakob Leimgruber (eds.). Multilingual global
cities: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai, 38–62. London: Routledge.
Hong Kong SAR Government. (2011). Population census. Hong Kong: Census and
Statistics Department, Hong Kong Government.
Hong Kong SAR Government. (2016). Population by-census. Hong Kong: Census
and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Government.
Snow, D. B. (2004). Cantonese as Written Language: The Growth of a Written Chi-
nese Vernacular. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

xiv
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Book 3 of this book series consists of ten lessons. The ten lessons in this book high-
light scenarios practising various language functions, such as expressing views,
making suggestions, persuading, and presenting and summarizing data. Each les-
son consists of five parts:

1  Situated conversations
All the situated conversations are dialogues based on real-life topics, and many of
the examples used in this book are adapted from authentic corpus materials col-
lected in Hong Kong. An English gloss of the conversations is provided, and Yale
romanization is used as a guide to pronunciation.

2  Relevant phrases
The relevant phrases used in situated conversations are listed in this section. All
phrases are transcribed in Yale romanization with grammatical explanations and
English glosses for learners and teachers to use. Additional useful phrases, con-
structions, and related vocabulary items are also provided. Learners can experiment
and produce novel phrases or sentences by using the relevant phrases and additional
items.

3  Learning points
Grammatical notes and authentic examples are provided in this section. This sec-
tion aims at building a strong foundation for understanding Cantonese grammar
and language use. Teachers and learners can devise further practice and activities
based on these learning points.

xv
How to use 4  Additional texts
this book

The additional texts provide examples of language use related to the situated con-
versations. These additional texts demonstrate how words, phrases, and sentences
are used in a range of related contexts.

5  Exercises and practice

The exercises and practice section help learners to monitor their progress at each
stage. Learners can then work on the exercises to reinforce and revise key learning
points throughout the course.
Further practice: Learning a language is both challenging and fun. Cantonese
learners should be encouraged to experiment with the language and to use the lan-
guage creatively in real-life situations whenever they have the chance.

Use of symbol
🎧   This symbol indicates that audio recordings are available for these texts on the
Routledge website for this series.
  This symbol indicates that there is an English-language translation of these
poems in Appendix 2 of this book.

xvi
MEET THE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK

In the book series, Modern Cantonese, you will meet a number of characters who
take part in the conversations and dialogues presented in different situations. In
Book 3, there are two main characters. They are studying Cantonese as a second
language at a bilingual university in Hong Kong.

Charlotte Lee
Charlotte is 19 years of age. Her grandparents moved to Vancouver and settled
down in 1965. Her parents are both medical doctors in Vancouver, where she herself
was born and grew up. She is very interested in Chinese studies and learning more
about her own Chinese heritage. She is now studying for a B.A. in Communication
Studies.

John Chan
John is 24 years old. He was born in Singapore, where his father is an accountant
and his mother is a school teacher. He obtained his Bachelor of Business Studies
at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and he is now studying for an MBA
degree. After graduation, he intends to find a job in the financial sector in Hong
Kong. His parents spoke both English and Cantonese at home, so John had a good
grounding in Cantonese before coming to Hong Kong.

xvii
LESSON 1
Discussing an urban revitalization project
Tóuleuhn sìhngsíh wuhtfa gaiwaahk

Activities: Expressing views and planning a project.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: Charlotte’s company has just started a wet market revitalization project.
She is now having a meeting with her colleagues to talk about how to start and
promote this project.
Charlotte ge gūngsī āam'āam hōichíjó yāt go gāaisíh wuhtfa gaiwaahk. Kéuih
yìhgā tùhng tùhngsih hōi wúi kīngháh dímyéung hōijín tùhng syūnchyùhn nī go
gaiwaahk.

Cantonese text English gloss

Tùhngsih A: Ngóhdeih gāmyaht hōi wúi Today we are meeting to
haih tóuleuhnháh ngóhdeih ge discuss our wet market
gāaisíh wuhtfa gaiwaahk. revitalization project.
Daaihgā yáuh mātyéh séungfaat a? Do you have any thoughts on
this?
Tùhngsih B: Góng héi séuhng làih, ngóh nám With regard to this matter,
ngóh yáuh yāt dyuhn sìhgaan I think that it’s been some
móuh heui gāaisíh la. time since I went to a wet
market.
Yānwaih yìhgā dī chīusíh māt That’s because now the
dōu yáuh dāk maaih, hóuchíh supermarkets are selling
yíhchìhn gāaisíh yātyeuhng. everything, just like wet
markets in the past.
Kèihsaht, ngóh dōu yihng'wàih In fact, I also think that wet
gāaisíh géi wūjōu ga. markets are quite dirty.
Jīkhaih, deihhá hó'nàhng yáuh That is, on the floor probably
dī choi a, séuijīk a, laahpsaap a. there are vegetables, water
stains, and rubbish.
1
(Continued )
DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-1
1 (Continued)
Discussing
an urban
Cantonese text English gloss
revitalization
Gāaisíh béi ngóh ge gámgok My impression is that if
project
m̀ haih sāp, jauh haih chau. they’re not wet, they’re
smelly.
Hàahng gwo hóu m̀syūfuhk ge. Walking around is very
uncomfortable.
Yùhgwó néih m̀gokyi dit chān nē, If you accidentally fall down,
jauh wúih sìhng sān wūjōusaai. you’ll get completely dirty.
Sóyíh ngóh pìhngsìh hóu síu heui. Therefore, I rarely go there.
Yùhgwó ngóh yiu máaih sung If I want to buy food, I’ll go
ge wah, ngóh wúih heui daaih to a big supermarket.
yìhng ge chīukāp síhchèuhng.
Tūngsèuhng, daaih yìhng chīusíh Usually, the big supermarkets
yáuh hóu dō yéh hóyíh máaih. have many things for sale.
Laihyùh, néih wúih gindóu yáuh For example, you can see
yàhn maaih hóisīn, néih hóyíh people selling seafood, you
máaihdóu dī yú a, hā a, háaih a, can buy fish, prawns, crab,
nī dī yéh. these kinds of things.
Chèuihjó sāp fo jī'ngoih, Juhng As well as wet products, there
yáuh gōn fo. are dry products too.
Gōn fo jauh bāaukwut Dry products include daily
yahtyuhngbán a, guntáu a, nī necessities, canned food,
dī yéh. these kinds of things.
Síupàhngyáuh jūngyi heui gó Children like to go there and
douh máaih lìhngsihk. buy snacks.
Gātìhng jyúfúh nē, yáuhsìh Some housewives, who don’t
m̀ dākhàahn jyúfaahn, jauh máaih have time to cook, will buy
dī suhksihk, sauhsī dángdáng. some cooked food, sushi, etc.
Ngóh gokdāk ngóhdeih nī I think our revitalization
go wuhtfa gaiwaahk yáuh dī project faces some
nàahndouh. difficulties.
Charlotte: Ngóh gōkdāk chīusíh tùhng I think the images of
gāaisíh ge yìhngjeuhng hóu supermarkets and wet
m̀ tùhng. markets are different.
Gāaisíh nē, béi ngóh ge In the case of wet markets,
yanjeuhng haih hóu yihtnaauh, my impression is that they’re
hóu dō yàhn. very lively and full of people.

2
 Cantonese text
Yáuhsìh, néih hái gāaisíh, néih
hóyíh mó'háh dimháh dī yéh.
Dongjyú jauh wúih gokdāk néih
séung máaih, gānjyuh jauh mahn
néih máaih mē, máaih mē, gám.
Gāaisíh béi ngóh ge yanjeuhng
haih maaih gāi tùhng yuhk ge
deihfōng yáuh dī chau, maaih yú
ge deihfōng yáuh dī sāp.
Yáuhsìh maaih gōn fo ge maaih
hàahmyú, dōu wúih yáuh hóu
daaih meih.
Yáuh dī gāaisíh sahmji yáuh yāt
dī chyùhntúng ge jaahpfo póu.
Néih hái gāaisíh hóyíh pui sósìh,
néih dōu hóyíh hái gódouh
sāuléih néih ge sáubīu.
Yáuh dī gāaisíh lìhn sāam tùhng
hàaih dōu maaih.
Kèihsaht gāaisíh haih yāt go
géi dākyi ge deihfōng, tùhng
bóulàuhjó dōngdeih màhnfa.
Ngóh gokdāk nī go gaiwaahk gei
yáuh gajihk yauh yáuh yisī.
Tùhngsih A: Ngóh gokdāk ngóhdeih nī go
gāaisíh wuhtfa gaiwaahk yiu
syūnchyùhn hóu ge gúnléih.
Nī go gāaisíh wúih gúnléih dāk
hóu hóu, gānjūk jingfú kwāigaak. managed well and follow
Máaih yéh ge yàhn wúih gokdāk Shoppers should feel
hái ngóhdeih ge gāaisíh máaih
yéh hóu syūfuhk.
Gó douh m̀ wúih gindóu lóusyú There shouldn’t be any rats,
a, laahpsaahp a, nī dī yéh.
Ngóhdeih ge gāaisíh wúih gei
gōnjehng yauh fōngbihn.
English gloss 1
Discussing
Sometimes, when you’re in an urban
the wet market, you can touch revitalization
project
and feel the products.
The stallholder then thinks
that you want to buy, and
they’ll ask you what it is you
want to buy.
Wet markets give me the
impression that the stalls
selling chicken and meat are
a bit smelly, and the stalls
selling fish are a bit wet.
Sometimes, the dry product
stalls sell salted fish, and this
also has a strong smell.
Some markets even have
traditional grocery stores.
You can have a key cut in
some markets, or you even
have your watch repaired
there.
Some markets even sell
clothes and shoes.
In fact, these markets are
interesting places, and also
maintain local culture.
I think this project is very
valuable and meaningful.
I think that our wet market
revitalization project should
promote good management
practices.
The market should be
government standards.
comfortable when shopping
in our wet market.
and there shouldn’t be a lot of
rubbish, and so on.
Our wet market should be 3
clean and convenient.
(Continued )
1 (Continued)
Discussing
an urban
Cantonese text
revitalization
Charlotte: Góngdāk hóu āam a. Ngóhdeih
project
yiu lihng ngóhdeih ge gāaisíh
yihndoih dī.
Ngóh hóyíh bōngsáu sé
syūnchyùhn góu.
Ngóh séhóu jīhauh, ngóhdeih
hóyíh joi kīng.
Ngóh dōu séung heui ngóhdeih
ge gāaisíh tùhng dī dongjyú
kīngháh gái, sáujaahpháh jīlíu.
(Charlotte heuidou gāaisíh.)
Dongjyú A: Wai, ngóhdeih hái nī go gāaisíh
jouhjó hóu dō nìhn la.
Jouh māt yìhgā yiu bin a?
Yìhgā maih géi hóu dímgáai
gáau gamdō yéh a?
Dongjyú B: Haih lā. Ngóhdeih m̀sái nī go
wuhtfa gaiwaahk la.
Charlotte: Chéng néihdeih béi sahp fānjūng Could you please give me ten
tēngháh ngóh góng lā . . .
English gloss
You are right. We need to
make our wet market more
modern.
I can help write the
promotional materials.
After I’ve finished writing a
draft, we can talk again.
I also want to go to our
wet market to talk to the
stallholders and collect some
data.
(Charlotte arrives at the wet
market.)
Hey, we’ve been working in
this wet market for years.
Why do we need to change
now?
If it’s not broken why
change it?
I agree. We don’t want this
revitalization project here.
minutes to explain . . .

2 Relevant phrases 🎧

Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss

wuhtfa gaiwaahk noun revitalization project
tùhngsih noun colleague, co-worker
kīngháh phrase to have a chat
hōijín verb to start (a plan)
syūnchyùhn verb to publicize
tóuleuhn verb to discuss
séungfaat noun idea, view
yāt dyuhn sìhgaan phrase a period of time
4
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 1
Discussing
chīusíh / noun supermarket an urban
chīukāp síhchèuhng revitalization
project
yihng'wàih . . . verb to think that . . .
wūjōu adjective dirty
deihhá phrase on the ground
séuijīk phrase water stains
laahpsaap noun rubbish
sāp adjective wet
chau adjective smelly
hàahng gwo phrase walk through
m̀gokyi phrase unconsciously
dit chān phrase fall down
sìhng sān phrase whole body
máaih sung verb–object construction to buy materials for
cooking
daaih yìhng adjective large-scale
tūngsèuhng adverb generally, usually
máaihdóu phrase bought
yú noun fish
hā noun shrimp
háaih noun crab
sāp fo noun wet goods
gōn fo noun dry goods
bāaukwut verb to include
yahtyuhngbán noun daily necessities
guntáu noun canned food
gātìhng jyúfúh noun housewife
suhksihk noun cooked food
sauhsī noun sushi
nàahndouh noun difficulty
yìhngjeuhng noun image
mó / verb to touch
dim
(Continued )
5
1 (Continued)
Discussing
an urban
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
revitalization
project
dongjyú noun stallholder
gám(yéung) adverb this way
gāi noun chicken
yuhk noun meat
sahmji adverb even
chyùhntúng adjective traditional
noun tradition
jaahpfo póu noun grocery store
pui sósìh phrase to make a key cut
sāuléih verb to repair
sáubīu noun wristwatch
bóulàuh verb to preserve
dōngdeih màhnfa noun local culture
gajihk noun value
gúnléih verb to manage
noun management
gānjūk phrase to follow closely
jingfú noun government
kwāigaak noun specification, standard
jísih noun instruction, directive
verb to instruct
lóusyú noun mouse
yihndoih adjective modern
góu noun manuscript, draft
séhóu verb to write well
sáujaahp verb to gather, to collect
jīlíu noun data
gáau verb to stir, to disturb
yuhng verb to use

Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation:

Góng héi séuhng làih, . . . Speaking of . . .

māt dōu yáuh dāk maaih you can buy anything
6
hóuchíh . . . yātyeuhng like . . .
. . . a, . . . a, . . . a . . ., . . ., . . . (listing items)
yiu . . . ge wah if you want . . . 1
Góngdāk hóu āam! You are right! Discussing
Jouh māt . . . ? Why . . . ? an urban
revitalization
Yìhgā maih géi hóu. It is just good now. project
m̀ haih . . . jauh haih . . . if it is not . . ., then it is . . .
gei . . . yauh . . . both . . . and . . .

3 Learning points

3.1 Discourse structure: Yāt làih . . ., yih làih . . ., sāam làih . . .
(‘first . . ., second . . ., third . . .’)
e.g., Nī go gaiwaahk hóu yáuh yisī a. Yāt làih, hóyíh bóulàuh chyùhntúng ge
hòhngyihp. Yih làih, hóyíh wuhtfa nī go deihfōng.
This project is very meaningful. First, it can preserve traditional professions.
Second, it can revitalize this area.
Ngóh séung heui Bākgīng léuihhàhng a. Yāt làih, hóyíh tái hóu dō hóu
leng ge fūnggíng. Yih làīh, hóyíh sihk hóu sihk ge yéh. Sāam làih, hóyíh
sāujaahp jīlíu jouh ngóh ge yìhn'gau.
I would like to take a trip to Beijing. First, I can see a lot of beautiful scen-
ery. Second, I can eat some nice food. Third, I can collect data to do my
research.

4 Additional text 🎧
Charlotte’s promotional script for the revitalization project

Ngóhdeih ge sìhngsíh faatjín dāk hóu faai. Hóu dō chyùhntúng ge hòhngyihp

dōu yíhgīng hái ngóhdeih ge séhkēui sīusāt. Yìhgā hóu dō yàhn jūngyi heui daaih
yìhng ge chīukāp síhchèuhng máaih yéh. Kéuihdeih gokdāk chyùhntúng ge
gāaisíh yauh chau yauh wūjōu, yihng'wàih chīusíh yauh pèhng yauh fōngbihn.
Daahnhaih kèihsaht gāaisíh léuih mihn yáuh hóu dō séhkēui màhnfā tùhng
chyùhntúng ge poutáu. Hóuchíh pui sósìh ge poutáu a, sāuléih sáubīu ge poutáu
a, maaih hóisīn, maaih yuhk ge poutáu a. Nī dī poutáu haih hóu jihkdāk bóulàuh
ge, yānwaih nī dī poutáu bóulàuhjó chyùhntúng ge séhkēui màhnfa tùhng
yàhnchìhng meih.
Ngóhdeih gāmyaht gaaisiuh yāt go wuhtfajó ge gāaisíh béi daaihgā. Nī go
wuhtfajó ge gāaisíh, yāt làih wúih yáuh hóu hóu ge gúnléih gūngsī gúnléih, sóyíh
hái gāaisíh léuih mihn yātdihng m̀wúih gindóu lóusyú a, séuijīk a, laahpsaap a,
nī dī yéh. Nī go gāaisíh gānjūk jingfú ge kwāigaak. Gei gōnjehng yauh waihsāng.
Yih làih, máaih yéh ge yàhn wúih gokdāk syūfuhk tùhng hóu yùhngyih wándóu
kéuihdeih séung máaih ge yéh. Gātìhng jyúfúh hóyíh wándóu gei sānsīn, gachìhn
yauh pèhng ge yéh. Sāam làih, nī go gāaisíh dōu bóulàuhjó chyùhntúng ge
7
hòhngyihp tùhng poutáu. Ngóhdeih ge jái néui jēunglòih dōu hóyíh táidóu nī dī
hóu yáuh gajihk ge séhkēui màhnfa.
Chéng daaihgā jīchìh, yātchàih heui ngóhdeih ge gāaisíh máaih yéh lā.
1 Here are some more phrases in the additional text:
Discussing
hòhngyihp sīusāt séhkēui yàhnchìhng meih
an urban
revitalization profession to disappear community human touch
project
wándóu sāmséui gachìhn jái néui
to have found favourite price son and daughter

5 Exercises and practice

5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated

conversation and additional text:
Charlotte tùhng tùhngsih hōi wúi. Kéuihdeih tóuleuhn dī mātyéh nē?

Charlotte gokdāk chyùhntúng ge gāaisíh haih dímyéung ge deihfōng nē?

Chyùhntún gāaisíh tùhng chīusíh yáuh mātyéh m̀ tùhng a?

Wuhtfajó ge gāaisíh wúih haih dím ge nē?

Dímgáai tùhngsih gokdāk nī go gaiwaahk yáuh nàahndouh nē?

Charlotte yihng'wàih nī go gaiwaahk hóu yáuh gajihk, dímgáai nē?

Charlotte heui bīn douh sáujaahp jīlíu a?

8
Néih gokdāk nī go gaiwaahk nàahn m̀nàahn hōijín nē? Dímgáai nē? 1
Discussing
an urban
revitalization
project

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

Ngóh yihng'wàih . . .

m̀ haih . . . jauh haih . . .

hóuchíh . . . yātyeuhng

gei . . . yauh . . .

Yāt làih . . ., yih làih . . ., sāam làih . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:

tóuleuhn gúnléih tūngsèuhng gajihk chyùhntúng

yìhngjeuhng jīlíu tùhngsih bóulàuh hōijín

9
1 5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this
Discussing pronunciation exercise: 🎧
an urban
revitalization
project Wihng ngòh
– Lohk Bānwòhng

Ngòh, ngòh, ngòh,

kūk hohng heung tīn gō.
Baak mòuh fàuh luhk séui,
hùhng jéung buht chīng bō.

5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short

paragraph and read it aloud in response to the
information provided:
Néih tùhng pàhngyáuh kīng gái. Kéuihdeih jūngyi heui chīukāp síhchèuhng
máaih yéh. Néihdeih góngháh heui chīudāp síhchèuhng tùhng heui gāaisíh
máaihyéh yáuh mātyéh m̀ tùhng.

Néih tùhng pàhngyáuh kīnggáai. Néihdeih dōu gokdāk yáuh dī chyùhntúng ge

hòhngyihp jihkdāk bóulàuh. Néih yihng'wàih bīn dī chyùhntúng hòhngyihp
­jihkdāk bóulàuh nē? Dímgáai nē?

10
LESSON 2
Aspects of popular culture
Gwāanyū làuhhàhng màhnfa

Activity: Appreciating popular culture.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: John has joined a short video competition. The theme of this competition
is ‘popular culture’. He asks advice from Charlotte.
John chāamgājó yāt go dyún pín béichoi. Nī go béichoi ge jyútàih haih ‘làuh-
hàhng màhnfa’. Kéuih mahnháh Charlotte ge yigin.

Cantonese text English gloss

Charlotte: Wa! John. Néih hóu sāileih a. Wow! John, you are great.
Néih géisìh hohksīk paak When did you learn to make
pín ga? videos?
John: Ngóh jeuigahn siháh paak dī Recently I made some videos
pín fong séuhng móhng. and upload them to the Internet.
Hóuchíh yáuh hóu dō yàhn Many people seemed to like
jūngyi gó dī pín, gám ngóh those videos, so I decided to
maih chāamgā béichoi lō. enter this competition.
Charlotte: Nī chi béichoi ge jyútàih haih What’s the theme of this
mātyéh a? competition?
(Continued )

11

DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-2
2 (Continued)
Aspects
of popular
Cantonese text
culture
John: Nī chi béichoi ge jyútàih haih
‘làuhhàhng màhnfa’.
Ngóh gaiwaahk fóngmahn
nìhnchīngyàhn tùhng
kéuihdeih tóuleuhnháh
làuhhàhng màhnfa.
Ngóh séung jīdou kéuihdeih
deui m̀ tùhng làuhhàhng
màhnfa ge táifaat, hóuchíh
séhgāau mùihtái, dihnyíng,
làuhhàhng yāmngohk,
dángdáng.
Mòuhleuhn yùhhòh, néih
bōng bōng ngóh lā. Ngóh jī
néih yáuh hóu dō m̀ tùhng ge
hingcheui oi'hou. Néih béi dī
yigin ngóh lā.
Charlotte: Góng dou hingcheui oi'hou,
néih dōu jī ngóh jeui jūngyi
tái dihnyíng.
Tùhng kèihtā ge
nìhnchīngyàhn yātyeuhng,
ngóh dōu jūngyi hóu dō
m̀ tùhng ge làuhhàhng
màhnfa hóuchíh maahnwá,
dihnjí yàuhhei, móhngseuhng
síusyut, làuhhàhng
yāmngohk, dángdáng.
John: Néih gokdāk dímyéung hóyíh What do you think I should
paakdāk yáuhcheuidī nē? use to make the video more
interesting?
Charlotte: Yùhgwó góng dihnyíng
ge leuihyìhng, ngóh jihgéi
jūngyi tái geiluhk pín.
Yānwaih geiluhk pín m̀ haih
jíhaih yùhlohk sīuhín.
Yùhgwó néih tái yāt tou hóu
ge geiluhk pín, néih hóyíh
hohk sān ge jisīk.
12
English gloss
The theme of this competition
is ‘popular culture’.
I plan to interview young
people and discuss popular
culture with them.
I want to find out their views
on various aspects of popular
culture, such as social media,
movies, pop music, and so on.
Anyway, please help me.
I know you have many interests
and hobbies. Please give me
some advice.
Speaking of interests and
hobbies, you know that I like to
watch movies.
Like other young people,
I also like many other aspects
of popular culture, including
comics, video games, online
novels, popular music, and
so on.
If you are talking about genre,
I personally like documentary
films.
That’s because documentary
films are not just entertainment.
If you watch a good
documentary, you can always
learn something new.
 Cantonese text
John: Paak geiluhk pín haih yāt go
hóu hóu ge ginyíh wo.
Ngóh hóyíh fóngmahn géi go
nìhnchīngyàhn tùhng paak
kéuihdeih chāamgā m̀ tùhng
ge wuhtduhng.
Daahnhaih dāamsām wúih
yáuh dī muhn.
Charlotte: Waahkjé néih hóyíh paakdāk
gáausiu dī, tùhng yuhng
yāumak ge sáufaat paak.
Gám yéung gūnjung wúih
gokdāk yáuhcheui dī.
Ngóh yihng'wàih, ngóh tái
héikehk gójahnsìh, ngóh
hóyíh fongsūng sāmchìhng.
Jeuigahn, ngóh yauh jūngyi
tái jīngtaam dihnyíng tùhng
yùhnyìh pín.
Nī dī dihnyíng dōu hóu
hóutái ga.
Sìhng tou pín, néih yiu gúháh
bīn go haih waaihyàhn. Hóu
hóu wáan ga!
John: Nī dī dōu haih hóu hóu ge yigin. Those are good suggestions.
Dōjeh néih ge ginyíh.
English gloss 2
Aspects
The idea of making a of popular
documentary film is a good culture
suggestion.
I could interview a few
young people and film them
participating in various
activities.
But I’m worried that this will
be boring.
Perhaps you could make
the film a bit funny, and use
humour as part of the movie.
That would make it more
entertaining for the audience.
For myself, I know when
I watch a comedy, I always feel
more relaxed.
Recently, I’ve also enjoyed
watching detective movies and
suspense movies.
These movies are also very
good to watch.
In these movies, you often need
to guess who the villain is.
That’s really fun!
Thanks for your advice.

2 Relevant phrases 🎧

Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss

dyún pín noun short film
béichoi noun competition
jyútàih noun theme
làuhhàhng màhnfa noun popular culture
yigin noun advice, opinion
sāileih adjective formidable
hohksīk phrase learnt 13
paak pín verb–object construction to shoot video
(Continued )
2 (Continued)
Aspects
of popular
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
culture paaksip verb to film
fong séuhng móhng phrase to put online
fóngmahn verb to interview
nìhnchīngyàhn noun young people
táifaat noun views
séhgāau mùihtái noun social media
làuhhàhng yāmngohk noun popular music
hingcheui noun interest
oi'hou noun hobbies
bōng verb to help
maahnwá noun comics
dihnjí yàuhhei noun electronic games
móhngseuhng síusyut noun online novel
yáuhcheui adjective interesting
leuihyìhng noun genre
geiluhk pín noun documentary
yùhlohk noun entertainment
sīuhín noun pastime
jisīk noun knowledge
ginyíh noun suggestion
verb to suggest
dāamsām verb to worry
muhn adjective boring
gáausiu adjective funny
yāumahk noun humour
adjective humorous
sáufaat noun technique
héikehk noun comedy
gūnjung noun audience
jīngtaam dihnyíng noun detective movie
yùhnyìh pín noun suspense movie
sìhng tou pín phrase the whole movie
gú verb to guess
14 waaihyàhn noun villain
Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation: 2
Aspects
deui . . . hóu suhksīk very familiar with . . . of popular
culture
maih . . . lō just . . .
Mòuhleuhn yùhhòh, . . . Anyway . . .
néih bōng bōng ngóh you help me
béi dī yigin lā. Give some advice
Góng dou . . . Speaking of . . .
X hóuchíh Y (gám) X is similar to Y
m̀ . . . dáng ngóh námháh . . . Hmm . . . let me think . . .
Ngóh ginyyíh . . . I propose . . .

3 Learning points

3.1 Construction: yāt mihn X yāt mihn Y / yāt bihn X yāt bihn Y

(‘X and Y at the same time’)
The basic meaning of this construction is doing X and doing Y at the same time.

e.g., Kéuihdeih yāt mihn hàahng sāan yāt mihn yíng séung.
While they are hiking, at the same time they are also taking photos.
Ngóh duhkyùhn daaihhohk jīhauh, ngóh séung yāt bihn jouh yéh yāt bihn
duhk syū.
After I finish university, I want to work and study at the same time.

3.2 Discourse structure: sáusīn . . . yìhnhauh . . . juhng

yáuh . . . (‘first . . . then . . . in addition . . .’)
e.g., Yùhgwó néih séung yahp hóu ge daaihhohk, sáusīn néih yiu nóuhlihk
duhk syū, yìhnhauh yiu jīdou jihgéi hái daaihhohk séung duhk mātyéh.
If you want to enter a good university, first you need to study hard, and then
you need to know what you want to study at university.
Néih yiu paak yāt dyuhn hóu ge dyún pín, sáusīn yiu jīdou jyútàih haih
mātyéh, yìhnhauh yiu nám dímyéung paaksip, juhng yáuh yiu wán yáuh-
cheui ge yàhn tùhng néih yātchàih jouh.
You want to shoot a nice short film – first you need to know what the theme
is, and then you need to think about how to film. In addition, you need to find
interesting people to work with you.

15
2 4 Additional text 🎧
Aspects
of popular John’s introduction to his short film
culture

Mātyéh haih làuhhàhng màhnfa nē?

Mātyéh haih yìhgā nìhnchīngyàhn jeui jūngyi ge yùhlohk sīuhín nē?
Haih sihk faahn, fan gaau, kīng gái, bōu kehk, dá gēi?
Ngóhdeih nī dyuhn dyún pín fóngmahnjó sāam go jūngyi m̀tùhng ge làuh-
hàhng màhnfa ge nìhnchīngyàhn.
Grace hóu jūngyi làuhhàhng yāmngohk, sahpsāam seui hōichí jauh chāamgā
hóu dō béichoi. Jīhauh kéuih heuijó Náuyeuk duhk daaihhohk.
Daaihhohk ge sìhhauh kéuih chāamgājó hóu dō gwokjai làuhhàhng yāmng-
ohk béichoi, juhng lójó hóu dō jéung. Yìhgā kéuih hōijó yāt gāan hohkhaauh
gaau cheunggō tùhng làuhhàhng yāmngohk. Kéuih ge hingcheui binjó kéuih ge
gūngjok. Grace sāngwuht dāk hóu hōisām.
Peter ge yùhlohk haih tái maahnwá. Kéuih duhk syū ge sìhhauh kéuih ge
bàhbā màhmā dōu hóu m̀jūngyi kéuih nī go oi'hou.
Peter ge bàhbā màhmā yihng'wàih táidāk maahnwá taai dō jauh yahp m̀dóu
hóu ge daaihhohk, yahp m̀dóu hóu ge daaihhohk jēunglòih jauh wán m̀dóu hóu
ge gūngjok. Bātgwo kèihsaht Peter yāt mihn tái maahnwá ge tùhngsìh, dōu yāt
mihn nóuhlihk duhk syū.
Kéuih jeuihauh yahpjó yāt gāan hóu hóu ge daaihhohk. Kéuih yìhgā hái
daaihhohk gaau Yahtbún màhnfa tùhng làuhhàhng màhnfa.
Eric jauh jeui jūngyi dihnjí yàuhhei. Kéuih tùhng Peter yātyeuhng, kéuih ge
fuhmóuh dōu m̀jūngyi kéuih nī go yùhlohk sīuhín.
Eric yānwaih deui dihnjí yàuhhei yáuh hingcheui, kéuih gauhnín hōijó yāt
gāan gūngsī chitgai dihnjí yàuhhei. Yìhgā gūngsī jouh dāk hóu hóu.
Nī dī yùhlohk oi'hou sáusīn hóyíh bōng nī sāam go nìhnchīngyàhn fongsūng
sāmchìhng, yìhnhauh lihng kéuihdeih hohkdóu hóu dō jisīk, juhng yáuh béijó
hóu dō gēiwuih kéuideih.

Here are some more phrases in the additional text:

bōu kehk dá gēi gwokjai

to watch television drama to play video games international
jéung . . . ge tùhngsìh chitgai
prize at the same time to design

5 Exercises and practice

5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated

conversation and additional text:
John chāamgājó yāt go mātyéh béichoi nē? Dímgáai kéuih séung chāamgā nē?
16
Hái nī go béichoi léuih mihn, John yiu jouh dī mātyéh a? 2
Aspects
of popular
culture

Charlotte góngjó kéuih jūngyi tái bīn sāam júng dihnyíng a? Dímgái kéuih
jūngyi tái nī dī dihnyíng nē?

John jeuihauh fóngmahnjó géi dō go yàhn a?

Nī dī nìhnchīngyàhn dōu yáuh yāt dī yātyeuhng ge dahtjāt (‘characteristics’),

néih tái m̀ táidóu haih mātyéh dahkjāt nē?

Dímgáai Peter tùhng Eric ge bàhbā màhmā m̀ jūngyi kéuihdeih ge yùhlohk

sīuhín nē?

Néih yihng'wàih hingcheui oi'hou deui nìhngchīngyàhn yáuh géi juhngyiu nē?
Yāt go yàhn haih m̀ haih yātdihng yiu yáuh yùhlohk nē?

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

X hóuchíh Y gám

yāt mihn X yāt mihn Y

17
2 Mòuhleuhn yùhhòh, . . .
Aspects
of popular
culture

deui . . . hóu suhksīk

sáusīn . . . yìhnhauh . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:

yùhlohk muhn gú yáuhcheui leuihyìhng

fóngmahn béichoi dāamsām gáausiu ginyíh

5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this

pronunciation exercise: 🎧

Chēun híu
– Maahng Houh Yìhn

Chēun mìhn bāt gok híu,

18 chyu chyu màhn tàih níuh.
Yeh lòih fūng yúh sīng,
fā lohk jī dō síu.
5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short 2
paragraph and read it aloud in response to the Aspects
of popular
information provided: culture
Néih tùhng géi go pàhngyáuh kīng gái. Néihdeih góngháh jihgéi jeui jūngyi ge
yùhlohk sīuhín.

Yáuh yàhn wah, yáuh dī làuhhàhng màhnfa deui nìhnchīngyàhn yáuh m̀hóu ge
yínghéung, néih tùhngyi ma? Néih hàahng gāai ge sìhhauh yáuh yāt go yàhn
fóngmahn néih. Chéng néih góngháh néih ge yigin.

19
 LESSON 3
Joining an ecotour
Chāamgā sāngtaai léuihyàuh

Activities: Discussing the environment and tourism.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: Charlotte and John are both interested in ecotourism. They discuss joining
an ecotour, and before the tour, they attend a seminar about ecotourism.
Charlotte tùhng John dōu deui sāngtaai léuihyàuh yáuh hingcheui. Kéuideih
séung chāamgā yāt go sāngtaai yàuh, chāamgā sāngtaai léuihyàuh jīchìhn,
kéuih-deih yātchàih heui tēng yāt go sāngtaai yàuh ge góngjoh.

Cantonese text English gloss

John: Geidāk seuhng chi tùhng
néih hàahng sāan, néih
giufúlìhntīn.
Gú m̀ dóu néih deui sāangtaai
léuihyàuh yáuh hingcheui.
Charlotte: Sēuiyìhn ngóh gokdāk hàahng
sāan hóu sānfú, daahnhaih
ngóh yihng'wàih sāngtaai yàuh
nī go yíhtàih hóu yáuh yisī wo.
Deui ngóh làih góng hàahng
sāan jānhaih géi sānfú
yānwaih ngóh pìhngsìh hóu
síu jouh wahnduhng.
Ngóh jānhaih yiu jouh dōdī
wahnduhng.
Gwāanyū sāngtaai yàuh,
ngóh gokdāk daaihjihyìhn
deui ngóhdeih hóu juhngyiu.
20
Charlotte, last time we went
hiking, you just complained the
whole time.
I didn’t think that you would be
interested in ecotourism.
I do find hiking a bit exhausting,
but I am very interested in
ecotourism.
The reason why hiking is a bit
exhausting is because I’m out of
shape.
I really need to take regular
exercise.
With regard to ecotourism, I do
think nature is important to
everyone.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-3
 Cantonese text
Ngóhdeih ge sìhngsíh yuht
làih yuht yihndoihfa, tùhngsìh
sāngwuht ge ngaatlihk dōu
yuht làih yuht daaih.
Ngóh géi yaht chìhn táijó
yāt fahn boují ge màhnjēung
góng hóu dō Hēunggóng
yàhn gokdāk kéuihdeih ge
sāngwuht hóu gánjēung.
Yáuh hóu dō yùhnyān.
Yáuh dī yàhn ginyíh
chyúhléih ngaatlihk ge hóu
fōngfaat haih dōdī jipjūk
daaihjihyìhn.
Ngóh dōu táijó yāt tou
gwāanyū léuihyàuh tùhng
sāngtaai ge gwāanhaih ge
geiluhk pín.
Ngóh gokdāk nī go tàihmuhk
hóu yáuh yisī.
John: Haih a, ngóh nám ngóhdeih
heui tēng ge yín'góng wúih
tóuleuhn nī dī màhntàih.
Kèihsaht, léuihyàuh tùhng
sāngtaai yáuhsìh wúih yáuh
chūngdaht.
Laihyùh nē, yùhgwó yáuh
taai dō yàuhhaak heui
yihtdaai yúhlàahm, deui
sāngtaai haihtúng wúih yáuh
hóu waaih ge yínghéung ge.
Juhng yáuh, léuihyàuh yihp
deui saigaai hóu dō deihfōng
dōu yáuh fuhmín yínghéung.
Yáuh dī gwokgā kāpyáhn taai
dō yàuhhaak wúih jouhsìhng
gwodouh jāibīk tùhng
wūwíhm.
Yáuh dī gwokgā, yàuhhaak
sākmúhn gwokgā léuih
mihn jeui leng ge deihfōng,
dōngdeih yàhn dōu heui
m̀dóu gó dī deihfōng.
English gloss 3
Joining an
Our city is getting more and ecotour
more modern, but, at the same
time, life is getting more and
more stressful.
I read a newspaper article the
other day that said most people
in Hong Kong found their lives
very stressful.
There are many reasons for
this. And some people suggest
that a good way to deal with
stress is by getting close to
nature.
I also watched a documentary
about the relationship between
tourism and the ecosystem.
I think this whole topic is very
interesting.
Yes, I think the talk we’re going
to will discuss these issues.
In fact, there are some conflicts
between tourism and the
environment.
For example, if too many tourists
go to the rainforests, this will
have a really bad effect on the
ecosystem there.
In addition, mass tourism
has had a very negative effect
in many parts of the world.
Certain countries attract too
many tourists, and this often
results in overcrowding and
pollution.
In some countries, tourists tend
to take over the most beautiful
areas of the country, so local
people can’t afford to go there.
21
(Continued )
3 (Continued)
Joining an
ecotour Cantonese text English gloss
Yāt go laihjí haih Taaigwok, One example of this is in
gó douh ge gīngjai fēisèuhng Thailand, where much of the
yíhkaau léuihyàuh yihp. economy is dependent on
tourism.
Lihng yāt go laihjí haih Another example is the
Fēileuhtbān. Géi nìhn chìhn Philippines. A few years ago,
jingfú kyutdihng gwāanbai the government there decided
gwokgā jeui chēutméng to close the most popular beach
ge hóitāan, go hóitāan hái on in the country, which is on
Chèuhngtāan Dóu. Boracay Island.
Jyúyiu yùhnyān haih gó go The main reason for that was that
dóu beih yàuhhaak ge wūséui the island had become so polluted
wūyíhmjó. from the sewage of tourists.
Ajāu deihkēui ge jingfú yìhgā Governments in the Asian
hóu gwāanjyu léuihyàuh region are now becoming very
yihp daai làih ge yínghéung. concerned about the effects of
tourism.
Gahnnìhn, Yannèih jingfú In recent years, the Indonesian
nóuhlihk syūnchyùhn Bāléih government has been working
dóu ge sāngtaai léuihyàuh. hard to promote ecotourism on
the island of Bali.
Charlotte: John, bātyùh ngóhdeih John, why don’t we go on an
yātchàih heui yāt go sāngtaai ecotourist trip together?
léuihhàhng lā?
Ngóh séung heui Bāléi tái I’d like to go to Bali and see the
séuidouh tāitìhn. Néih séung rice terraces. Where would you
heui bīn douh a? like to go?
John: Hóu a, ngóh dōu séung heui Yes, I’d also love to go on an
sāngtaai léuihhàhng. Bātgwo ecotour. But I’m not exactly sure
ngóh m̀kokdihng séung heui where to go.
bīn douh.
Ngóh gokdāk hái Ajāu yáuh I think there are lots of places to
hóu dō deihfōng hóyíh heui. go to in Asia.
Peiyùh, ngóhdeih hóyíh For example, we could go
heui Nèihpokyíh. Hái hiking in Nepal. They have
Héimáhlāaingá sāan yáuh hóu lots of hikes in the Himalaya
dō hàahng sāan ge deihfōng. mountains.
Daahnhaih yùhgwó néih m̀séung But if you don’t want to go
hàahng sāan, juhng yáuh hóu dō hiking, there are lots of other
léuihhàhng ge deihfōng ge. tours we could do.
22 Peiyùh, Gáanpòuhjaai tùhng For instance, there are lots
Yuhtnàahm dōu yáuh hóu dō of ecotours in Cambodia and
sāngtaai yàuh. Néih gokdāk Vietnam. What do you think?
dím nē?
 Cantonese text
Charlotte: Kèihsaht, ngóh juhng
haih séung heui Bāléih tái
séuidoih tāitìhn.
Dī tāitìhn hóu chēutméng,
yānwaih dī tāitìhn waih
gunkoi tàihgūngjó yāt go
chyùhntúng ge gáaikyut
fōng'on.
Nī go gunkoi haihtúng
tùhng séuidouh tāitìhn
ge wàahn'gíng sāngtaai
yùhnchyùhn hiptìuh.
Juhng yáuh, gó douh yáuh
chyùhntúng ge Yandouh
Gaau màhnfa, Bāléih haih yāt
go hóu dahkbiht ge deihfōng.
John: Bāléih haih yāt go hóu hóu ge
ginyíh.
Bātgwo dáng ngóhdeih
tēngyùhn góngjoh jīhauh joi
námháh lā.
Ngóhdeih waahkjé wúih
yáuh dōdī séungfaat nē.
Charlotte: Hóu jyúyi. Dáng ngóhdeih
tēngháh kéuihdeih hái
góngjoh góng dī māt lā.
2 Relevant phrases 🎧
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function
sāngtaai léuihyàuh / noun
sāngtaai yàuh
sāngtaai noun
góngjoh noun
geidāk verb
giufúlìhntīn phrase
sānfú adjective
yíhtàih noun
yáuh yisī phrase
English gloss 3
Joining an
Actually, I’d still like to go to ecotour
Bali to see the rice terraces.
The rice terraces are very
famous, because they provide
a traditional solution to the
problem of water irrigation.
The irrigation system is
totally in harmony with the
environment and the ecology of
the rice terraces.
In addition, there is a traditional
Hindu culture, which makes Bali
a very special place.
Bali sounds like a very good
suggestion.
But let’s think about it more
after we’ve been to the
seminar.
We’ll probably get some more
ideas then.
Good idea. Let’s hear what they
have to say in the seminar.
English gloss
ecotourism
ecology
lecture, seminar
to remember
groaning
toilsome
issue
23
meaningful
(Continued )
3 (Continued)
Joining an
ecotour
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
daaihjihyìhn noun nature
yihndoihfa adjective modernized
noun modernization
tùhngsìh adverb at the same time
sāngwuht noun life
ngaatlihk noun pressure
yāt fahn boují noun a newspaper
màhnjēung noun article, essay
gánjēung adjective nervous
yùhnyān noun reason
chyúhléih / verb to handle, to process, to
chyuléih deal with
fōngfaat noun method
jipjūk verb to contact
yāt tou geiluhk pín noun a documentary
tàihmuhk noun topic
yín'góng noun speech
chūngdaht noun conflict
verb to conflict
yihtdaai yúhlàahm noun rainforest
haihtúng noun system
yínghéung noun influence
verb to influence
léuihyàuh yihp noun tourist industry
fuhmín yínghéung phrase negative influence
gwokgā noun country
kāpyáhn verb to attract
jouhsìhng phrase to result in
gwodouh jāibīk phrase overcrowding
wūyíhm verb to pollute
noun pollution
sākmúhn phrase stuffed, filled up with
búndeih adjective local
heui m̀ dóu phrase cannot go
24
laihjí noun example
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 3
Joining an
Taaigwok noun Thailand ecotour
gīngjai noun economy
yíhkaau / verb to rely on
kaau
lihng yāt go laihjí phrase another example
Fēileuhtbān noun the Philippines
gwāanbai verb to shut down
adjective closed
noun closure
hóitāan noun beach
Chèuhngtāan Dóu noun Boracay Island
jyúyiu adjective main, chief
wūséui noun sewage
Ajāu noun Asia
deihkēui noun area, district
gwāanjyu preposition about, regarding
gahnnìhn phrase in recent years
Yannèih noun Indonesia
Bāléih dóu noun the island of Bali
séuidouh tāitìhn noun rice terraces
Nèihpokyíh noun Nepal
Héimáhlāaingá sāan noun the Himalayan
mountains
Gáanpòuhjaai noun Cambodia
Yuhtnàahm noun Vietnam
waih preposition for
gunkoi noun irrigation
verb to irrigate
tàihgūng verb to provide
gáaikyut verb to solve
fōng'on noun proposal, scheme
wàahn'gíng noun environment
yùhnchyùhn adverb completely, entirely
hiptìuh verb to coordinate
noun coordination,
conformity 25
Yandouh Gaau noun Hinduism
3 Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation:
Joining an
ecotour deui . . . yáuh hingcheui to be interested in . . .
Deui ngóh làih góng, . . . For me . . .
lihng yàhn . . . make people . . .
m̀sái góng . . . needless to say . . .
m̀sái góng . . ., ganggā m̀sái góng . . . needless to say . . ., furthermore . . .
jihchùhng . . . (jīhauh), . . . since . . . (after), . . .
yíh . . . wàihlaih take . . . as example

3 Learning points

3.1 Construction: yàuhyū . . . (ge) gwāanhaih (‘because of . . .’),

(‘due to . . .’)
e.g., Yàuhyū sìhgaan gwāanhaih, ngóh m̀ hóyíh gaijuhk góng. Dōjeh néihdeih
tēng ngóh ge yín'góng.
Due to the time limit, I can’t go on talking. Thank you for listening to my talk.
Yàuhyū chín ge gwāanhaih, kéuih yiu yāt mihn duhk syū yāt mihn jouh yéh.
Because of money issues, he needs to study and work at the same time.
Yàuhyū gūngjok ge gwāanhaih, ngóh gāmnìhn wúih hōichí jyuh hái
Gā'nàhdaaih.
Because of work issues, this year I will start living in Canada.

3.2 Discourse structure: chùhng . . . hōichí, . . .,

(yìhnhauh) . . ., gānjyuh . . ., jeui hauh . . . (‘to begin
with . . . (then) . . ., next . . ., in the end . . .’)
e.g., Yùhgwó yiu ngóh gaaisiuh yāt go deihfōng, ngóh wúih chùhng lihksí
hōichí, yìhnhauh góng nī go deihfōng ge màhnfa, gānjyuh góng nī go dei-
hfōng ge méihsihk, jeuihauh ngóh wúih góngháh nī go deihfōng jeuigahn
ge faatjín tùhng hóuwáan ge gíngdím.
If you want me to introduce a place, I will start from its history, then I will talk
about the culture, next I will talk about the delicious food, and, finally, I will
talk about the recent development and interesting sights of this place.

Yùhgwó néih séung jouh hóu yāt go yìhn'gau, yātdihng yiu chùhng tàih-
muhk hōichí nám, gānjyuh yiu nám yìhn'gau fōngfaat, jeuihauh yiu heui
sāujaahp jīlíu.
If you want to do research well, you should start thinking about the topic, and
then you need to think about the research methodology, and finally you need
to collect the data.
26
4 Additional text 🎧 3
Joining an
A talk about ecotourism ecotour

Daaihgā hóu! Ngóh nám daaihgā dōu heuigwo hóu dō deihfōng léuihhàhng.
Néihdeih heuigwo ge sìhngsíh tùhng gwokgā hóu hó'nàhng dō gwo ngóh. Daahn-
haih daaihgā m̀yātdihng tēnggwo sāngtaai léuihyàuh. M̀jī yáuh móuh pàhngyáuh
jīdou sāngtaai léuihyàuh haih mātyéh nē?
Gāmyaht ngóh jauh tùhng daaihgā gaaisiuhháh sāngtaai yàuh. Hái 1965 nìhn
yáuh yàhn hōichí góng ngóhdeih yiu joi nám chīngchó léuihyàuh, màhnfa tùhng
jihyìhn jīgāan ge gwāanhaih.
Hái 1983 nìhn yáuh daaihhohk hōichí góng ‘Sāngtaai yàuh’ nī go chìh. Sāngtaai
yàuh tēng go méng jauh haih gwāanyū daaih jihyìhn sāngtaai ge faatjín. Ngóhdeih
dōusíh yàhn daaih bouh fahn dōu gūngjok mòhnglūk, yaht yaht gābāan. Yàuhyū
sāngwuht ngaatlihk hóu daaih ge gwāanhaih, m̀sái góng daaihgā yāt yáuh sìhgaan
jauh wúih heui léuihhàhng hīngsūngháh ge. Daaihgā heui léuihhàhng jouh dāk jeui
dō ge yéh haih mātyéh nē? Máaih hóu yéh, sihk méihsihk? Daahnhaih ngóh séung
mahnháh daaihgā, kaumaht hó m̀hóyíh bōng néih gáamhēng jīngsàhn ngaatlihk
nē? Hó'nàhng gindóu yuhtgit dāan ge sìhhauh ngaatlihk juhng daaih wo!
Daaihgā yáuh móuh námgwo heui léuihhàhng ge sìhhauh jipjūk dōdī daaih-
jihyìhn nē? Dōusíh yàhn chùhng síupàhngyáuh hōichí jauh hóu síu gēiwuih jip-
jūk jihyìhn. Gānjyuh jouh yéh, gūngjok mòhnglūk jauh ganggā móuh sìhgaan
heui táiháh ngóhdeih jāuwàih ge jihyìhn fūnggíng. Sāngtaai yàuh haih yāt go béi
ngóhdeih jipjūk daaihjihyìhn ge hóu gēiwuih.
Chāamgā sāngtaai yàuh lihng ngóhdeih jīdou wàahn'gíng ge juhngyiu tùhng-
màaih gaausīk ngóhdeih, yàhn tùhng daaihjihyìhn ge gwāanhaih.
Hēimohng daaihgā tēngyùhn gāmyaht ge góngjoh jīhauh wúih góibin daaihgā
léuihyàuh ge jaahpgwaan lā.

Here are some more phrases in the additional text:

chīngchó jīgāan chìh mòhnglūk gābāan

clear between phrase busy, bustling to work overtime
hīngsūng yuhtgit dāan jāuwàih gáamhēng góibin
relaxed monthly statement surrounding to alleviate to change

5 Exercises and practice

5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated

conversation and additional text:
Dímgáai John wah gú m̀ dóu Charlotte deui sāngtaai yàuh yáuh hingcheui nē?

27
3 Dímgáai Charlotte gokdāk daaihjihyìhn hóu juhngyiu nē?
Joining an
ecotour

Dímgáai Charlotte gokdāk dōusíh yàhn hóu yùhngyi jīngsàhn gánjēung a?

John dímgáai gokdāk léuiyàuh tùhng sāngtaai wàahn'gíng yáuh chūngdaht

nē? Yáuh mātyéh laihjí nē?

John tùhng Charlotte dōu séung heui sāngtaai yàuh. John ginyíh kéuihdeih
hóyíh heui bīn dōuh nē?

Charlotte séung heui bīn douh táiháh nē? Dímgáai nē?

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

Deui ngóh làih góng, . . .

lihng yàhn . . .

yàuhyū . . . (ge) gwāanhaih

deui . . . yáuh hingcheui

28
chùhng . . . hōichí, . . ., gānjyuh . . . 3
Joining an
ecotour

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:

gīngjai hóitāan kāpyáhn jyúyiu wàahn'gíng

gwokgā séungfaat deihkēui tàihgūng yùhnchyùhn

5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this

pronunciation exercise: 🎧

Jóu faat Baahk Dai Sìhng

– Léih Baahk

Jīu chìh Baahkdai chói wàhn gāan,

chīn léih Gōnglìhng yāt yaht wàahn.
Léuhng ngohn yùhn sīng tàih bāt jyuht,
hīng jāu yíh gwo maahn chùhng sāan.

5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short

paragraph and read it aloud in response to the
information provided:
Dōusíh yàhn hóu yùhngyi jīngsàhn gánjēung. Yìhgā yáuh yàhn fóngmahn néih
dímyéung hóyíh lihng jihgéi hīngsūng dī, dímyéung lihng jīngsàhn móuh gam
gánjēung. Chéng néih góngháh néih gáamhēng ngaatlihk ge baahnfaat.
29
3
Joining an
ecotour

Néih ge pàhngyáuh séung Nùhnglihk Sānnìhn heui léuihhàhng. Kéuihdeih séung

heui hóu dō deihfōng léuihyàuh. Néih dōu yáuh hingcheui. Néih tùhng pàhngyáuh
kīng gáai. Góngháh néih ge ginyíh tùhng néih séung heui ge deihfōng.

30
LESSON 4
Discussing a job search
Tóuleuhn dímyéung wán gūng

Activity: Discussing a job search with a friend.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: John is graduating from his MBA course later this year. He has started
looking for a job, but is a bit worried about his prospects. He meets Charlotte in a
coffee shop to discuss his job application with her.
John gāmnìhn MBA fochìhng bātyihp. Kéuih yìhgā wán'gán gūng, kéuih síu
síu dāamsām kéuih ge jēunglòih. Kéuih tùhng Charlotte hái yāt gāan gafē dim
gin mihn kīngháh kéuih wán gūng ge sih.

Cantonese text English gloss

Charlotte: John, néih wán gūng dím a?
Néih wán'gán mātyéh gūng a?
John: Néih dōu jī, ngóh deui tàuhjī
yáuh hóu daaih ge hingcheui.
Ngóh bātyihp jīhauh, séung hái
tàuhjī ngàhnhòhng jouh yéh.
Ngóh hēimohng ngóh hóyíh
sìhnggūng wándóu yāt fahn
hóu gūng, daahnhaih dōngyìhn
gingjāng hóu daaih ge.
Sóyíh jeuigahn ngóh gokdāk
yáuh dī ngaatlihk a.
Charlotte: M̀ sái dāamsām. Néih gam lēk.
Ngóh gokdāk néih yātdihng
hóyíh wándóu yāt fahn hóu
gūng ge.
John, how’s your job search
going? What kind of job are you
looking for?
As you know, I’m really
interested in investing. After
graduation, I’d like to work in
an investment bank.
I hope I can succeed in getting
a good job in this sector, but
of course there is a lot of
competition.
So recently I’ve been feeling a
bit stressed.
Don’t worry. You’re very smart.
I’m sure you’ll be able to find a
good job.
(Continued ) 31

DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-4
4 (Continued)
Discussing a
job search
Cantonese text English gloss
Ngóh chēutnín dōu wúih bātyihp. I’m also graduating next year.
Ngóh dōu yīnggōi yiu hōichí I need to start looking for a job
wán gūng. Néih gokdāk, ngóh too. How can I start finding a
dímyéung hōichí wán gūng nē? job, do you think?
John: Gám, hái Hēunggóng, jeui Well, in Hong Kong, the best
hóu ge baahnfaat haih séuhng way is to go online. There are
móhng táiháh. Yáuh léuhng go two major websites for jobs.
daaih ge kàuhjīk móhngjaahm. They are called ‘JobsDB.com’
Kéuihdeih giu ‘JobsDB.com’ and ‘CPjobs’. They have lots of
tùhng ‘CPjobs’. Kéuihdeih job announcements for all kinds
yáuh hóu dō m̀ tùhng gūngjok of jobs.
ge jīuping gwónggou.
Ngóh jihgéi, táijó yāt dī For myself, I looked at job
tàuhjī ngàhnhòhng ge jīuping advertisements from investment
gwónggou, ngóh jīdou yáuh banks, so I could find out
bīn dī tàuhjī ngàhnghòhng which investment banks were
chénggán yàhn, tùhng yáuh recruiting people, and what jobs
mātyéh jīk'waih. were available.
Dī jīuping gwónggou dōu wúih The job advertisements also
wah béi néih jī nī dī gūngjok give you a good idea of what
yáuh mātyéh yahpjīk yīukàuh ge. qualifications employers are
looking for.
Peiyùh, yáuh yāt gāan For example, one famous
Méihgwok ge tàuhjī U.S. investment bank is
ngàhnhòhng yìhgā chénggán now recruiting investment
tàuhjī gīngléih. Kéuihdeih managers. They are looking for
yiu yáuh sehksih hohkwái, people with a master’s degree,
tùhng sāam nìhn sēunggwāan and three years’ relevant
gūngjok gīngyihm. experience.
Hái Hēunggóng duhk MBA Before joining the MBA
jīchìhn, ngóh hái Sān'gabō programme in Hong Kong,
yāt gāan tàuhjī ngàhnhòhng I worked for an investment bank
jouhgwo sei nìhn yéh. Ngóh gau in Singapore for four years. So
jīgaak sānchíng nī go jīk'waih, I’m qualified to apply for this
sóyíh ngóh sānchíngjó. position, and I did so.
Charlotte: Haih maih jihnghaih séuhng Did you just look at recruitment
móhng tái jīuping gwónggou advertisements, or are there
wán gūng jauh dāk ga la, juhng other ways to find jobs?
yáuh móuh kèihtā baahnfaat
wán gūng nē?

32
 Cantonese text
John: Gám, lihngngoih hóu
yáuhyuhng ge haih ngóh
ge MBA fochìhng dōu
ōnpàaihjó hóu dō gūngsī
tùhng ngàhnhòhng ge kàuhjīk
góngjoh béi ngóhdeih.
Charlotte: Néih dím sānchíng nī gāan
Méihgwok ngàhnhòhng ge
gūngjok ge nē?
John: Ngóh yāt kyutdihng yiu
sānchíng nī fahn gūngjok, ngóh
jauh yiu sé ngóh ge léihlihkbíu,
juhngyáuh ngóh dōu yiu sé yāt
fūng hahpsīk ge kàuhjīk seun.
Jyúyiu ge haih néih yātdihng
yiu hái kàuhjīk seun léuih
mihn góng chīngchó néih gau
jīgaak sānchíng, tùhngmàaih
néih hóu hotmohng hái gó gāan
ngàhnhòhng waahkjé gūngsī
gūngjok ge wo.
Daahnhaih chèuihjó nī gāan
Méihgwok ge ngàhnhòhng
jī'ngoih, ngóh dōu sānchíngjó
sei gāan ngàhnghòhng tùhng
tàuhjī gūngsī, bāaukwut léuhng
gāan Hēunggóng ge tàuhjī
gūngsī, yāt gāan Faatgwok ge
ngàhnhòhng tùhng yāt gāan
noihdeih ge ngàhnghòhng.
Charlotte: M̀ gwaaidāk néih jeuigahn gam No wonder you’ve been so busy
mòhng lā! lately!
John: Ngóh nám wúih yuht làih yuht
mòhng. Ngóh dōu yiu jéunbeih
hóu dō mihnsíh.
Charlotte: Mihnsíh dímyéung jéunbeih a? How are you going to do that?
John: Gám, yiu táiháh bīn gāan
ngàhnhòhng tùhng gūngsī la.
Ngóh yiu yìhn'gauháh ngóh
sānchíng ge ngàhnhòhng
tùhng gūngsī, gám ngóh hóyíh
suhksīk kéuihdeih ge yihpmouh
wahnjohk.
English gloss 4
Discussing a
Well, another thing that was very job search
useful was that my MBA course
also arranged for a number of job
talks from various companies,
including some banks.
How did you go about applying
for the job in the American
bank?
Once I decided I wanted to go
for this job, I had to revise my
CV, and I also had to write a
suitable cover letter.
The main thing is that you
should make it clear in the
cover letter that you’re qualified
for the position, and also that
you’re really enthusiastic
about working for that bank or
company.
But as well as applying to the
U.S. bank, I’ve also applied to
four other banks and investment
management firms, including
two Hong Kong investment
management firms, a French
bank, and a mainland Chinese
bank.
I think things will soon get
busier. I also have to prepare for
a bunch of job interviews.
Well, it depends on the bank
and company.
I need to do some research on
each of the banks and companies
that I apply to, so that I can get
familiar with their operations. 33
(Continued )
4 (Continued)
Discussing a
job search
Cantonese text
Yáuh dī ngàhnhòhng tùhng
gūngsī jyūnmùhn jouh gúpiu,
kèihtā ge ngàhnhòhng tùhng
gūngsī ge jaai'hyun, tùhng
kèihtā júngleuih ge tàuhjī hóu
kèuhng.
Yáuh dī jīk'waih dōu yiu jouh
sēungbán gāauyihk tùhng
ngoihwuih ge.
Jyúyiu ge haih yiu jouh dī
yìhn'gau, yiu jīdou dō dī
ngàhnhòhng tùhng gūngsī ge
wahnjok.
Charlotte: Hóu, néih jānhaih jīdou
jihgéi jouhgán mātyéh. Ngóh
sēungseun néih yātdihng wúih
sìhnggūng wándóu hóu gūng
ge.
John: Ngóh yáuh yāt go tàihyi. Ngóh
wándóu gūng gójahnsìh,
ngóhdeih yātchàih hingjūk.
Ngóh chéng néih sihk daaih
chāan. Hóu m̀ hóu a?
Charlotte: Hóu a. Ngóh hóu kèihdoih a.
2 Relevant phrases 🎧
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function
wán gūng verb–object construction
fochìhng noun
síu síu phrase
yāt gāan gafē dim noun
gin mihn verb–object construction
tàuhjī verb
noun
34 ngàhnhòhng noun
English gloss
Some banks and companies are
specialized in stocks and shares,
other banks and companies are
very strong in bonds and other
types of investment.
Some jobs also involve working
with commodities or foreign
exchange.
The main thing is to do some
research, and find out as much
as possible about the bank and
company’s operations.
Well, you really seem to know
what you are doing. I’m sure
you’ll succeed in getting a good
job.
I tell you what. When I get a
good job offer, we’ll celebrate.
I’ll treat you to a nice dinner.
How about that?
That’ll be great. I look forward
to that.
English gloss
to find a job
course, programme
a little
a coffee shop
to meet
to invest
investment
bank
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 4
Discussing a
tàuhjī ngàhnhòhng / noun investment bank job search
tàuhhóng
sìhnggūng verb to succeed
yāt fahn gūng noun a job
dōngyìhn adverb certainly
gingjāng noun competition
verb to compete
baahnfaat noun method
séuhng móhng verb–object construction to go online
kàuhjīk móhngjaahm noun recruitment website
gūngjok noun job, task, work
jīuping gwónggou noun recruitment
advertisement
chéng yàhn verb–object construction to recruit people
jīk'waih noun position (company)
yahpjīk yīukàuh noun entering requirement
yīukàuh noun requirement
verb to require
sehksih hohkwái noun master’s degree
sēunggwāan adjective interrelated, related
gūngjok gīngyihm noun work experience
gau adjective enough, sufficient
jīgaak noun qualification
sānchíng verb to apply
yáuhyuhng adjective useful
ōnpàaih verb to arrange
noun arrangement
kàuhjīk góngjoh noun recruitment talk
léihlihkbíu noun resume
yāt fūng kàuhjīk seun noun a cover letter
hahpsīk adjective appropriate
verb to be suitable
chīngchó adjective clear
hotmohng adjective eager
(Continued )
35
4 (Continued)
Discussing a
job search
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
tàuhjī gūngsī noun investment management
firms
Faatgwok noun France
noihdeih noun mainland China
mihnsíh noun job interview
suhksīk verb to be familiar with
yihpmouh wahnjohk noun business operation
wahnjok noun operation
jyūnmùhn adjective specialized
gúpiu noun stock, shares
jaai'hyun noun bond
júngleuih noun type, kind
kèuhng adjective strong
sēungbán gāauyihk noun commodity exchange,
trading
ngoihwuih noun foreign currency
exchange
tàihyi / noun suggestion, proposal
tàihyíh verb to suggest
daaih chāan phrase big meal
kèihdoih verb to look forward to

Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation:

Néih dōu jī, . . . As you know, . . .

M̀ sái dāamsām. Don’t worry.
haih maih . . . / is it . . .
haih m̀ haih . . .
Néih mòhng dī mātyéh a? What are you busy with?
sauh . . . yínghéung affected by . . .
chèuihjó . . . jī'ngoih, . . . in addition to . . ., . . .
chèuih chí jī'ngoih, . . . in addition to this, . . .
deui . . . móuh hingcheui have no interest in . . .
Júngkwut làih góng, . . . In a nutshell, . . .
To conclude, . . .

36
3 Learning points 4
Discussing a
3.1 Construction: Question word jauh Question word job search
(‘whatever, whoever, whenever, wherever, . . .’)

Question words Examples

mātyéh Kéuih yáuhchín, séung máaih mātyéh jauh mātyéh.
He is rich, he can buy whatever he wants.
Ngóh gāmmáahn jyúh faahn. Néih séung sihk mātyéh, ngóh
jauh jyú mātyéh.
I’ll cook tonight. Whatever you like, I will cook.
géisìh Néih géisìh dākhàahn, ngóhdeih jauh géisìh yātchàih sihk faahn.
Whenever you are free, we can eat together.
bīn go Bīn go séung tàuhjī, jauh tùhng kéuih kīngháh lā.
Whoever wants to invest, please talk to him.
géi dō Néih séung sihk géi dō jauh sihk géi dō lā. M̀ sái haakhei.
You can eat as many as possible. Don’t be polite.
bīn douh Ngóhdeih yātchàih heui léuihhàhng. Néih jūngyi heui bīn
douh, ngóhdeih jauh yātchàih heui bīn douh.
We are travelling together. Wherever you like to go, then we go together.
dímyéung Kéuih bàhbā gaau kéuih daahnhaih kéuih m̀ tēng. Kéuih
jūngyi dímyéung jouh jauh dímyéung jouh.
Her father taught her, but she is not listening. She uses the way
she prefers in order to do the job.

3.2 Discourse structure: sáusīn . . . kèihchi . . . lihngngoih

. . . (‘firstly . . . and then . . . in addition . . .’)
e.g., Ngóh yihng'wàih hàahng sāan hóu hóu. Sáusīn hàahng sāan haih yāt júng
wahnduhng, kèihchi hóyíh táidóu hóu leng ge fūnggíng, lihngngoih dōu
hóyíh bōng ngóhdeih gáamhēng ngaatlihk, juhng hóyíh tùhng pàhngyáuh
kīnggái.
I think hiking is very good. Firstly, hiking is a sports activity, and I can see
much beautiful scenery. In addition, it can help us reduce the pressure on us,
and we can chat with friends.
Ngóh ge màhmā seun fūngséui (‘feng shui’) tùhng mihngléih (‘fortune tell-
ing’). Sáusīn kéuih hóu séung jīdou kéuih jēunglòih ge sāngwuht. Kèihchi
kéuih tēngjó gokdāk syūfuhk dī. Lihngngoih kéuih ge pàhngyáuh dōu
seun. Kéuihdeih gokdāk nī dī haih hóu juhngyiu ge chyùhntúng.
My mother believes in feng shui and fortune telling. Firstly, she wants to know
her future life. And she thinks after listening to these, she will be more com-
fortable. In addition, many of her friends also believe (in feng shui and fortune 37
telling). They think that these are important traditions.
4 4 Additional text 🎧
Discussing a
job search A talk at university about job hunting

Daaihgā hóu!
Hóu dō tùhnghohk yìhgā dōu jéunbeih wán gūng.
Gāmyaht ngóh tùhng daaihgā góngháh dímyéung wán gūng.
Wán gūng ge daihyāt bouh dōngyìhn haih táiháh yáuh mātyéh gūng sīn lā.
Yáuh mātyéh baahnfaat hóyíh jīdou bīn gāan gūngsī chénggán yàhn nē? Ngóh-
deih yiu séuhng móhng jouhháh gūngfo. Chéuihjó séuhng yāt dī chēutméng ge
kàuhjīk móhngjaahm jī'ngoih, juhng hóyíh séuhng néih sāmyìh gūngsī ge
móhngjaahm. Yānwaih yáuh dī gūngsī dōu wúih hái kéuihdeih gūngsī ge móhng-
jaahm dāng jīuping gwónggou.
Táidóu yáuh sīkhahp jihgéi ge gūngjok, sáusīn jauh yiu hōichí námháh kàuh-
jīk seun dím sé, kèihchi jauh yiu jéunbeih jihgéi ge léihlihkbíu. Yātdihng m̀hóyíh
wán mātyéh gūng dōu yuhng yātyeuhng ge léihlihkbíu. Lihngngoih juhngyiu
jīdou dōdī gūngsī ge jīlíu tùhng yahpjīk ge yīukàuh. Gānjyuh jauh yiu jéunbeih
mihnsíh.
Hóu dō yàhn mihnsíh dōu wúih hóu gánjēung. Kèihsaht ngóhdeih yiu nám
‘mihnsíh haih séung gāan gūngsī chéng néih’. Daahnhaih hóu dō sìh, ngóhdeih
dōu m̀wúih jīdou gūngsī séung chéng dímyéung ge yàhn. Sóyíh ngóhdeih yiu
jouh hóu jihgéi.
Hóu dō sìh, ngóhdeih wán gūng ge sìhhauh gingjāng dōu hóu daaih. Ngóhdeih
dímyéung jouh hóu jihgéi nē? Mihnsíh ge sìhhauh m̀haih néih séung góng
mātyéh jauh góng mātyéh. Yáuh géi go tīpsí.
Daihyāt, mihnsíh ge sìhhauh yiu góng jihgéi tùhng kèihtā yàhn yáuh mātyéh
m̀tùhng. Néih námháh go go saānchíng ge yàhn dōu haih daaihhohksāang.
Dímgáai yiu chéng néih, dímgáai yiu béi gēiwuih néih. Néih yiu lihng gūngsī
jīdou néih yáuh mātyéh dahkbiht ge gīngyihm.
Daihyih, néih dōu yiu góng néih ge hingcheui tùhng jēunglòih ge gaiwaahk.
Néih dōu yiu góng jēunglòih ge gaiwaahk tùhng néih ge gūngjok yáuh mātyéh
gwāanhaih, tùhng gūngsī ge jēunglòih ge faatjín yáuh māt gwāanhaih. Lihng
yàhn gokdāk néih hóyíh bōng gūngsī faatjín.
Ngóh jīdou gāmyaht tēng góngjoh ge yàhn yìhgā dōu nóuhlihk wán'gán gūng.
Hēimohng nī dī tīpsí lihng néih seunsām daaihdī, jéunbeihdāk hóudī. Ngóh hái
nī douh jūk daaihgā sìhnggūng.

Here are some more phrases in the additional text:

. . . sīn jouh gūngfo sāmyìh dāng

. . . first do homework favourite to post (advertisement)
sīkhahp hóu dō sìh tīpsí faatjín
to fit, to be suitable very often tips, advice to develop

38
 4
5 Exercises and practice
Discussing a
job search
5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated
conversation and additional text:
John wah kéuih jeuigahn ngaatlihk hóu daaih, dímgáai kéuih gám góng nē?
Kéuih dāmsām mātyéh nē? Kéuih jeuigahn mòhng mātyéh nē?

John bātyihp jīhauh séung jouh dímyéung ge gūngjok nē?

John dímyéung wán gūng nē?

John sānchíngjó géi dō gāan gūngsī nē?

John dímyéung jéunbeih mihnsíh nē?

John wah wándóu gūng jīhauh wúih jouh mātyéh nē?

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

sau . . . yínghéung

chèuihjó . . . jī'ngoih, . . .

39
4 M̀ sái dāamsām, . . .
Discussing a
job search

deui . . . móuh hóuchyu

sáusīn . . . kèihchi . . . lihngngoih . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:

yáuhyuhng mihnsíh sānchíng wán gūng suhksīk

séuhng móhng léihlihkbíu hahpsīk sìhnggūng gūngjok

5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this

pronunciation exercise: 🎧

Máhn nùhng
– Léih Sān

Chòh wòh yaht dōng nǵh,

hohn dihk wòh hah tóu.
Sèuih jī pùhn jūng chāan,
40 nāp nāp gāai sān fú.
5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short 4
paragraph and read it aloud in response to the Discussing a
job search
information provided:
Néih yáuh yāt go pàhngyáuh séung wán gūng. Kéuih yìhgā mahn néih. Chéng
néih góng béi kéuih tēng, yīnggōi dímyéung wán gūng.

Néih ge pàhngyáuh wán'gán gūng. Kéuih tīngyaht yiu heui mihnsíh. Kéuih hóu
gánjēung. Yìhgā kéuih tùhng néih hái gafē dim kīnggái, néih tùhng kéuih góng-
háh dímyéung hóyíh móuh gam gánjēung.

41
 LESSON 5
Attending a job interview
Heui gin gūng

Activity: Attending a job interview

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: The Hong Kong investment management firm that John applied to has
asked John to attend an interview. Today John is meeting with the Chief Executive
Officer and another manager in the company. The Chief Executive Officer asks Jon
some questions about his application.
John sānchíng ge yāt gāan Hēunggóng tàuhjī gūngsī giu John heui mihnsíh.
Gāmyaht John gin nī gāan gūngsī ge Hàhngjing Júngchòih tùhng yāt go gīngléih.
Gwāanyū John ge sānchíng, Hàhngjing Júngchòih mahn kéuih yāt dī mahntàih.

Cantonese text English gloss

Hàhngjing John, dōjeh néih gāmyaht làih
júngchói: nī douh.
Ngóhdeih hēimohng yihngsīk
néih dō dī, néih hó m̀ hóyíh
gaaisiuh néih jihgéi a?
John: Hóu, néih dōu jīdou,
ngóh búnlòih jyuh hái
Sān'gabō. Ngóh hái Sāngabo
Nàahmyèuhng Léihgūng
Daaihhohk ge Sēung Hohkyún
búnfo bātyihp.
Gám, bātyihp jīhauh ngóh
hái Sān'gabō yāt gāan tàuhjī
ngàhnhòhng jouhgwo sei nìhn
gāmyùhng fānsīk yùhn.
John, thank you for coming here
today.
We’d like to get to know you
more, so would you please
introduce yourself?
Well, as you know, I’m originally
from Singapore. I did my
undergraduate studies at the
Business School of Nanyang
Technological University in
Singapore.
And then, after graduation,
I worked for an investment bank
in Singapore for four years as a
security analyst.

42

DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-5
 Cantonese text English gloss 5
Attending a
Sei nìhn jīhauh, ngóh hóu After four years, I really wanted job interview
séung gaijuhk jeunsāu. Sóyíh to continue my studies. So I came
ngóh làih Hēungóng duhk yāt to Hong Kong to join an MBA
go MBA fochìhng. programme.
Ngóh ge sehksih leuhnmàhn My master’s dissertation is
haih gwāanyū ‘gāmyùhng on ‘fintech’, that is, financial
fōgeih’, jīk haih, gāmyùhng technology and its applications in
fōgeih hái sēungyihp séhwúi ge the business world.
yihngyuhng.
Hái MBA fochìhng léuih mihn, At the MBA programme, I’ve
Ngóh hohkgwo gāmyùhng studied financial technology
fōgeih fānsīk, tàuhjī fānsīk analytics, investment analysis and
tùhng tàuhjī jóu'hahp gúnléih. portfolio management.
Ngóh gokdāk ngóh hohkdóu I really think that the knowledge
ge gāmyùhng fōgeih jisīk deui I’ve gained in financial
ngóh jēunglòih ge gūngjok hóu technology will be useful in my
yáuh bōngjoh. future career.
Ngóh dōu hēimohng nī dī haih I also hope that this is something
ngóh hóyíh bōngdóu gūngsī ge I can offer your company as well.
deihfōng.
Hàhngjing Hóu. Gám dímgáai néih I see. But why would you like to
júngh- syúnjaahk hái Hēungóng work in Hong Kong rather than
chòih: gūngjok m̀ hái Sān'gabō Singapore?
gūngjok nē?
John: Ngóh séung hái nī douh The main reason I want to work
gūngjok jyúyiu ge yùhnyān here is that Hong Kong is closer
haih Hēunggóng jipgahn to the China market.
Jūnggwok síhchèuhng.
Ngóh sēungseun hái nī géi nìhn I do believe that there will be
Jūnggwok síhchèuhng yáuh very big opportunities in the
hóu dō gēiwuih. China market in the coming
years.
Tùhngmàaih ngóh hóu séung And I’d really like to improve
tàihgōu jihgéi deui Jūnggwok my own knowledge of Chinese
tàuhjī ge líuhgáai, yàuhkèihsìh investments, particularly with
hái gāmyùhng fōgeih fōngmihn. reference to opportunities in
fintech.
Hàhngjing Hóu. Gám dímgáai néih deui Okay. So why are you
júngchòih: ngóhdeih gūngsī dahkbiht yáuh particularly interested in our
hingcheui nē? company?
(Continued )
43
5 (Continued)
Attending a
job interview
Cantonese text
John: Hóu, ngóh gokdāk néih ge
gūngsī haih yāt gāan hóu yáuh
sīngyuh ge tàuhjī gūngsī.
Yùhgwó ngóh hái néih ge gūngsī
gūngjok, ngóh hángdihng wúih
yáuh gēiwuih hohkdóu hóu dō yéh.
Hàhngjing Ngóhdeih gūngsī yáuh hóu dō
júngchòih: bouhmùhn, néih deui bīn
júng yihpmouh jeui yáuh
hingcheui nē?
John: Hóuchíh ngóh āam'āam góng,
ngóh deui gāmyùhng fōgeih jeui
yáuh hingcheui, dahkbiht haih
gwāanyū kéihyihp yùhngjī.
Bātgwo ngóh deui kèihtā ge
tàuhjī dōu yáuh hingcheui,
hóuchíh gúpiu, jaai'hyun,
sēungbán gāauyihk tùhng
ngoihwuih síhchèuhng.
(Hàhngjing Júngchòih yìhgā
chéng kéuih ge tùhngsih, joi
mahn John yāt dī mahntàih.)
Gīngléih: John, chèuihjó Yīngmàhn
jī'ngoih, ngóhdeih ge jīkyùhn
sìhsìhdōu sēuiyiu yuhng
Jūngmàhn, bāaukwut Gwóng­
dūngwá tùhng Póutūng'wá.
Néih gokdāk yáuh móuh
mahntàih nē?
John: Hóu, yānwaih ngóh hái
Sān'gabō jéungdaaih.
Ngóh hóyíh góng làuhleih
ge Jūngmàhn. Ngóh yìhgā
hohkgán Gwóngdūngwá. Sóyíh
ngóh gokdāk móuh mahntàih.
Gīngléih: Néih yáuh móuh mahntàih
séung mahn ngóhdeih nē?
John: Hóu, ngóh séung mahn,
44 yùhgwó chéng ngóh, ngóh
ge gūngjok tùhng jeunsīng
gēiwuih haih dím ge nē?
English gloss
Well, I think your company
has an excellent reputation as a
leading investment company.
If I’m offered a position with you,
I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity
to learn a great deal.
Our company has a number of
different branches. What type
of operation are you most
interested in?
As I mentioned, I’m most
interested in fintech, with
particular reference to corporate
finance.
But I’m also interested in other
aspects of investment, including
stocks, bonds, commodities, and
the foreign exchange markets.
(The Chief Executive Officer
now hands the meeting over to
his colleague, who also has some
questions for John.)
John, our staff often need to use
Chinese, including Cantonese
and Putonghua, in addition to
English.
Do you think that would be a
problem for you?
Well, because I grew up in
Singapore, I can speak fluent
Mandarin. And I’m now learning
Cantonese. So I don’t think that
will be a problem.
Do you have any questions
for us?
Well, I was wondering, if I’m
appointed, what would my career
path look like?
 Cantonese text
Gīngléih: Sóyáuh sānping ge ginjaahp
gīngléih dōu wúih yáuh sāam
go yuht suhkjaahp ngóhdeih
gūngsī m̀ tùhng ge yihpmouh.
Jīhauh, Hàhngjing Júngchòih,
wúih tùhng gīngléih
sēunglèuhng, kyutdihng néih
hái bīn go bouhmùhn gūngjok.
Néih yáuh móuh kèihtā
mahntàih nē?
John: Jaahmsìh móuh kèihtā
mahntàih, m̀gōi néih.
Hàhngjing Hóu, hóu dōjeh néih gāmyaht
júngchòih: làih tùhng ngóhdeih gin mihn.
Ngóhdeih juhng yiu gin kèihtā
ge sānchìhng yàhn, ngóhdeih
wúih hái nī go yuht yuhtdái
tūngjī néih sānchíng ge
gitgwó ge.
John: Dōjeh néih. Hóu gōuhing
yihngsīk néihdeih, tùhng deui
gūngsī yáuh dō dī líuhgáai.
2 Relevant phrases 🎧
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function
Hàhngjing Júngchòih noun
yihngsīk verb
noun
Nàahmyèuhng noun
Léihgūng Daaihhohk
Sēung Hohkyún noun
búnfo noun
gāmyùhng fānsīk yùhn noun
sehksih leuhnmàhn noun
gāmyùhng fōgeih noun
sēungyihp séhwúi noun
English gloss 5
Attending a
All newly appointed trainee job interview
managers have three months to
get to know the various business
operations of the company.
After that, the Chief Executive
Officer, in consultation with his
managers, will decide where you
might be placed.
Do you have other questions?
At the moment, no other
questions, thank you.
Well, many thanks for coming to
meet us today.
We have a number of other
applicants to interview, but we’ll
let you know the result of your
application by the end of this
month.
Thank you. It was really very
interesting to meet you, and find
out more about the company.
English gloss
Chief Executive Officer
to know, to be familiar,
to acquaint
understanding
Nanyang Technological
University (Singapore)
Business School
undergraduate
security analyst
master’s thesis
fintech
business world 45
(Continued )
5 (Continued)
Attending a
job interview
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
yihngyuhng noun application
verb to apply
gāmyùhng fōgeih noun financial technology
fānsīk analytics
tàuhjī fānsīk noun investment analysis
tàuhjī jóu'hahp gúnléih noun portfolio management
jéungngāak verb to grasp
hohkdóu verb have learnt
bōngjoh verb to help
noun help
bōngdóu verb can help
jipgahn verb to be close to, near
síhchèuhng noun market
tàihgōu verb to improve, to raise
yàuhkèihsìh adverb especially
sīngyuh noun reputation
hángdihng verb to affirm, to be sure
bouhmùhn noun division, section,
department (company)
kéihyihp yùhngjī noun corporate finance
jīkyùhn noun staff
sēuiyiu verb to need to, to demand
noun need, requirement,
demand
Póutūng'wá noun Putonghua
jéungdaaih verb to grow up
làuhleih adjective fluent
jeunsīng verb to promote, to raise to a
higher position
sóyáuh adjective all
sānping adjective newly hired
ginjaahp gīngléih noun trainee manager
suhkjaahp verb to be familiar with
sēunglèuhng verb to discuss, to consult
46 jaahmsìh adjective provisional
yuhtdái phrase end of the month
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 5
Attending a
tūngjī verb to inform job interview

gitgwó noun result

líuhgáai verb to understand
noun understanding

Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation:

jīk haih . . . that is . . .

deui . . . ge líuhgáai to know about . . .
Hóu gōuhing yihngsīk néihdeih. Very happy to meet you.
yáuh gam faai dāk gam faai . . . . . . as quickly as possible
yānwaih . . . ge gwāanhaih because of . . .
jeun yāt bouh to go one step further
lihng yāt fōngmihn on the other hand
Néih góngdāk hóu āam. You are right.
gahn géi nìhn recent years
deui . . . yáuh mātyéh táifaat nē? what is your opinion concerning . . .
Ngóh dásyun . . . I plan to . . .
Ngóh hēimohng . . . I wish . . .

Note the names of some investment tools:

kèihfo gēigām ngoihbaih jaai'hyun

futures funds foreign currency bond
. . . jísou . . . wōléun / kèih'kyùhn chyùhnfún
index yihng gú jing options savings
warrants

3 Learning points

3.1 Construction: jēung X Verb (‘take X to Verb’)

This jēung X Verb construction takes a direct object and place it before the verb of
a sentence.

e.g., M̀ gōi néih jēung nī dī syū béi kéuih.

Would you please take these books to give her.
Néih jī m̀ jī bīn go jēung ngóh ge dímsām sihkjó a?
Do you know who took my dim sum and ate it?
Kéuih chēutnín jauh teuiyāu (‘retire’). Kéuih séung jīdou yīnggōi jēung
kéuih ge chín fong hái ngàhnhòhng dihnghaih tàuhjī gúpiu.
She is retiring next year. She wants to know whether she should take her 47
money to put in the bank or to invest in stocks.
5 3.2 Construction: Adjective- jó dī (‘a bit too/a little too
Attending a Adjective’)
job interview
e.g., Nī go dihnnóuh sēuiyìhn hóu yuhng, daahnhaih gwaijó dī. Ngóh m̀séung
máaih.
Although this computer is useful, it is a bit too expensive. I don’t want to buy it.
Gāmnìhn ge sātyihp léut (‘unemployment rate’) gōujó dī, hóu dō yàhn
móuh gūngjok jouh.
The unemployment rate this year is a little higher; many people do not have a
job to do.

3.3 Discourse structure: Sáusīn . . . lihng yāt fōngmihn

. . . jeuihauh/júnggit . . . (‘firstly . . ., on the other
hand . . ., in the end . . .’)
e.g., Gauhnín ge gīngjai wàahn'gíng m̀ haih géi hóu. Sáusīn haih yānwaih
sātyihp léut hóu gōu, hóu dō yàhn móuh gūngjok. Lihng yāt fōngmihn,
tūngjeung (‘inflation’) dōu hóu gōu. Jeuihauh hóu dō yàhn ge sāngwuht
dōu hóu kwannàahn. Hēimohng chēutnín gīngjai wúih hóudī.
The economic environment this last year is not quite good. First, it is because the
unemployment rate is very high, and many people do not have a job. On the
other hand, the inflation rate is very high. In the end, many people live a diffi-
cult life. (I) wish the economy of next year will be better.

4 Additional text 🎧
Part of a recruitment talk

Gok wái hóu.

Fūnyìhng néihdeih làih dou ngóhdeih ngàhnhòhng ge jīuping wúi.
Ngóhdeih ge ngàhnhòhng yáuh hóu dō yihpmouh. Ngàhnhòhng ge tàuhjī
bouh hóu sēuiyiu yàhnchòih, sóyíh ngóhdeih làih dou néihdeih ge daaihohk jouh
nī go góngjoh.
Daaihgā dōu jīdou ngóhdeih ge ngàhnghòhng yáuh hóu noih ge lihksí. Ngóh-
deih ge tàuhjī bouh jouh hóu dō m̀tùhng ge tàuhjī, bāaukwut gúpiu, jaai'hyun,
sēungbán gāauyihk tùhng ngoihwuih. Ngóhdeih nī chi jīuping ge jīkwaih haih
tàuhjī bouh ge ginjaahp gīngléih. Jeuigahn yáuh hóu dō tàuhjījé gwāansām
Jūnggwok síhchèuhng. Ngóhdeih ge tàuhjī bouh dōu wúih deui Jūnggwok ge
tàuhjī síhchèuhng jouh sāmyahp ge yìhn'gau. Yānwaih ngóhdeih gūngsī ge
Jūnggwok tàuhjī dōu dōjó dī. Ngóhdeih dahkbiht hēimohng hóyíh chéng yāt dī
deui Jūnggwok síhchèuhng yáuh hingcheuih tùhng yáuh gīngyihm ge yàhnchòih.
Yahpjīk yīukàuh haih daaihhohk bātyihp, hóyíh góng làuhleih ge Gwóng-
dūngwá, Póutūng'wá tùhng Yīngmàhn. Yùhgwó yáuh gūngjok gīngyihm ge
sānchíng yàhn wúih yāusīn háauleuih. Fūnyìhng daaihgā sānchíng.
48
Sóyáuh sānping ge ginjaahp gīngléih dōu wúih yáuh sāam go yuht suhkjaahp
ngóhdeih m̀tùhng ge yihpmouh wahnjok. Sāam go yuht jī hauh wúih ōnpàaih
heui m̀tùhng ge bouhmùhn.
 Yáuh hingcheui sānchíng ge tùhnghohk sáusīn chéng néih jēung néih ge 5
léihlihkbíu tùhng sānchíngbíu hái hahgo yuht ge sāamsahp houh jīchìhn gei Attending a
heui ngóhdeih ngàhnhòhng ge yàhnsih bouh. Hahpsīk ge sānchíng yàhn wúih job interview
jeun yāt bouh chāamgā mihnsíh, jeuihauh ngóhdeih wúih yuhng email tūngjī
daaihgā sānchíng ge gitgwo.

Here are some more phrases in the additional text:

gok wái jīuping wúi tàuhjī bouh yàhnchòih

everyone job fair investment talent
department
lihksí tàuhjījé gwāansām sāmyahp
history investor to concern to go deep into
yāusīn háauleuih sānchíngbíu gei heui . . .
have priority to consider application form to post to . . .

5 Exercises and practice

5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated

conversation and additional text:
John heui bīn douh gin gūng a? John yíhchìhn yáuh móuh jouhgwo yéh a?

Dímgáai John séung hái Hēunggóng gūngjok nē?

Dímgáai John hēimohng hái nī gāan tàuhjī gūngsī gūngjok nē?

John deui bīn leuihyìhng ge tàuhjī yáuh hingcheui nē?

Yùhgwó gūngsī chéng John, hōichí ge sāam go yuht, John wúih jouh mātyéh
gūngjok nē?

49
Néih gokdāk John wúih m̀ wúih jūngyi nī fahn gūngjok nē?
5 Néih gokdāk John nī chi mihnsíh dím nē? Kéuih gēiwuih daaih m̀ daaih nē?
Attending a
job interview

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

yānwaih . . . ge gwāanhaih

gahn géi nìhn, . . .

yáuh gam faai dāk gam faai . . .

jēung . . .

Ngóh hēimohng . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:
jīkyùhn bōngjoh yihngsīk hángdihng yàuhkèihsìh
suhkjaahp líuhgáai sēuiyiu sóyáuh sēunglèuhng

50
5.4  Read the following classical poem aloud in this 5
pronunciation exercise: 🎧 Attending a
job interview
Dāng Gun Jeuk Làuh
– Wòhng Jī Wuhn

Baahk yaht yī sāan jeuhn,

Wòhng Hòh yahp hói làuh.
Yuhk kùhng chīn léih muhk,
gang séuhng yāt chàhng làuh.

5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short

paragraph and read it aloud in response to the
information provided:
Néih yìhgā wán'gán gūng. Néih gāmyaht chāamgā yāt go mihnsíh. Chéng néih
gaaisiuh néih jihgéi.

Néih yáuh yāt go pàhngyáuh deui tàuhjī gúpiu hóu yáuh hingcheui. Kéuih múih
yaht dōu tái kéuih máaihjó ge gúpiu. Néih gokdāk gám yéung ngaatlihk hóu
daaih, hóu yùhngyi jīngsàhn gánjēung. Néih tùhng nī go pàhngyáuh kīngháh
néih ge táifaat.

51
 LESSON 6
Researching religions and folk
beliefs in Hong Kong
Yìhn'gau Hēunggóng jūnggaau
tùhng màhngāan seunyéuhng

Activities: Describing and presenting data.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: As part of her final-year studies in the Communications Department of
her university, Charlotte is going to present a talk about folk beliefs and religions in
Hong Kong. She is visiting John and tells him about her project.
Charlotte waihjó kéuih hái daaihhohk Chyùhnbo Haih jeuihauh yāt nìhn ge
hohkjaahp, Charlotte wúih jouh yāt go gwāanyū jūnggaau tùhng màhngāan
seunyéuhng ge bougou. Kéuih yìhgā heui wán John tùhng góng béi John tēng
kéuih ge gaiwaahk.

Cantonese text English gloss

John: Néih jeuigahn duhksyū dím a,
Charlotte?
Charlotte: Géi hóu a, yìhgā ngóh géi
mòhng.
Hahgo sīngkèih, ngóh wúih
hái bāan seuhng bihn jouh yāt
go gwāanyū Hēunggóng ge
màhngāan seunyéuhng tùhng
jūnggaau seunyéuhng ge bougou.
Ngóh jouhjó ngóh yín'góng
ge bātgei. Néih séung m̀séung
tēngháh ngóh wúih góng
mātyéh nē?
John: Hóu a, góng lā!
How are your studies going
these days, Charlotte?
Well, right now I’m quite busy.
Next week, I’m going to give a
presentation to my class about
Hong Kong’s folk beliefs and
religions.
I’ve got my notes for my talk
with me. Would you like to hear
what I’m going to say?
Yes, go ahead!

52

DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-6
 Cantonese text
Charlotte: Hóu, hái nī go yín'góng léuih
mihn ngóh deui sóyáuh ge
jūnggaau seunyéuhng dōu yáuh
hingcheui. Ngóh séung góngháh
sóyáuh hái Hēunggóng wándóu
ge jūnggaau seunyéuhng.
Hái Hēunggóng, ngóhdeih
yáuh fēisèuhng dōyùhnfa ge
jūnggaau. Kèihjūng yáuh Faht
Gaau, Tīnjyú Gaau, Húng
Gaau, Yandouh Gaau, Yīsīlàahn
Gaau, Yàuhtaai Gaau, Gēidūk
Sān Gaau, Sehkhāk Gaau, Douh
Gaau, dángdáng.
Gān'geui ngóh wándóu ge
sougeui, Hēunggóng daaihyeuk
yáuh baakfahn jī seisahp sei
ge yàhnháu yáuh jūnggaau
seunyéuhng.
Hái ngóhdeih ge séhwúi, yáuh
daaihyeuk yihbaak maahn
Faht Gaau tùhng Douh
Gaau gaautòuh, seisahp baat
maahn go Gēidūk Sān Gaau
gaautòuh, sāamsahp baat
maahn Lòhmáh Tīnjyú Gaau
gaautòuh, tùhng sāamsahp
maahn Yīsīlàahn Gaau
gaautòuh.
Faht Gaau tùhng Douh Gaau
haih Hēunggóng léuhng
go jyúyiu ge jūnggaau.
Hēunggóng yáuh hóu dō Faht jí
tùhng Douh gaau ge miuhyúh.
Faht Gaau tùhng Douh Gaau
jóujīk deui Hēunggóng ge
séhwúi fūkleih jouhjó hóu dō
gunghin.
Kéuihdeih jījoh hóu dō
ōnlóuhyún, yīyún tùhng
chīngsiunìhn jūngsām.
Hái daaihhohk léuih mihn dōu
yáuh hóu dō jouh Faht Gaau
tùhng Douh Gaau yìhn'gau ge
hohkjé.
English gloss 6
Researching
Well, in this talk I’m religions and
interested in all religious folk beliefs in
Hong Kong
beliefs. I want to talk about all
the religious beliefs we find in
Hong Kong.
We have many diverse
religions in Hong Kong.
These include Buddhism,
Catholicism, Confucianism,
Hinduism, Islam, Judaism,
Protestantism, Sikhism,
Taoism, and so on.
According to the data I’ve seen,
in Hong Kong approximately
44 percent of the population
believe in some form of
religion.
In our society, there are about
two million Buddhists and
Taoists, four hundred and eighty
thousand Protestants, three
hundred and eighty thousand
Roman Catholics, and three
hundred thousand Muslims.
Buddhism and Taoism are two
major religions in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has many Buddhist
and Taoist temples.
Buddhist and Taoist
organizations also contribute
a lot to social welfare in the
community.
They provide the funding for
many old people’s homes,
hospitals, and youth centres.
There are even many scholars
doing research on Buddhism 53
and Taoism at local universities.
(Continued )
6 (Continued)
Researching
religions and
Cantonese text
folk beliefs in
Hong Kong
Faht Gaau yínghéungjó
Jūnggwok ge ngaihseuht
màhnfa faatjín.
Jauhsyun haih gāmyaht,
Faht Gaau tùhng Douh Gaau
dōu yínghéung ngóhdeih ge
yahtsèuhng sāngwuht.
Peiyùh, Faht daan yìhgā haih
Hēunggóng ge gūngjung
gakèih.
Yìh Douh Gaau tùhng
Jūnggwok ge jithohk tùhng
Húng Gaau dōu yáuh hóu
mahtchit ge gwāanhaih.
Nī dī chyùhntúng sīséung
yínghéung Jūnggwok yàhn ge
gajihk gūn.
Jiyū Hēunggóng ge Gēidūk
Sān Gaau gaauwúi baahn
hóu dō hohkhaauh, bāaukwut
yaujihyún, síuhohk, tùhng
jūnghohk. Gēidūk Sān
Gaau jóujīk yihkdōu yáuh
hóu dō chánsó, yīyún tùhng
lóuhyàhnyún.
Hēunggóng ge Tīnjyú Gaau
gaauwúi dōu yìhng'wahn hóu
dō hohkhaauh tùhng chìhsihn
sihyihp.
Yīsīlàahn gaau dōu haih
Hēunggóng ge yāt go juhngyiu
ge jūnggaau.
Hēunggóng yáuh sei gāan
Chīngjān jí. Gáulùhng ge
Chīngjān jí jeui daaih, hóyíh
yùhngnaahp chāt chīn yàhn.
Hēunggóng ge Yīsīlàahn
gaautòuh yáuh Maahnggālāai
yàhn, Wàhyàhn, Yandouh
yàhn, Yannèih yàhn,
Málòihsāia yàhn, Bāgēisíhtáan
54
yàhn, tùhng Tóuyíhkèih yàhn.
English gloss
Buddhism has influenced the
development of art and culture
in China.
Even today, Buddhism and
Taoism influence our daily
lives.
For example, Buddha’s birthday
is now a public holiday in Hong
Kong.
Taoism is also closely related
to Chinese philosophy and
Confucianism.
These traditional beliefs
influence the values of Chinese
people.
Protestant churches in Hong
Kong run many schools,
including kindergartens,
primary schools, and
secondary schools. Protestant
organizations have set up a
number of clinics, hospitals, and
old people’s homes.
The Catholic church in
Hong Kong also runs a large
number of schools and charity
organizations.
Islam is another important
religion in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has four mosques.
The Kowloon mosque is the
biggest and can accommodate
up to seven thousand people.
Muslims in Hong Kong
include people originally from
Bangladesh, China, India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan,
and Turkey.
 Cantonese text
Hēunggóng ge Yīsīlàahn jóujīk
dōu yáuh hóu dō chìhsihn
fuhkmouh bōngjoh yáuh sēuiyiu
ge yàhn.
Chùhng yíhseuhng só góng ge
jīlíu làih tái, ngóhdeih táidóu
Hēunggóng haih yāt go dō
màhnfa, dō júngjuhk, tùhng dō
jūnggaau ge sìhngsíh.
John, nī go haih ngóh ge
bougou ge jyúyiu bouhfahn.
Néih gokdāk dím a?
John: Wa! Néih ge bougou hóu
jīngchói a.
Yùhgwó ngóh m̀ tēng néih
ge yín'góng, ngóh dōu m̀ jī
Hēunggóng yáuh gam dō
júngjuhk tùhng jūnggaau. Ngóh
jānhaih hohksīkjó hóu dō yéh.
Charlotte: Ngóh gokdāk ngóh juhng hóyíh But I think that I can still
góngdāk joi hóudī. improve the talk a bit.
John: M̀ haih wo, ngóh gokdāk jauh
gám jauh hóu hóu la. Ngóh
hángdihng néih ge tùhnghohk
tùhng gaausauh dōu wúih
jūngyi néih ge bougou ga.
English gloss 6
Researching
Islamic organizations in Hong religions and
Kong also include various folk beliefs in
Hong Kong
charities to help people in
need.
From what I’ve just said, you can
see that Hong Kong is really a
multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and
multi-religious city.
John, that’s the main part of my
talk. What do you think?
Wow! I think your talk’s
great.
If I hadn’t listened to your
talk, I wouldn’t have known
that Hong Kong had so many
ethnicities and religions. I really
learnt a lot.
No, I think it sounds fine as it
is. I’m sure your classmates and
professor will like it.

2 Relevant phrases 🎧

Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss

Chyùhnbo Haih noun Communications
Department (university)
jūnggaau noun religion
màhngāan seunyéuhng noun folk beliefs
hái bāan seuhng bihn phrase in class
jūnggaau seunyéuhng noun religious beliefs
bātgei noun notes
dōyùhnfa adjective diverse
Faht Gaau noun Buddhism 55

Tīnjyú Gaau noun Catholicism

(Continued )
6 (Continued)
Researching
religions and
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
folk beliefs in
Hong Kong
Húng Gaau noun Confucianism
Yīsīlàahn Gaau / noun Islam
Wùih Gaau
Yàuhtaai Gaau noun Judaism
Gēidūk Sān Gaau noun Protestantism
Sehkhāk Gaau noun Sikhism
Douh Gaau noun Taoism
gān'geui adverb on the basis of,
according to
sougeui noun data
daaihyeuk adverb approximately
baakfàhn jī seisahp sei phrase 44 percent
yàhnháu noun population
séhwúi noun community, society
gaautòuh noun believer
Lòhmáh noun Rome
faht jí noun Buddhist temple
miuhyúh noun Taoist temple
jóujīk noun organization
verb to organize
séhwúi fūkleih noun social welfare
gunghin noun contribution
verb to contribute
jījoh verb to subsidize
ōnlóuhyún noun old people’s home
chīngsiunìhn jūngsām noun youth centre
hohkjé noun scholar
ngaihseuht noun art
yahtsèuhng sāngwuht noun everyday life
Faht daan noun Buddha’s birthday
gūngjung gakèih noun public holiday
jithohk noun philosophy
mahtchit adjective close (relationship)
56 adverb closely (related)
sīséung noun thought, ideology
gajihk gūn noun values
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 6
Researching
gaauwúi noun church religions and
folk beliefs in
baahn verb to run, to operate
Hong Kong
yaujihyún noun kindergarten
síuhohk noun primary school
jūnghohk noun secondary school
yihkdōu adverb also, too
chánsó noun clinic
lóuhyàhnyún noun old people’s home
yìhng'wahn verb to operate
chìhsin sihyihp noun charity
Chīngjān jí noun mosque
yùhngnaahp verb to accommodate
Maahnggālāai yàhn noun Bangladeshis
Wàhyàhn noun Chinese
Yandouh yàhn noun Indian
Yannèih yàhn noun Indonesian
Málòihsāia yàhn noun Malaysian
Bāgēisíhtáan yàhn noun Pakistanis
Tóuyíhkèih yàhn noun Turkish people
fuhkmouh verb to serve
noun service
yáuh sēuiyiu ge yàhn phrase people in need
júngjuhk noun ethnicity
bouhfahn noun part
jīngchói adjective wonderful, brilliant
hohksīkjó verb have learnt

Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation:

Hóu a, góng lā! Yes, go ahead!

Jiyū . . . As for . . .
Chùhng yíhseuhng só góng ge jīlíu From the information I have just
làih tái, . . . mentioned, . . .
m̀ haih wo, . . . No, . . .
I don’t agree, . . .
ngóh gokdāk jauh gám jauh hóu hóu It sounds fine as it is.
la. 57
Chùhng . . . làih tái, . . . From the point of view of . . ., . . .
léuih bihn yáuh . . . including . . .
6 Hóu a, góng lā! Yes, go ahead!
Researching baakfahnjī . . . . . . percent
religions and daaih dōsou majority
folk beliefs in
Hong Kong
chīu gwo . . . over . . .
síu gwo . . . less than . . .
Chùhng seuhng bihn ge jīlíu hóyíh from the above information we can see
táidóu . . . . . .

Note the names of the 12 Zodiac signs:

syú ngàuh fú tou

rat ox tiger rabbit
lùhng sèh máh yèuhng
dragon snake horse sheep
hàuh gāi gáu jyū
monkey rooster dog pig

Here are the names of the 12 constellations:

Séuipìhng joh Sēungyùh joh Baahkyèuhng joh Gāmngàuh joh

Aquarius Pisces Aries Taurus
Sēungjí joh Geuihháaih joh Sījí joh Chyúhnéuih joh
Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo
Tīnpìhng joh Tīnkit joh Sehsáujoh / Mōkit joh /
Libra Scorpio Yàhnmáh joh Sāanyèuhng joh
Sagittarius Capricorn

Note the names of some religious events and activities:

jāaigaai yuht Tīn Hauh daan Gūnyām daan sihk jāai

fasting month Tin Hau festival Goddess of Mercy’s to eat vegetarian
Ramadhan (Islam) (Guanyin) festival food

Singdaan jit Fuhkwuht jit nèihsaat líhngsái

Christmas Easter mass baptized

3 Learning points

3.1 Construction: yìh . . . (‘as for . . ., with regards to . . .’)

e.g., Ngóh ge gūngsī yiu ngóh jouh nī go gaiwaahk, yìh yīnggōi dímyéung jouh,
ngóh jānhaih m̀ jīdou.
58 Our company wants me to do this project, as for how to do it, I really don’t
know.
 Yùhgwó hēimohng ngóhdeih ge sìhngsíh faatjín dāk hóu, go go yàhn dōu 6
yīnggōi jouh hóu kéuih jihgéi ge gūngjok. Yìh yáuh chín yàhn jauh yīng- Researching
gōi bōng yáuh sēuiyiu ge yàhn. religions and
If we want our city to develop well, everyone should do one’s own job. As for folk beliefs in
Hong Kong
the rich people, they should help people in need.

3.2 Discourse structure: jeui Adjective haih . . ., kèihchi

jauh haih . . . (‘the most . . . is, then . . . in addition
to that . . .’)
e.g., Ngóh yihng'wàih teuiyāu sāngwuht jeui juhngyiu haih ūkkéi yàhn, kèih-
chi jauh haih pàhngyáuh yānwaih néih m̀ hōisām ge sìhhauh pàhngyáuh
wúih hōigáai (‘comfort’) néih. Juhngyáuh, chín dōu géi juhngyiu.
I think the most important in retirement life is family, then friends, because
your friends will comfort you in case you are not happy. In addition, money is
also quite important.

4 Additional text 🎧
Another presentation about religions in Hong Kong

Daaihgā jóusàhn!
Ngóh gāmyaht yiu bougou ge jyútàih haih ‘Hēunggóng ge jūnggaau
seunyéuhng’.
Ngóhdeih jīdou Hēunggóng daaihyeuk yáuh chātbaak maahn yàhn. Nī dī
yàhn dōu haih hái m̀tùhng ge deihfōng làih ge. Kéuihdeih yáuh m̀tùhng ge
yúhyìhn, m̀tùhng ge màhnfa, dōu yáuh m̀tùhng ge jūnggaau tùhng màhngāan
seunyéuhng. Hēunggóng béigaau dō yàhn seun ge jūnggaau haih Douh Gaau,
Faht Gaau, Gēidūk Sān Gaau, Húng Gáau, Tīnjyú Gaau tùhng Wùih Gaau.
Dōngyìhn juhng yáuh yāt dī màhngāan seunyéuhng.
Néih dōu jīdou jūnggaau wuhtduhng dōu tùhng ngóhdeih ge sāngwuht
màhnfa hóu yáuh gwāanhaih. Ngóhdeih heui léuihàhng dōu wúih heui yāt dī jih
míu tùhng daaih gaautóng táiháh.
Ngóh yihng'wàih jūnggaau tùhng séhwúi màhnfa yáuh hóu mahtchit ge
gwāanhaih. Ngóh nī go yìhn'gau yuhng dihnwá fóngmahnjó yāt chīn go Hēung-
góng síhmàhn, táiháh jūnggaau seunyéuhng deui kéuihdeih ge yahtsèuhng sāng-
wuht yáuh mātyéh yínghéung.
Hái nī chi ge yìhn'gau léuih mihn, ngóhdeih fóngmahnjó sāam baak baatsahp
wái nàahmsih tùhng luhk baak yihsahp wái néuihsih. Kèihjūng baahkfahnjī
seisahpluhk yáuh Jūnggaau seunyéuhng ge.
Yāt chīn go yàhn léuihbihn, chīugwo yātbun ge yàhn yihng'wàih jūnggaau
deui kéuihdeih jeui juhngyiu ge yínghéung haih gaaudouh kéuihdeih yāt go jīk-
gihk ge yàhnsāng gūn, kèihchi jauh haih jūnggaau gaau kéuihdeih bōngjoh yáuh
sēuiyiu ge yàhn. Baakfahnjī seisahp ge yàhn yihng'wàih jūnggaau deui kéuih- 59
deih ge yahtsèuhng sāngwuht yáuh yínghéung.
Nī go haih ngóh ge bougou. Dōjeh daaihgā.
6 Here are some more phrases in the additional text:
Researching
religions and béigaau seun jūnggaau daaih gaautóng síhmàhn
folk beliefs in relatively, to believe wuhtduhng cathedral citizen
Hong Kong
comparatively religious events
nàahmsih néuihsih yātbun gaauhdouh yàhnsāng gūn
men women half to teach, to the value of life
educate

5 Exercises and practice

5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated

conversation and additional text:
Charlotte séung góng mātyéh béi John tēng a?

Hēunggóng yáuh mātyéh jūnggaau a?

Dímgáai Charlotte wah m̀ tùhng ge jūnggaau dōu deui síhmàhn ge sāngwuht

yáuh yínghéung nē?

‘Faht daan’ haih mātyéh a?

Dímgáai Charlotte wah Hēunggóng haih yāt go dō màhnfa, dō júngjuhk, tùhng

dō jūnggaau ge sìhngsíh nē? John tùhng m̀ tùhngyi a?

John gokdāk Charlotte ge yín'góng góngdāk hóu m̀ hóu a?

60
5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences: 6
Researching
daaih dōsou . . .
religions and
folk beliefs in
Hong Kong

chīu gwo . . .

baakfahnjī . . .

M̀ haih wo, . . .

jeui Adjective haih . . . kèihchi jauh haih . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:

séhwúi gān'geui fuhkmouh mahtchit hohksīkjó

daaihyeuk jóujīk júngjuhk bouhfahn yàhnháu

61
6 5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this
Researching pronunciation exercise: 🎧
religions and
folk beliefs in
Hong Kong Gáu yuht gáu yaht yīk sāan dūng hīng daih
– Wòhng Wàih

Duhk joih yih hēung wàih yih haak,

múih fùhng gāai jit púih sī chān.
Yìuh jī hīng daih dāng gōu chyu,
pin chaap jyū yùh síu yāt yàhn.

5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short

paragraph and read it aloud in response to the
information provided:
Néih tùhng pàhngyáuh kīng gái. Kéuihdeih kīnggán Hēunggóng haih yāt go dō
màhnfa, dō júngjuhk ge sìhngsíh. Néih tùhng m̀tùhngyi a? Chéng néih góngháh
néih ge táifaat.

Hēunggóng yáuh hóu dō m̀tùhng ge jūnggaau tùhng júngjuhk. M̀tùhng ge jūng-

gaau dōu deui Hēunggóng yáuh hóu dō gunghin. Chéng néih góngháh néih jyuh
ge deihfōng ge yàhn yáuh mātyéh jūnggaau seunyéuhng.

62
LESSON 7
Discussing the environment
Tóuleuhn wàahn'gíng yíhtàih

Activity: Discussing environmental issues.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: Charlotte’s professor has asked her to give a presentation to the class on
environmental protection. In order to prepare for this, Charlotte has written out her
presentation, part of which is presented below.
Charlotte ge gaausauh giu kéuih hái bāan seuhng bihn jouh yāt go gwāanyū
wàahn'gíng bóuwuh ge yín'góng. Waihjó jéunbeih nī go yín'góng, Charlotte jēung
yín'góng ge noihyùhng séjó chēutlàih, hah mihn haih kèihjūng yāt go bouhfahn.

Cantonese text English gloss

Charlotte: Gāmyaht yáuh dī faatjínjūng Today some developing
gwokgā m̀yuhnyi chóichéui yāt countries are reluctant to
dī chousī bóuwuh wàahn'gíng. introduce measures to protect the
environment.
Peiyùh, hái Yandouh tùhng For example, many people in
Ngòhlòhsī hóu dō yàhn India and Russia argue that their
yihng'wàih gīngjai faatjín economic development should
yīnggōi fong hái daihyāt waih. come first.
Bātgwo hái ngóh gāmyaht But in my presentation
ge yín'góng, ngóh wúih today, I’d like to suggest that
ginyíh wàahn'gíng bóuwuh environmental protection and
tùhng gīngjai faatjín hóyíh economic development can go
bihnghàhng. hand in hand.
Wàahn'gíng bóuwuh ge muhkdīk Environmental protection aims
haih pùihyuhk saigaai ge sāngtaai at nurturing the ecological
haihtúng, lihng wàahn'gíng systems of the world, so that the
sīkhahp yàhnleuih tùhng sóyáuh environment is liveable for human
sāngmaht gēuijyuh. beings and all living things.
63
(Continued )
DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-7
7 (Continued)
Discussing
the
Cantonese text
environment
Gēibún ge yisī haih bóuwuh
deihkàuh seuhng ge hūnghei,
duhngmaht, sāmlàhm, jihkmaht,
séui tùhng kèihtā ge yéh.
Gīngjai faatjín haih jí góisihn
yāt go séhwúi ge gūngyihp
tùhng geihseuht jīyùhn. Gám
yéung, séhwúi ge chòihfu
jauh wúih jānggā, yàhnmàhn
sāng'wuht séuipìhng tùhng
fūkjí dōu wúih góisihn.
Ngóh yihng'wàih wàahn'gíng
bóuwuh tùhng gīngjai faatjín
hóyíh guhngchyùhn.
Jīkhaih wah, nī léuhng gihn sih
hóyíh tùhngsìh faatsāng tùhng
wòhhàaih faatjín.
Sihsaht seuhng, gahn géisahp
nìhn, hóu dō gīngjai hohkgā
dōu yihng'wàih ngóhdeih
yiu nóuhlihk sahtyihn ‘hó
chìhjuhk faatjín’.
Hó chìhjuhk faatjín ge yāt go
fōngmihn haih gaisyun gīngjai
faatjín deui wàahn'gíng ge
yínghéung.
Laihyùh, yāt gáu gáu chāt
nìhn Lyùhnhahp Gwok yāt go
wáiyùhnwúi tàihchēut Gīngdōu
Yíhdihng Syū, tàihchēut yāt
haih liht haahnjai yihyéuhng fa
taan pàaihfong ge chousī.
Jīhauh ge géi nìhn,
cháansāngjó jīkgihk ge
yínghéung, yānwaih hóu dō
gwokgā, yàuhkèihsih Āujāu
gwokgā, dōu jēunchùhng
Gīngdōu Yíhdihng Syū ge
ginyíh.
Daahnhaih, bāaukwut
Jūnggwok, Yandouh, Ngòhlòhsī
64
tùhng Méihgwok jauh meih
yáuh chīmdihng nī go hipyíh.
English gloss
In basic terms that means
protecting the air, animal life,
forests, vegetation, water, and
everything else on planet earth.
Economic development refers
to improving the industrial and
technological resources of a
society. In that way, the wealth
of the society increases, and the
standard of living and well-being
of its citizens is improved.
I would argue that environmental
protection and economic
development can go hand in hand.
That is to say, these two processes
can occur simultaneously and
develop harmoniously.
Indeed, in recent decades, many
economists have argued that
we must strive for ‘sustainable
development’.
One aspect of sustainable
development is calculating the
impact of economic development
on the environment.
For example, in 1997, a
committee of the United Nations
introduced the Kyoto Protocol,
which proposed a range of
measures to limit carbon dioxide
emissions.
In the years that followed,
this had a positive effect, as
many countries, particularly
in Europe, followed the
recommendations set out in the
Kyoto Protocol.
However, a number of nations,
including China, India, Russia,
and the United States, failed to
sign up to this agreement.
Cantonese text
Sēuiyìhn haih gám, yāt būn
yihng'waih Yíhdihng Syū
ge yínghéung haih
jingmihn ge.
Lihng yāt go jingmihn góibin
ge laihjí haih saigaai seuhng
hóu dō gwokgā hōichíh
chéuidoih síyuhng gāau dói.
Hái yih lìhng lìhng yih nìhn,
Oiyíhlàahn jīngsāu gāau dói
seui, gitgwó haih, daihyih nìhn
gāau dói ge síyuhng gáamsíujó
baakfahnjī gáusahp.
Leuihchíh ge sihchìhng
faatsāng hái Hēunggóng, jingfú
hái yih lìhng lìhng gáu nìhn
hōichí jīngsāu gāau dói seui.
Gāmyaht, ngóhdeih heui
chīukāp sìhchèuhng gójahnsìh,
ngóhdeih táidóu hóu dō
gu'haak dōu daai jihgéi ge
kaumaht dói.
Gāmyaht ngóhdeih góng
wàahn'gíng bóuwuh, kèihsaht
haih waihjó chūkjeun séwúi ge
hó chìhjuhk faatjín.
Ngóhdeih m̀ haih ginyíh
ngóhdeih yīnggōi fāan
heui gēibún ge nùhngyihp
sāngwuht, yìhhaih ginyíh
ngóhdeih chóiyuhng deui
wàahn'gíng yáuhhóu tùhng
hó chìhjuhk faatjín ge sān
geihseuht.
Laihyùh, hóuchíh Dahksīlāai
nī dī gūngsī gahnnìhn
tēuigwóng dihnduhng chē
ge síyuhng jauh fēisèuhng
sìhnggūng. Yìhgā daaih dō
sou Méihgwok tùhng Yahtbún
ge gūngsī dōu hōichíh sīusauh
dihnduhng chē.
English gloss 7
Discussing
Despite this, the influence of the the
Protocol has generally been seen environment
as very positive.
Another example of positive
change has been the move to
replace plastic bags in many
countries around the world.
In 2002, Ireland launched
a plastic bag tax and, as a
result, the use of plastic bags
reduced by 90 percent over the
following year.
Something similar happened in
Hong Kong when the government
introduced a tax on plastic bags
in 2009.
Today when we go to the
supermarket, we can see that
many of the customers bring their
own shopping bags with them.
Today when we talk about
environmental protection, we’re
really aiming to promote the
sustainable development of
society.
We’re not suggesting that
we should return to a basic
agricultural way of life, but
rather that we should adopt
new technologies that are
environmentally friendly and
environmentally
sustainable.
For example, companies like
Tesla have been very successful
in promoting electric cars in
recent years. And now most
of the other American and
Japanese car manufacturers
are beginning to market
electric cars. 65
(Continued )
7 (Continued)
Discussing
the Cantonese text
environment
Tùhngsìh, hái saigaai hóu dō
deihfōng, hóu dō kéihyihp
tùhng jingfú dōu tàuhjīgán
taidoih nàhngyùhn, bāaukwut
taaiyèuhng nàhng tùhng fūng
nàhng.
Nī dī dōu haih yāt dī jingmihn
ge geihseuht góibin tùhngsìh
deui wàahn'gíng yáuhhóu ge
laihjí.
Gēiyū sóyáuh nī dī yùhnyān,
ngóh sēungseun hóyíh tùhngsìh
chūkjeun gīngjai faatjín tùhng
wàahn'gíng bóuwuh.
English gloss
At the same time, in many parts
of the world, many businesses
and governments are investing
in alternative sources of energy,
including solar and wind energy.
These are all examples of positive
technological changes that are
simultaneously environmentally
friendly.
For all these reasons, I do
believe it is possible to promote
both economic development
and environmental protection
simultaneously.

2 Relevant phrases 🎧

Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss

gaausauh noun professor
noihyùhng noun content
sé chēutlàih phrase to write it down
hah mihn preposition below
yāt go bouhfahn noun one part
faatjínjūng gwokgā noun developing country
m̀yuhnyi adjective unwilling
chóichéui chousī phrase take action
bóuwuh verb to protect
Ngòhlòhsī noun Russia
gīngjai faatjín noun economic development
fong hái daihyāt waih phrase to be put first
bihnghàhng verb to go hand in hand, to
be parallel
muhkdīk noun purpose, objective, aim
pùihyuhk verb to nurture
66
yàhnleuih noun human race
sāngmaht noun living things
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 7
Discussing
gēuijyuh verb to live, to reside the
environment
deihkàuh seuhng phrase on planet earth
hūnghei noun the air
duhngmaht noun animal
sāmlàhm noun forest
jihkmaht noun vegetation
séui noun water
haih jí phrase to be refer to
góisihn verb to improve
gūngyihp noun industry
geihseuht noun technology, skill
jīyùhn noun resources
chòihfu noun assets, wealth
jānggā verb to increase
yàhnmàhn noun citizen, people
sāng'wuht séuipìhng noun living standard
fūkjí noun well-being
guhngchyùhn verb to coexist
nī léuhng gihn sih phrase these two matters
faatsāng verb to happen
wòhhàaih adjective harmonious
noun harmony
gīngjai hohkgā noun economist
nouhlihk verb to try hard, to strive
sahtyihn verb to achieve
hó chìhjuhk faatjín noun sustainable development
gaisyun verb to calculate
Lyùhnhahp Gwok noun United Nations
yāt go wáiyùhnwúi noun a committee
tàihchēut verb to put forward, to
propose
Gīngdōu Yíhdihng Syū noun Kyoto Protocol
yāt haih liht phrase a series of
haahnjai noun restriction
verb to restrict, to limit 67

(Continued )
7 (Continued)
Discussing
the Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
environment yihyéuhng fa taan noun carbon dioxide
pàaihfong noun emission
cháansāng verb to generate
jīkgihk adjective active, positive
Āujāu noun Europe
jēunchùhng verb to follow
chīmdihng verb to sign
nī go hipyíh noun this protocol, this
agreement
jingmihn adjective positive
chéuidoih verb to replace
síyuhng verb to use, to make use of
noun use
gāau dói noun plastic bag
Oiyíhlàahn noun Ireland
jīngsāu verb to levy
seui noun tax
gáamsíu verb to reduce
baakfahnjī gáusahp phrase 90 percent
leuihchíh ge sihchìhng phrase similar situation
gu'haak noun customer
daai verb to bring
kaumaht dói noun shopping bag
chūkjeun verb to facilitate
nùhngyihp noun agriculture
chóiyuhng verb to use, to adopt
Dahksīlāai noun Tesla
tēuigwōng verb to popularize, to
promote
dihnduhng chē noun electric car
daaih dō sou noun majority
sīusauh verb to sell
taidoih nàhngyùhn noun alternative energy
68 taaiyèuhng nàhng noun solar energy
fūng nàhng noun wind energy
Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation: 7
Discussing
Gēibún ge yisī haih . . . In basic terms, that means . . . the
Jīkhaih wah, . . . That is to say, . . . environment
Sihsaht seuhng, . . . Indeed, . . .
gahn géisahp nìhn in recent decades
Jīhauh ge géi nìhn, . . . In the years that followed, . . .
Sēuiyìhn haih gám, . . . Despite this, . . .
yāt būn yihng'waih . . . it has generally been seen as . . .
m̀ haih . . ., yìhhaih . . . It is not . . ., but it is . . .
deui . . . yáuhhóu friendly to . . .
Gēiyū sóyáuh nī dī yùhnyàhn, . . . For all these reasons, . . .
Néih gaai m̀gaaiyi . . . ? Do you mind . . . ?
gwāanhaih dou . . . related to . . .
yìh m̀ haih . . . but not . . .
ngóh tùhngyi . . . I agree . . .
ngóh ge táifaat tùhng néih My view is the same as yours.
yātyeuhng.
ngóh yùhnchyùhn jaansìhng . . . I totally agree . . .
ngóh m̀ tùhngyi néih ge táifaat. I don’t agree your view.
ngóhdeih fáandeui . . . I oppose . . .
ngóh jyuhtdeui m̀ jaansìhng . . . I absolutely don’t agree . . .
yāt fōngmihn . . . lihng yāt on one hand . . ., on the other hand . . .
fōngmihn . . .

Here are some useful phrases that you can use in discussion:

tùhngyi fáandeui wùihying fáanbok

to agree to oppose to respond to to refute

3 Learning points

3.1 Construction: làih . . . (‘in order to . . .’)

e.g., Chéng néih góng chēut yāt dī yùhnyān làih jīchìh néih ge séungfaat.
Would you please propose some reasons, in order to support your views.
Néih hóyíh yuhng síu síu chín làih tàuhjī, gám néih ge teuiyāu sāngwuht
jauh wúih yáuh dōdī bóujeung (‘guarantee’).
You can use some money to invest, (and) then your retirement life will have
more guarantee.

3.2 Discourse structure: ḿléih . . . dōu . . . (‘no matter

. . . . also . . .’)
e.g., M̀ léih néih haih bīn go, néih dōu wúih jūngyi nī dī dímsām. Jiyū síu pàhng- 69
yáuh jauh ganggā m̀sái góng lā.
No matter who you are, you will like these dim sums. As for children, they will
certainly (like these dim sums).
7 M̀ léih néih duhkgán syū dihnghaih jouhgán yéh, dōu yiu tái dōdī sān-
Discussing màhn, gwāansām saigaai daaih sih.
the No matter whether you are studying or working, you need to watch more news
environment and care about big international issues.

4 Additional text 🎧
Another presentation with different views

Daaihgā hóu!
Ngóh gāmyaht ge yín'góng haih séung góng gīngjai faatjín tùhng wàahn'gíng
bóuwuh m̀hóyíh bihnghàhng.
Mātyéh haih ‘bihnghàhng’. Ngóh gokdāk léuhng gihn sih móuh chūngdaht
sīnji haih ‘bihnghàhng’.
Ngóh yihng'wàih gīngjai faatjín sēuiyiu chūngjūk ge nàhngyùhn, faatdaaht
ge tūngseun móhnglohk. Daahnhaih, waihjó sahtyihn nī dī tìuhgín yìh jeun-
hàhng ge wuhtduhng m̀haih jauh hēisāngjó wàahn'gíng mē?
Ngóh nám gīngjai faatjín tùhng wàahn'gíng bóuwuh hóu nàahn wúih móuh
chūngdaht.
Ngóh gāmyaht yiu góng ge haih gīngjai faatjín tùhng wàahn'gíng bóuwuh
yáuh hóu daaih ge màauhtéuhn.
Gīngjai faatjín haih jí góisihn yāt go séhwúi ge gūngyihp tùhng geihseuht
jīyùhn. Gám yéung, séhwúi ge chòihfu jauh wúih jānggā, yàhnmàhn sāng'wuht
séuipìhng wúih dākdou góisihn. Gīngjai faatjín yīukàuh jānggā jīyùhn ge
tàuhyahp làih faatjín gīngjai.
Yìh lihng yāt fōngmihn, wàahn'gíng bóuwuh ge muhkdīk haih pùihyuhk
saigaai ge sāngtaai haihtúng, lihng wàahn'gíng sīkhahp yàhnleuih tùhng sóyáuh
sāngmaht gēuijyuh. Wàahn'gíng bóuwuh yīukàuh gáamsíu yàhnleuih deui daaih-
jihyìhn ge gōnyúh.
M̀ léih néih yuhng māatyéh baahnfaat, jānggā tùhng gáamsíu dōu yáuh hóu
daaih ge màauhtéuhn. Sóyíh ngóh gokdāk gīngjai faatjín tùhng wàahn'gíng bóu-
wuh m̀hóyíh bihnghàhng.
Yíhseuhng haih ngóh ge gūndím. Dōjeh daaihgā.

Here are some more phrases in the additional text:

chūngjūk nàhngyùhn tūngseun móhnglohk

ample, sufficient energy communication network
tìuhgín wuhtduhng hēisāng màauhtéuhn
condition, requirement activities to sacrifice contradiction
tàuhyahp gōnyúh yíhseuhng gūndím
to put in to interfere above viewpoint

70
5 Exercises and practice 7
Discussing
5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated the
environment
conversation and additional text:
Charlotte ge yín'góng ge juhngdím (‘main point’) haih mātyéh nē?

Gīngjai faatjín yáuh mātyéh yisī a?

Wàahn'gíng bóuwuh ge muhkdīk haih mātyéh nē?

Yáuh dī deihfōng yáuh gāau dói seui, gaaudói seui deui wàahn'gíng bóuwuh
yáuh mātyéh jingmihn ge yínghéung nē?

‘Hó chìhjuhk faatjín’ haih mātyéh nē?

Charlotte wah yáuh dī mātyéh sān fōgeih hóyíh bōngjoh wàahn'gíng bóuwuh nē?

Charlotte yihng'wàih gīngjai faatjín tùhng wàahn'gíng bóuwuh hó m̀ hóyíh

bihnghàhng nē? Dímgáai kéuih gám góng nē?

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

yāt fōngmihn . . . lihng yāt fōngmihn . . .

71
7 ngóh tùhngyi . . .
Discussing
the
environment

m̀ haih . . ., yìhhaih . . .

gahn géisahp nìhn . . .

. . . Jīhauh ge géi nìhn, . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:

góisihn bóuwuh daaih dō sou jingmihn nouhlihk

tàihchēut muhkdīk tēuigwōng gáamsíu wòhhàaih

5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this

pronunciation exercise: 🎧

72 Fu Dāk Gú Yùhn chóu sung biht

– Baahk Gēui Yihk
Lèih lèih yùhn seuhng chóu, 7
yāt seui yāt fū wìhng. Discussing
Yéh fó sīu bāt jeuhn, the
chēun fūng chēui yauh sāng. environment

5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short

paragraph and read it aloud in response to the
information provided:
Néih chāamgā yāt go gwāanyū wàahn'gíng bóuwuh ge góngjoh. Yìhgā haih tóu-
leuhn sìhgaan, chéng néih góngháh néih deui wàahnbóu ge táifaat.

Néih ge gūngsī yáuh yāt go gaiwaahk. Nī go gaiwaahk séung gaau dōdī yàhn
yihngsīk wàahnbóu ge juhngyiu. Yìhgā gūngsī hōi wúi kīngháh dímyéung tēui-
hàhng nī go gaiwaahk. Yìhgā chéng néih góngháh néih ge yigin.

73
 LESSON 8
Introducing Mid-Autumn Festival
Gaaisiuh Jūngchāu Jit

Activities: Introducing Mid-Autumn Festival.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: Charlotte and John are having dinner in a Chinese restaurant on the Mid-
Autumn Festival. They then talk about the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong and
Singapore.
Jūngchāu Jit Charlotte tùhng John hái yāt gāan jáulàuh sihk máahnfaahn.
Kéuihdeih kīngháh Hēunggóng tùhng Sān'gabō ge Jūngchāu Jit.

Cantonese text English gloss

John: Wa, nī dī dānglùhng hóu leng
a. Ngóh jānhaih hóu jūngyi
Hēunggóng hingjūk Jūngchāu
Jit ge fōngsīk.
Charlotte: Ngóh dōu jānhaih jūngyi
Jūngchāu Jit. Ngóhdeih
hái Gā'nàhdaaih móuh
māt hingjūk. Sēuiyìhn hái
Wān'gōwàh yáuh dī yàhn wúih
hingjūk, dahkbiht haih hái
hóu dō Wàhyàhn gēuijyuh ge
deihfōng.
Jokwàih ngóh daaihhohk
hohkjaahp ge yāt bouhfahn,
ngóh yātjihk dōu yáuh yìhn'gau
nī go jityaht ge.
Jūngchāu Jit haih hái
nùhnglihk baat yuht sahpnǵh.
74
Wow, these lanterns are very
beautiful. I really like the way
they celebrate the Mid-Autumn
Festival in Hong Kong.
I really like the Mid-Autumn
Festival, too. We don’t really
celebrate this too much in
Canada. Although some people
in Vancouver do celebrate the
festival, especially in those areas
where lots of Chinese people are
living.
As part of my university studies,
I’ve been doing some research
about the festival.
The Mid-Autumn festival takes
place on the fifteenth day of
the eighth month in the lunar
calendar.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-8
 Cantonese text
Dānglùhng hái nī go jityaht
haih hóu juhngyiu ge.
Jūngchāu Jit ge sìhhauh,
yiu séung yút, dī yàhn heui
séung yút gójahnsìh, yuhng
dānglùhng jiujyuh tìuh louh.
John: Hóu yáuh yisī. Dímgáai
ngóhdeih yiu séung yút nē?
Charlotte: Hóu, yáuh hóu dō sàhnwá gusih
gwāanyū nī go jityaht, tùhng
góng gwāanyū yuhtleuhng ge
juhngyiusing.
Kèihjūng yāt go gusih haih
gwāanyū yāt go jyuhnkèih
yīnghùhng giujouh Hauh Ngaih.
Kéuih jyuh hái Jūnggwok
gójahnsìh tīn seuhng mihn
yáuh sahp go taaiyèuhng.
Yānwaih tīn seuhng mihn ge
taaiyèuhng taai dō, taaiyèuhng
ge gōuwān saatséijó hóu dō yàhn.
Yūsih Hauh Ngaih yuhng gūng
jin séhjó gáu go taaiyèuhng
lohk làih.
Wòhngmóuh Nèuhngnèuhng
sungjó yāt nāp dāanyeuhk
hóyíh lihng kéuih
chèuhngsāngbātlóuh.
Daahnhaih Hauh Ngaih hóu oi
kéuih ge taaitáai Sèuhngngòh
sóyíh kéuih m̀séung sihk nī nāp
dāanyeuhk.
Yáuh yāt yaht Hauh Ngaih
ge hohksāang séung tāu
dāanyeuhk, Sèuhngngòh jauh
sihkjó nāp dāanyeuhk lihng
kéuih ge gaiwaahk sātbaih.
Sèuhngngòh sihkjó dāanyeuhk
jīhauh jauh fēijó heui
yuhtkàuh.
English gloss 8
Introducing
Lanterns are very important in Mid-Autumn
this festival. Festival
During the Mid-Autumn
festival, you’re supposed to
appreciate the moon, and so
lanterns were used to light the
way, when people went outside
to look at the moon.
That’s interesting. Why are
we supposed to appreciate the
moon?
Well, there are many mythical
stories about this festival, and
the importance of the moon.
One well-known story is about a
legendary hero called Hou Yi.
He lived in China at a time
when there were ten suns in
the sky.
Because there were so many
suns in the sky, the heat killed
many people.
So Hou Yi shot down nine
of the suns with his bow and
arrows.
The Queen of Heaven then
presented him with an elixir
that would have made him
immortal.
But Hou Yi loved his wife
Chang’e so much that he didn’t
want to take the elixir.
One day Hou Yi’s student tried
to steal the elixir, but Chang’e
then swallowed the elixir in
order to foil his plan.
After taking the elixir, ​Chang’e
flew to the moon. 75
(Continued )
8 (Continued)
Introducing
Mid-Autumn
Cantonese text
Festival
Jīhauh, dī yàhn jauh heung
yuhtleuhng seuhng mihn ge
Sèuhngngòh kèihtóu.
Nī go jityaht hauhlòih
sìhng'wàih gātìhng jeuihwuih
ge juhngyiu jityaht.
Gāmyaht, Jūngchāu Jit ge
sìhhauh, yāt gā yàhn yātchàih
sihk máahnfaahn, sihk hóu
sihk ge sihkmaht, yám jáu,
tùhng séung yút.
Deuiyū chìhngléuih làih góng
Jūngchāu Jit dōu haih yāt go
lohngmaahn ge jityaht.
John: Wa, hóu yáuhcheui ge gusih!
Sèuhngngòh heuijó yuhtkàuh
jīhauh dím nē?
Charlotte: Nī go gusih yáuh m̀ tùhng ge
báanbún. Kèihjūng chēutméng
ge haih yāt jek toujái pùih
Sèuhngngòh heui Yuhtkàuh.
Sóyíh Jūngchāu Jit yáuh hóu
dō toujái ge jōngsīk.
Daahnhaih chyùhnsyut juhng
yáuh kèihtā báanbún.
Hái Sān'gabō nē?
Jūngchāu Jit haih m̀ haih dōu
haih Sān'gabō ge gūngjung
gakèih a?
John: Wàhyàhn sékēui wúih hingjūk Many people in the Chinese
Jūngchāu Jit, daahnhaih móuh community do celebrate the
Hēunggóng gam daaih.
Daahnhaih Sān'gabō yàhn dōu But Singaporeans do like eating
jūngyi sihk yuhtbéng, hóuchíh mooncakes, just like Hong Kong
Hēunggóng yàhn yātyeuhng.
76
English gloss
After that, people prayed to
Chang’e in the moon for good
fortune.
This festival then became an
important occasion for family
gatherings.
Today, at the Mid-Autumn
Festival, families get together
for dinner, eat delicious food,
drink wine, and watch the
moon.
It is also a romantic festival for
couples.
Wow, what an amazing story!
What happened to Chang’e after
she got to the moon?
There are different versions of
the story. One famous one is
that Chang’e was accompanied
to the moon by a rabbit.
That’s why there are lots of
rabbit decorations during the
Mid-Autumn Festival.
But there are many other
versions of the legend.
What about in Singapore?
Is the Mid-Autumn Festival a
public holiday in Singapore,
too?
Mid-Autumn Festival, but it’s
not as big as in Hong Kong.
people.
 Cantonese text English gloss 8
Introducing
Charlotte: Haih a, ngóh faatyihn Well, I’ve discovered that there Mid-Autumn
juhng yáuh hóu dō gwāanyū are also many stories about Festival
yuhtbéng ge gusih. mooncakes.
Yāt go chēutméng ge gusih haihOne famous story is that
hái sahpsei saigéi, Jūnggwok Chinese armies in the
gwāndéui tùhng Mùhnggú fourteenth century, fighting
yàhn dájeung, gwānyàhn hái against the Mongols,
yuhtbéng léuih mihn sāumàaih communicated with each other
dī beimaht seunsīk làih kāutūng.
by hiding secret messages inside
mooncakes.
Yìhgā, dī yàhn Jūngchāu Jit These days, people give
gójahnsìh wúih sung yuhtbéng mooncakes to their friends
béi pàhngyáuh tùhng chānchīk. and relatives during the Mid-
Autumn Festival.
John: Wa, jānhaih táidóu néih jouhjó Wow, I can really see that you
hóu dō yìhn'gau! have done your research!
Jānhaih hóu yáuhcheui. That’s really interesting.
Charlotte: Haih a, ngóh gokdāk hóu Yes, I find it fascinating. I’ve
yáuhcheui. Ngóh dōu yātjihk also been doing research on
yìhn'gau kèihtā ge Jūnggwok other Chinese festivals, like the
jityaht, hóuchíh Chīng Mìhng Ching Ming Festival, Chung
Jit, Chùhng Yèuhng Jit, Dyūn Yeung Festival, Dragon Boat
Nǵh Jit, tùhng Jūnggwok Festival, and Lunar New Year.
Sānnìhn.
John: Jānhaih yāt gō fēisèuhng That’s a really interesting
yáuhcheui ge tàihmuhk. subject.
Charlotte: Wai, ngóhdeih sihkyùhn faahn, Hey, let’s finish eating, and then
jauh chēut heui séung yút lā. we can go out and look at the
moon.

2 Relevant phrases 🎧

Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss

jityaht noun festival
Jūngchāu Jit noun Mid-Autumn Festival
dānglùhng noun lantern
Wān'gōwàh noun Vancouver
nùhnglihk noun lunar calendar
77
(Continued )
8 (Continued)
Introducing
Mid-Autumn
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
Festival
baat yuht sahpnǵh phrase the fifteenth day of the
eighth month (lunar
calendar)
séung yút verb–object construction to appreciate the moon
jiujyuh verb to irradiate
tìuh louh noun the road
sàhnwá noun myth, mythology
gusih noun story
yuhtleuhng noun moon
juhngyiusing noun importance
jyuhnkèih noun legend
yīnghùhng noun hero
Hauh Ngaih noun Hou Yi
tīn seuhng mihn phrase in the sky
taaiyèuhng noun sun
gōuwān noun high temperature
saatséi verb to kill
gūng noun bow
jin noun arrow
séh verb to shoot
Wòhngmóuh noun the Queen of Heaven
Nèuhngnèuhng
yāt nāp dāanyeuhk noun an elixir
chèuhngsāngbātlóuh adjective immortal
oi verb to love
noun love
Sèuhngngòh noun Chang’e
tāu verb to steal
sātbaih verb to fail
noun failure
fēi verb to fly
yuhtkàuh noun moon
heung . . . kèihtóu phrase pray to . . .
hauhlòih preposition then later
78
sìhng'wàih verb to become
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 8
Introducing
gātìhng noun family, household Mid-Autumn
Festival
jeuihwuih noun gathering
chìhngléuih noun couple
lohngmaahn adjective romantic
chyùhnsyut noun legend
báanbún noun version
yāt jek toujái noun a rabbit
pùih verb to accompany
sékēui noun community
yuhtbéng noun mooncake
faatyihn verb to discover
sahpsei saigéi phrase the fourteenth century
gwāndéui noun army
Mùhnggú yàhn noun Mongols
dájeung verb to fight (war)
gwānyàhn noun soldier
sāumàaih verb to hide
beimaht noun secret
seunsīk noun message
kāutūng verb to communicate
chānchīk noun relative
Chīng Mìhng Jit noun Ching Ming Festival
Chùhng Yèuhng Jit noun Chung Yeung Festival
Dyūn Nǵh Jit noun Dragon Boat Festival

Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation:

Jokwàih . . . Being . . .,

As a . . .,
yūsih . . . so . . .
Yáuh yāt yaht . . . One day . . .
Deuiyū . . . làih góng, . . . For . . ., . . .
Jānhaih hóu yáuhcheui. That’s really interesting.
jihchùhng . . . (yíhlàih) since . . .
táilàih . . . / it seems . . .
tái héi séuhng làih, . . .
Jouh dāk hóu! Well done! 79
8 3 Learning points
Introducing
Mid-Autumn 3.1 Construction: búnlòih . . . hauhlòih/sāumēi/yìhgā . . .
Festival
(‘originally . . . later/finally/now . . .’)
e.g., Ngóh búnlòih hái daaihhohk séung hohk gūngsēung gúnléih (‘Business
Administration), yìhgā ngóh hohk lihksí.
Originally, I want(ed) to study business administration at university, now
I study history.

3.2 Construction: bīn douh wúih/bīn douh hó'nàhng . . . ?

(‘how can . . . happen?’)
e.g., Ngóh jeuigahn yáuh hóu dō yéh jouh, bīn douh wúih yáuh sìhgaan tùhng
néih heui léuihhàhng a?
I have a lot of things to do, how can I have time to travel with you?
Kéuih teuiyāu jīhauh, dāk yāt go yàhn. Kéuih bīn douh wúih hōisām nē?
After retirement, he is alone. How can he be happy?

3.3 Discourse structure: . . . haih . . ., dōu haih . . .,

juhnghaih . . . (‘. . . to be . . ., also to be,
furthermore . . .’)
e.g., Néih haih yāt go nìhnchīngyàhn, dōu haih daaihhohksāang, yātdihng yiu
nóuhlihk duhk syū a!
You are a young person, and also a university student, you should study hard!
Ngóhdeih yātdihng yiu nám baahnfaat gáamsíu wàahn'gíng wūyíhm,
yānwaih wūyíhm haih yāt go wàahn'gíng mahntàih, dōu haih yāt go
gīngjai mahntàih, juhnghaih ngóhdeih hah yāt doih (‘next generation’) ge
mahntàih.
We should think of some ways to reduce environmental pollution, because
pollution is an environmental problem. It is also an economic issue, further-
more, it is an issue for our next generation.

4 Additional text 🎧
A talk introducing Chinese festivals

Gok wái jóusàhn!

Ngóh gāmyaht séung gaaisiuh Jūnggwok ge jityaht. Daaihgā tēngdóu jityaht
wúih m̀wúih gokdāk hóu hōisām nē? Yānwaih yáuh gūngjung gakèih, hóyíh heui
wáan, yauh hóyíh sihk hóu sihk ge sihkmaht.
Kèihsaht Jūnggwok ge jityaht yáuh hóu do m̀tùhng ge chyùhnsyut gusih. Nī
80
dī gusih dōu hóu yáuhcheui.
 Peiyùh Jūngchāu Jit ge gusih haih góng hóu noih yíhchìhn yāt go yīnghùhng, 8
Hauh Ngaih. Kéuih yuhng gūng tùhng jin séhjó tīn seuhng bihn gáu go taai- Introducing
yèuhng lohk làih. Sóyíh dī yàhn hóyíh hái móuh gam yiht ge wàahn'gíng sāng- Mid-Autumn
wuht. Yūsih Wòhngmóuh Nèuhngnèuhng sungjó yāt nāp dāanyeuhk hóyíh lihng Festival
kéuih chèuhngsāngbātlóuh.
Búnlòih yānwaih Hauh Ngaih hóu oi kéuih ge taaitáai Sèuhngngòh sóyíh kéuih
móuh sihk nī nāp dāanyeuhk. Hauhlòih Hauh Ngaih ge hohksāang séung tāu
dāanyeuhk, Sèuhngngòh jauh sihkjó nāp dāanyeuhk lihng kéuih ge gaiwaahk sāt-
baih. Gānjyuh Sèuhngngòh sihkjó dāanyeuhk jīhauh jauh fēijó heui yuhtkàuh.
Ngóhdeih yìhgā jīdou yuhtkàuh seuhng mihn bīn douh hó'nàhng yáuh
Sèuhngngòh. Bātgwo Jūngchāu Jit haih Jūnggwok yàhn hóu juhngyiu ge jityaht,
dōu haih gātìhng jeuihwuih ge jityaht, juhnghaih chìhngléuih hóu jūngyi ge
lohngmaahn jityaht.
Jūnggwok ge jityaht juhng yáuh hóu dō, hóuchíh Chīng Mìhng Jit, Chùhng
Yèuhng Jit, Dyūn Nǵh Jit, tùhng Jūnggwok Sānnìhn. Nī dī jityaht dōu hóu
juhngyiu, dōu hóu yáuhcheui.
Chìhngmìhng jit haih geinihm sīnyàhn ge jityaht, Jūnggwok yàhn wúih heui
soumouh. Chùhngyèuhng jit yáuh yāt go chyùhnsyut gusih. Gusih góng hóu noih
yíhchìhn yáuh yāt júng chyùhnyíhm behng, sóyíh dī yàhn lèihhōi ūkkéi, heui hóu
gōu ge deihfōng beihhōi nī go behng. Jīhauh dī yàhn jauh hái Chùhngyeuhng jit
hàahng sāan. Dyūn Nǵh Jit wúih pàh lùhngsyùhn, sihk júng. Jūnggwok Sānnìhn
jauh haih Jūnggwok yàhn jeui juhngyiu ge jityaht. Jūnggwok Sānnìhn ge sìh-
hauh wúih heui hàahng fāsíh, baai nìhn, máaih sān sāam dángdáng.
Ngóh gokdāk Jūnggwok ge jityaht fēisèuhng yáuh yisī. Hēimohng daaihgā
dōu jūngyi nī dī jityaht lā.

Here are some more phrases in the additional text:

móuh gam yiht geinihm sīnyàhn soumouh

not too hot commemorate ancestor tomb sweeping
yāt júng . . . chyùhnyíhm behng lèihhōi beihhōi
a type of . . . infectious disease to leave to avoid
pàh lùhngsyùhn sihk júng hàahng fāsíh baai nìhn
to roll dragon boat to eat rice dumpling to go to flower to make New Year
market visit

5 Exercises and practice

5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated

conversation and additional text:
John tùhng Charlotte yātchàih sihk máahnfaahn ge sìhhauh, kéuihdeih gindóu
mātyéh nē?
81
8 Charlotte wah Gā'nàhdaaih yàhn hing m̀ hingjūk Jūngchāu Jit nē? Sān'gabo
Introducing yàhn nē?
Mid-Autumn
Festival

Charlotte wah Jūngchāu Jit yáuh hóu dō chyùhnsyut gusih. Yáuh mātyéh
gusih nē?

Jūnggwok yàhn Jūngchāu Jit wúih jouh mātyéh nē?

Jūngchāu Jit ge yuhtbéng yáuh mātyéh gusih nē?

Charlotte wah Jūnggwok juhng yáuh hóu dō jityaht, juhng yáuh mātyéh jit-
yaht nē?

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

Yáuh yāt yaht . . .

Jokwàih . . .

jihchùhng . . .

82
. . . yūsih . . . 8
Introducing
Mid-Autumn
Festival

Deuiyū . . . làih góng . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:
faatyihn beimaht gātìhng kāutūng jityaht
yīnghùhng gusih pùih chānchīk lohngmaahn

5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this

pronunciation exercise: 🎧

Wòhng Hohk Làuh sung Maahng Houh Yìhn jī Gwóng Lìhng

– Léih Baahk

Gu yàhn sāi chìh Wòhng Hohk Làuh,

yīn fā sāam yuht hah Yèuhng Jāu.
Gū fàahn yúhn yíng bīk hūng jeuhn,
wàih gin Chèuhng Gōng tīn jai làuh.

5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short

paragraph and read it aloud in response to the
information provided:
Néih tùhng pàhngyáuh sihkfaahn. Néih ge pàhngyáuh hái m̀ tùhng ge gwokgā 83
tùhng deihkēui làih ge. Néihdeih kīngháh jeui jūngyi ge jityaht. Chéng
8 néih góngháh néih jeui jūngyi ge jityaht, tùhng gaaisiuh nī go jityaht béi
Introducing pàhngyáuh sīk.
Mid-Autumn
Festival

Néih tùhng pàhngyáuh sihkfaahn. Néih ge pàhngyáuh hái m̀tùhng ge gwokgā

tùhng deihkēui làih ge. Néihdeih kīngháh yāt dī chyùhnsyut gusih. Chéng néih
góng yāt go chyùhnsyut gusih béi pàhngyáuh tēng.

84
LESSON 9
Organizing a cultural event
Chaakwaahk màhnfa wuhtduhng

Activities: Organizing and promoting cultural events.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: The company where Charlotte has been working as an intern has just
been given a contract to organize a photographic exhibition. Charlotte’s supervisor,
Mr Chan, discusses the arrangement for the opening event with Charlotte and her
colleagues.
Charlotte sahtjaahp ge gūngsī āam'āam jipdóu yāt fahn hahpyeuk géuibaahn
yāt go sipyíng jínláahm. Charlotte ge seuhngsī, Chàhn sīnsāang, tùhng Charlotte
tùhng tùhngsih tóuleuhn hōimohk wuhtduhng ge ōnpàaih.

Cantonese text English gloss

Chàhn Ngóhdeih gūngsī āam'āam lódóu
sīnsāang: yāt fahn hahpyeuk géuibaahn yāt
go sipyíng jínláahm. Ngóhdeih
yiu jóujīk yāt go tyùhndéui heui
jouh nī go wuhtduhng.
Charlotte, néih làihjó ngóhdeih
ge gūngsī sāam go yuht la.
Ngóh séung néih gāyahp nī go
tyùhndéui tùhng Katie tùhng
Peter yātchàih gūngjok.
Charlotte: Hóu a! Dōjeh néih béi nī go
gēiwuih ngóh.
Ngóh dōu hóu yáuh hingcheui
jouh nī go gaiwaahk a.
Tùhngmàaih ngóh wúih
jeuhnlihk bōng Katie tùhng
Peter ge.
Our company has just got
the contract to organize a
photographic exhibition. We need
to form a project team to work on
this event.
Charlotte, you’ve been in our
company for three months now.
I’d like you to join the project
team and work together with
Katie and Peter.
Great! Thanks for giving me the
opportunity.
I’ll be really interested to work on
this project.
And I’ll do my best to help Katie
and Peter.
85
(Continued )
DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-9
9 (Continued)
Organizing a
cultural
Cantonese text
event
(Charlotte tùhng Katie, Peter
tùhng kéuih ge seuhngsī
hōiwúi.)
Chàhn Hóu, nī go jínláahm ge
sīnsāang: muhkdīk haih jaahphahp
Hēunggóng jyumìhng sipyíngsī
ge jokbán.
Nī go jínláahm ge jaahnjoh
haih Hēunggóng sipyíngsī
Hipwúi tùhng hái Hēunggóng
yáuh hóu dō sipyíng dim ge
Wíhng Taai Sipyíng Heichòih
Gūngsī.
Sóyíh jínláahm ge juhngdím
haih jínsih dōngdoih
Hēunggóng sāngwuht ge
bāttùhng fōngmihn.
Yáuh dī seungpín haih
gwāanyū Hēunggóng ge gauh
kēui, hóuchíh Gáulùhng Sìhng
tùhng Sām Séui Bóu.
Kèihtā seungpín haih gwāanyū
dōngdoih Hēunggóng,
tùhngmàaih yihndoih jyuhjáak
kēui tùhng kaumaht jūngsām
ge sāngwuht.
Yáuh dī seungpín haih
gwāanyū ginjūk tùhng ginjūk
wàahn'gíng, kèihtā haih
gwāanyū yàhn, bāaukwut
m̀tùhng deihfōng tùhng m̀tùhng
jīkyihp ge yàhnmát chiujeuhng.
Sóyíh jínláahm yáuh hóu dō
m̀ tùhng júngleuih ge seungpín.
Hōimohkláih wúih yáuh
léuhng go jyúyiu wuhtduhng.
Sipyíngsī Hipwúi ge doihbíu
wúih jouh hōimohk yín'góng.
Yìhnhauh wúih yáuh yāt go
yàuh sipyíngsī daai líhng ge
douhséung, kéuihdeih wúih
86
jínsih kéuihdeih ge jokbán.
English gloss
(Charlotte is having a meeting
with Katie, Peter, and her
supervisor.)
Well, the aim of the exhibition
is to bring together the work of
leading photographers in Hong
Kong.
The sponsors of the exhibition are
the Hong Kong Photographers’
Association and the Wing Tai
Photo Equipment Company, which
owns many photographic shops in
Hong Kong.
So the emphasis in the exhibition
will be showing different aspects
of life in contemporary Hong
Kong.
Some of the photographs deal
with the older areas of Hong
Kong, such as Kowloon City and
Sham Shui Po.
Other photographs deal with
contemporary Hong Kong and
life in modern housing estates
and shopping malls.
Some photographs are about
architecture and the built
environment, and others are about
people, with portraits of people
in different places and different
professions.
So there will be lots of variety in
the exhibition.
The opening event will have two
main activities. A representative
of the photographers’ association
will deliver an opening talk.
Then there will be a guided tour
led by some of the photographers
who are showing their work.
 Cantonese text
Jyúbaahn fōng dōu séung
chéng yāt dī dahkbiht gābān,
bāaukwuht mìhngyàhn tùhng
jingfú gūnyùhn chāamgā
hōimohkláih.
Ngóhdeih yiu lyùhnlok nī dī
yàhn tùhng yiu hái géi yaht
noih dākdóu kéuihdeih ge
tùhngyi.
Ngóhdeih dōu yiu gei yīuchíng
kāat béi sóyáuh gābān, tùhng
táiháh bīn go tùhngyi làih.
Peter, néih hó m̀ hóyíh bōngsáu
chyúhléih yīuchíng, tùhng
hái wuhtduhng chìhn táiháh
chēutjihk chìhngfong.
Nī go haih jyúbaahn fōng
béi ngóhdeih ge làahmsìh
haakyàhn mìhngdāan.
Ngóh ginyíh néih jeun faai
tùhng yāt dī juhngyiu ge
haakyàhn kokyihng.
Peter: Hóu, ngóh wúih chyúhléih.
Chàhn Hóu! Gám, ngóh hēimohng
sīnsāang: Katie fuhjaak bouji jínláahm.
Nī douh haih sipyíngsī ge
méng, tùhng kéuihdeih dásyun
jínláahm ge seungpín.
Néih yiu lyùhnlok sipyíngsī
tùhng ōnpàaih jēung seungpín
wahnsung dou jínláahm
chèuhngdeih.
Katie: Hóu, ngóh wúih jeuhn faai
chyúhléih nī gihn sih ge la.
Chàhn Ngóh nám ngóhdeih daihyāt
sīnsāang: yaht wúih yáuh hóu dō yàhn
chāamgā.
Sóyíh ngóhdeih sēuiyiu yáuh
yàhn hóyíh fūnyìhng haakyàhn
tùhng jouh jyuchaak dānggei.
English gloss 9
Organizing a
The hosts also want to invite cultural
some special guests, including event
celebrities and government
officials, to join the opening
ceremony.
We’ll have to contact
these people and get their
agreement to come in the next
few days.
We’ll also have to send invitation
cards to all the other guests and
check who agrees to come.
Peter, can you help with the
invitations and check on the
attendance as we get closer to the
event?
Here’s the provisional guest list
that the hosts have given us.
I suggest that you try to confirm
with some of the important guests
as soon as possible.
Fine, I’ll take care of that.
Good! Then, I’d like Katie to
be in charge of setting up the
exhibition. Here are the names
of the photographers, and a list
of the photographs they intend to
show.
You’ll need to contact the
photographers and arrange for the
delivery of the photographs to the
exhibition site.
Fine. I’ll get on to this as soon as
possible.
I think that we’ll have a lot of
people attending the event on the
first day.
So we do need people who can
greet the visitors and handle the
registration.
87
(Continued )
9 (Continued)
Organizing a
cultural
Cantonese text
event
Katie: Jyutdeui hóyíh. Waahkjé
Charlotte hóyíh bōng ngóh
jouh nī gihn sih.
Charlotte, néih gokdāk néih hó
m̀ hóyíh bōngsáu jouh jyuchaak
dānggei nē?
Ngóhdeih wúih ōnpàaih
léuhng go sahtjaahpsāng hái
dānggeichyu bōng néih.
Charlotte: Hóu, ngóh lohkyi bōngsáu.
Chàhn Gám jauh hóu la.
sīnsāang: Katie, waahkjé néih tùhng
Charlotte dōu hóyíh fuhjaak
yanchaat wuhtduhng ge
síuchaakjí tùhng hóibou?
Charlotte Hóu ge!
and Katie:
Chàhn Jānhaih hóu la.
sīnsāang: Néihdeih chèuihsìh tūngjī ngóh.
Yātdaan néihdeih yáuh
yahmhòh mahntàih, jauh
chéng góng béi ngóh jī lā.
Ngóhdeih léuhng go sīngkèih
jīhauh hōi yāt go jeundouh
wúi lā.
Charlotte, Hóyíh a! Hóu hóu a!
Peter,
Katie:
English gloss
Absolutely. Perhaps Charlotte
could help me with this.
Charlotte, do you think you could
handle the registration at the
event?
We’ll get two other interns to help
you on the registration desk.
Yes, I’m happy to do that.
That’s good.
Katie, perhaps you and Charlotte
can also take care of printing
the brochures and posters for the
event?
Fine!
That’s great.
Keep me posted as you go along.
If you have any problems, just let
me know.
And let’s have a progress meeting
in two weeks’ time.
Okay! Great!

2 Relevant phrases 🎧

Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss

chaakwaahk verb to plan, to engineer
màhnfa wuhtduhng noun cultural activity
jipdóu verb have received
yāt fahn hahpyeuk noun a contract
88 géuibaahn verb to hold, to run
sipyíng jínláahm noun photographic exhibition
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 9
Organizing a
jínláahm noun exhibition cultural
event
seuhngsī noun superior
hōimohk wuhtduhng noun opening event
lódóu verb have got
tyùhndéui noun team
gāyahp verb to join, to become a member
jeuhnlihk verb to do the best
jaahphahp verb to gather, to bring
together
jyumìhng adjective famous
sipyíngsī noun photographer
jokbán noun works
jaahnjoh noun sponsor
verb to sponsor
hipwúi noun association
sipyíng dim noun photographic shops
sipyíng heichòih noun photo equipment
gūngsī company
juhngdím noun emphasis, main point
jínsih verb to exhibit
dōngdoih noun contemporary
bāttùhng fōngmihn phrase different aspects
seungpín / noun photograph
jiupín
gauh kēui noun old district
Gáulùhng Sìhng noun Kowloon City
Sām Séui Bóu noun Sham Shui Po
jyuhjaak kēui noun housing estate
kaumaht jūngsām noun shopping mall
ginjūk noun architecture
ginjūk wàahn'gíng noun the built environment
jīkyihp noun profession
yàhnmát chiujeuhng noun portraits of people
hōimohkláih noun opening ceremony
doihbíu noun representative 89
verb to represent
(Continued )
9 (Continued)
Organizing a
cultural
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
event
hōimohk yín'góng noun opening speech
daai líhng verb to lead, to guide
douhséung noun guided tour, docent
jyúbaahn fōng noun organizer
chéng verb to invite
dahkbiht gābān noun special guest
mìhngyàhn noun celebrities
jingfú gūnyùhn noun government officials
lyùhnlok verb to contact
hái géi yaht noih phrase in the next few days
dākdóu verb to obtain
tùhngyi verb to agree
noun agreement
yīuchíng kāat noun invitation card
yīuchíng verb to invite
noun invitation
wuhtduhng chìhn phrase before the event
chēutjihk verb to be present
chìhngfong noun situation, circumstances
làahmsìh adjective provisional
haakyàhn noun guest
mìhngdāan noun name list
jeun faai phrase as soon as possible
kokyihng verb to confirm
bouji verb to decorate
noun decoration
wahnsung verb to transport
dou verb to arrive
jínláahn chèuhngdeih noun exhibition site
jyuchaak dānggei verb to register, to enrol
noun registration
dānggeichyu noun registration counter
lohkyi adjective willing to
90 yanchaat verb to print
síuchaakjí noun brochure
hóibou noun poster
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 9
Organizing a
chèuihsìh adverb at any time, whenever cultural
necessary event

yahmhòh determiner any

jeundouh wúi noun progress meeting

Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation:

Dōjeh néih béi nī go gēiwuih ngóh.
Hóu, ngóh wúih chyúhléih.
Jyutdeui hóyíh.
yàuh . . . daailíhng
Gám jauh hóu.
Hóu ge!
chéuihchí jī'ngoih, . . .
Daihyāt sìhgaan góng béi ngóh jī.
yāt bāan . . .
chùhng nī go gokdouh làih tái, . . .
dāan chùhng nī fōngmihn làih tái
jauh . . .
yàuhyū yíhseuhng ge yùhnyān . . .
yàuhyū seuhngseuht ge láihyàuh . . .
gēiyū yíhseuhng ge sihsaht . . .
yáuh chíh hó gin . . .
Thanks for giving me the opportunity.
Fine. I’ll take care of that.
Absolutely.
lead by . . .
That’s good.
Fine!
in addition to this, . . .
Tell me at once.
a group of . . .
From this angle, . . .
just taking a look at this aspect then . . .
because of the above reasons . . .
because of the abovementioned
reasons . . .
based on the above facts . . .
thus it can be seen . . .

3 Learning points
3.1 Construction: yātdaan . . ., jauh . . . (‘once . . ., then . . .’)
e.g., Wàahn'gíng yātdaan sauhdou wūyíhm, yàuhhaak dōu wúih gáamsíu,
gīngjai dōu wúih sauh yínghéung.
Once the environment is polluted, tourists will be fewer, and the economy will
be affected.
Yātdaan gīngjai yáuh mahntàih, néih ge tàuhjī dōu wúih sauh yínghéung.
(‘be affected’).
Once the economy has problems, your investment will be affected.

3.2 Construction: . . . béi . . . (passive voice)

Active voice Passive voice

Gó dī yàhn wūyíhmjó nī douh ge Nī douh ge wàahn'gíng béi gó dī yàhn 91
wàahn'gíng wūyíhmjó.
Those people polluted the environment The environment here was polluted by
here. those people.
(Continued )
9 (Continued)
Organizing a
cultural
Active voice Passive voice
event Kéuih sihksaai ngóh ge daahngōu. Ngóh ge daahngōu béi kéuih sihksaai.
He ate all my cakes. My cakes were all eaten by him.
Kéuih ge néuihpàhngyáuh táidóu Kéuih tùhng kèihtā néuihjái yātchàih
kéuih tùhng kèihtā néuihjái yātchàih sihk faahn béi kéuih ge néuih
sihk faahn. pàhngyáuh táidóu.
His girlfriend saw that he ate with That he ate with other girls was seen by
other girls. his girlfriend.

3.3 Discourse structure: sáusīn . . . chèuihchí jī'ngoih . . .

(‘first . . . in addition . . .’)
e.g., Sáusīn, ngóh hái daaihohk hohk gāmyùhng fōgeih, gānjyuh ngóh deui
tàuhjī hóu yáuh hingcheui. Chèuihchí jī'ngoih, ngóh hóu séung hái gwai
gūngsī gūngjok. Yānwaih yíhseuhng ge yùhnyān ngóh làih nī go jīuping
wúi, séung líuhgáai dōdī.
Firstly, I study fintech at university, and I am interested in investment. In addi-
tion, I really want to work in your company. For the above reasons, I have
come to this job fair and wish to understand more.
Sáusīn, nī douh wàahn'gíng hóu hóu, juhng yáuh hóu dō chitsī. Chèuihchí
jī'ngoih nī go deihkēui fuhgahn yáuh hóu dō hóu ge hohkhaauh, néih ge
síupàhngyáuh jēunglòih hóyíh hái fuhgahn duhk syū. Yānwaih yíhseuhng
ge yùhnyān, ngóh gaaisiuh néih jyuh hái nī go deihkēui.
Firstly, the environment here is nice, and there are lots of facilities. In addition,
there are many nice schools near this area, and your children in the future can study
there. It is because of the above reasons (that) I recommend you live in this area.

4 Additional text 🎧
Welcoming speech at the opening ceremony

Gok wái gābān, gok wái làih chāamgūn jínláahm ge pàhngyáuh, daaihgā hóu!
Fūnyìhng chāamgā gāmyaht ge hōimohkláih.
Nī go jínláahm ge jaahnjoh haih Hēunggóng Sipyíngsī Hipwúi tùhng Wíhng
Taai Sipyíng Heichòih Gūngsī. Ngóh doihbíu Hēunggóng Sipyíngsī Hipwúi
fūnyìhng daaihgā.
Ngóhdeih gām chi ge sipyíng jínláahm jaahphahp yāt bāan Hēunggóng
jyumìhng sipyíngsī. Nī bāan sipyíngsī ge jokbán wúih béi ngóhdeih jínsih chēutlàih.
Nī go jínláahm ge juhngdím haih jínsih dōngdoih Hēunggóng sāngwuht ge bāttùhng
fōngmihn. Nī chi ge jínláahm yáuh hóu dō m̀tùhng júngleuih ge seungpín.
Sáusīn, yáuh dī seungpín haih gwāanyū Hēunggóng ge gauh kēui, hóuchíh
92 Gáulùhng Sìhng tùhng Sām Séui Bóu.
Yìhnhauh yáuh dī seungpín haih gwāanyū dōngdoih Hēunggóng, tùhngmàaih
yihndoih jyuhjáak kēui tùhng kaumaht jūngsām ge sāngwuht.
Chèuihchí jī'ngoih, yáuh dī seungpín haih gwāanyū ginjūk, kèihtā haih
gwāanyū yàhn, bāaukwut m̀tùhng deihfōng tùhng m̀tùhng jīkyihp ge yàhnmát
chiujeuhng. Ngóhdeih nī chi ge sipyíng jín hēimohng dōngdoih Hēunggóng ge 9
m̀tùhng deihkēui tùhng yàhnmàhn ge sāngwuht wúih tūnggwo seungpín jínsih Organizing a
chēut làih. cultural
Ngóhdeih gāmyaht hōimohkláih jīhauh, wúih yáuh yāt go yàuh sipyíngsī event
chānsān daai líhng ge douhséung jínsih kéuihdeih ge jokbán.
Hēimohng daaihgā nàhnggau hóu hóu héungsauh ngóhdeih nī go gam yáuh
yiyih ge màhnfa wuhtduhng.
Jūk daaihgā yáuh yāt go yuhfaai ge táiyihm.

Here are some more phrases in the additional text:

gām chi yāt bāan tūnggwo jiupín Chèuihchí jī'ngoih, . . .

this time a group of through photographs In addition, . . .
chānsān nàhnggau héungsauh yuhfaai táiyihm
in person be able to to enjoy delightful experience

5 Exercises and practice

5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated

conversation and additional text:
Charlotte tùhng kéuih ge seuhngsī hōi wúi. Kéuihdeih kīng dī mātyéh nē?

Nī chi wuhtduhng ge jyútàih haih mātyéh nē? Charlotte yáuh móuh hingcheui
bōngsáu nē?

Nī chi ge sipyíng jín wúih yáuh dī mātyéh seungpín nē?

Peter wúih fuhjaak mātyéh nē?

Katie wúih fuhjaak mātyéh nē?

93
Charlotte wúih bōngsáu jouh mātyéh nē?
9 Néih deui nī go jínláahm yáuh móuh hingcheui nē?
Organizing a
cultural
event

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

. . . yìhnhauh . . .

Chùhng nī go gokdouh làih tái, . . .

yātdaahn . . ., jauh . . .

yāt bāan . . .

sáusīn . . . chèuihchí jī'ngoih . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:
jyuhjaak kēui jínláahm gauh kēui bouji seungpín
doihbíu ginjūk tūngjī làahmsìh jokbán

94
5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this 9
pronunciation exercise: 🎧 Organizing a
cultural
event
Yàuh jí yàhm
– Maahng Gāau

Chìh móuh sáu jūng sin,

yàuh jí sān seuhng yī.
Làhm hàhng maht maht fùhng,
yi húng chìh chìh gwāi.
Sèuih yìhn chyun chóu sām,
bou dāk sāam chēun fāi.

5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short

paragraph and read it aloud in response to the
information provided:
Yáuh yàhn wah yāt go sìhngsíh ge gauh kēui bītsēui bóulàuh. Dōu yáuh yàhn
wah bóulàuh gauh kēui yínghéung sìhngsíh faatjín. Néih hàahng gāai ge sìh-
hauh, yáuh yàhn fóngmahn néih, chéng néih góng chēut néih ge yigin.

Nèih tùhng pàhngyáuh kīnggái. Néihdeih kīngháh jeuigahn táigwo ge jínláahm.

Chéng néih gaaisiuh yāt go néih táigwo ge jínláahm.

95
 LESSON 10
Living and studying in Hong Kong
Hái Hēunggóng sāngwuht tùhng duhksyū

Activity: Talking about living and studying Hong Kong.

1 Situated conversation 🎧
Context: Charlotte’s professor has asked her to talk to two prospective students
from Guangzhou, who are thinking about coming to study a B.A. in Communication
Studies at her university. One student, Lin Xiaohan, is female; the other student,
Zhang Wenbo, is male. Charlotte sits with them in the students’ lounge and does her
best to answer their questions about living and studying in Hong Kong.
Charlotte ge gaausauh giu kéuih tùhng léuhng go lòihjih Gwóngjāu ge
hohksāang kīngháh gái, kéuihdeih séung hái Charlotte ge daaihhohk duhk
Chyùhnbo Hohk Hohksih Hohkwái. Yāt go hohksāang, Lin Xiaohan, haih yāt
go néuih hohksāang, lihng yāt go hohksāang, Zhang Wenbo, haih yāt go nàahm
hohksāang. Charlotte tùhng kéuihdeih chóh hái hohksāang yāusīksāt wùihdaahp
kéuihdeih gwāanyū hái Hēunggóng sāngwuht tùhng duhksyū ge mahntàih.

Cantonese text English gloss

Charlotte: Xiaohan tùhng Wenbo néih
hóu! Ngóh haih Charlotte.
Davis gaausauh góng béi ngóh
jī néihdeih séung sānchíng
ngóhdeih ge hohksih hohkwái
fochìhng.
Kéuih séung ngóh gin néihdeih,
gám ngóh hóyíh góng béi
néihdeih jī hái Hēunggóng
sāngwuht tùhng duhksyū ge
chìhngfong.
Hi Xiaohan and Wenbo! I’m
Charlotte.
Professor Davis told me that
you are applying to our B.A.
programme.
He wanted me to meet you, so
that I could tell you about living
and studying in Hong Kong.

96

DOI: 10.4324/9781003083702-10
 Cantonese text
Waahkjé ngóhdeih hóyíh yàuh
tóuleuhn daaihhohk sāngwuht
hōichí. Néihdeih yáuh móuh
gwāanyū hohkjaahp ge
mahntàih nē?
Xiaohan: Wenbo tùhng ngóh dōu deui
chyùhnbo hohk hóu yáuh
hingcheui. Néih hó m̀ hóyíh
góng dō dī nī go fochìhng ge
jīlíu béi ngóhdeih tēng nē?
Charlotte: Hóu a. Chyùhnbo Hohk
Hohksih Fochìhng muhkdīk
haih gaauyuhk hohksāang
jeunhàhng mùihtái yìhn'gau,
gám kéuihdeih hóyíh chùhngsih
gwónggou, sānmàhn,
gūngguhng gwāanhaih, tùhng
séhgāau mùihtái ge gūngjok.
Fochìhng ge yāt bouhfahn haih
gwāanyū léihleuhn ge, sipkahp
gwónggou, daaihjung chyùhnbo,
tùhng seuifuhk geihháau,
dángdáng ge tàihmuhk.
Bātgwo fochìhng dōu yáuh
fēisèuhng sahtyuhng ge yāt
mihn ge, néih juhng wúih yáuh
gēiwuih hái búndeih ge mùihtái
gūngsī sahtjaahp johkwàih
hohkjaahp ge yāt bouhfahn.
Yùhgwó néih séung bātyihp
jīhauh wándóu gūng, sahtjaahp
haih fēisèuhng yáuhyuhng ge.
Wenbo: Hái jīusāng góngjoh léuih
mihn, kéuihdeih góng béi
ngóhdeih jī hohksāang hái
daihyāt nìhn yiu duhk tūngsīk
gaauyuhk fochìhng.
Nī dī fochìhng haih gwāanyū
mātyéh ga?
English gloss 10
Living and
Perhaps we could start by studying in
discussing the university. Do Hong Kong
you have any questions about
studying here?
Wenbo and I are both interested
in Communication Studies.
Could you tell us more about the
programme, please?
Well. The B.A. in
Communication Studies aims
at educating students in media
studies, so that they can then
go on to work in advertising,
journalism, public relations, and
social media.
Part of the programme is
theoretical, dealing with theories
relating to advertising, mass
communications, and persuasion,
topics like that.
But there is also a very practical
side to the programme, and you’ll
also have the chance to do an
internship with a local media
company as part of your studies.
And that’s very useful, if you
want to get a job after graduation.
In the admissions talk, they told
us that all the students need to
take general education courses in
the first year.
What are these courses about?
(Continued )
97
10 (Continued)
Living and
studying
Cantonese text
in Hong Kong
Charlotte: Nī dī fochìhng haih mihnheung
sóyáuh daaihhohksāang ge
yahpmùhn fochìhng. Gēibún ge
séungfaat haih béi hohksāang
hóyíh jipjūk m̀ tùhng ge
fōmuhk.
Hái tūngsīk fochìhng léuih
mihn, yàhnmàhn hohkfō tùhng
séhwúi fōhohk ge hohksāang
hóyíh hohkjaahp fōhohk tùhng
fōgeih, hohk gūngchìhng tùhng
fōhohk ge hohksāang hóyíh
hohkjaahp màhnfa yìhn'gau
tùhng m̀tùhng ge yúhyìhn.
Xiaohan: Kéuihdeih dōu tàihdou yáuh
hohksāang gāaulàuh gaiwaahk,
gám ngóhdeih jauh hóyíh hái
Ajāu, Āujāu tùhng Bāk Méih
ge kèihtā daaihhohk jeunhàhng
yāt dou léuhng go hohkkèih ge
hóingoih hohkjaahp.
Nī dī fochìhng tái héi làih hóu
yáuhcheui. Ngóhdeih dímyéung
sānchíng nī dī hohksāang
gāaulàuh gaiwaahk nē?
Charlotte: Néih hóyíh hái daihyāt nìhn
hōichí nám néih ge gaaulàuh
gaiwaahk. Néih sēuiyiu
wándóu néih yáuh hingcheui ge
daaihohk ge sēunggwāan jīlíu.
Yāt dī gāaulàuh fochìhng
sēuiyiu yātdihng ge tìuhgín,
hó'nàhng yáuh ngoihyúh
yīukàuh. Hóu dō sìh kéuihdeih requirement. Very often they
kèihmohng sēungdōng gōu ge
Yīngyúh séuipìhng.
Daahnhaih yùhgwó néih yáuh
gēiwuih heui hóingoih gāaulàuh, on an exchange overseas, I’d
ngóh wúih ginyíh néih heui.
Ngóh gokdāk deui néih
98 làih góng haih hóu hóu ge
hohkjaahp gēiwuih.
English gloss
These are introductory courses
for all students in the university.
The general idea is to give
students exposure to a wide range
of ideas.
In the general education courses,
students in the humanities and
social sciences can learn about
science and technology, and the
engineering and science students
can learn about cultural studies
and different languages.
They also mentioned that
there are student exchange
programmes, so that we can study
overseas for one semester or
two, at other universities in Asia,
Europe, and North America.
These programmes look really
interesting. How can we apply
for these student exchange
programmes?
You can start planning your
exchange during the first year.
You need to find out clear
information about the particular
university that you are interested
in.
Some exchange programmes
have certain prerequisites, and
there may be a foreign language
expect a reasonably high
proficiency in English.
But if you get the chance to go
really recommend it. It’s a great
opportunity for you, I think.
 Cantonese text
Wenbo: Gám, jyuh hái Hēunggóng
dím nē?
Kéuihdeih wah ngóhdeih hóyíh
jyuh hái hohksāang sūkse léuih
mihn.
Yùhgwó wán jihgéi ge dāanwái
nē? Hó m̀ hó'nàhng nē?
Charlotte: Goyàhn gokdāk jyuh hái
hohkhaauh léuih mihn hóu
fōngbihn wo.
Néih m̀sái múih yaht chóh chē
heui daaihohk. Tùhngmàaih
néih hóyíh yuhng hohkhaauh
ge gihnsānfòhng tùhng kèihtā
chitsī.
Daaihohk yáuh ngàhnhòhng,
syūdim, chánsó, hohksāang
faahntòhng, tùhng chīukāp
síhchèuhng. Sóyíh yātchai dōu
hóu fōngbihn.
Daahnhaih yáuh dī hohksāang
séung jyuh hái hohkhaauh
ngoih mihn. Sóyíh kéuihdeih
wúih tùhng tùhnghohk tùhng
pàhngyáuh yātchàih jōu yāt go
dāanwái. Gám yéung faiyuhng
wúih hahpléihdī.
Xiaohan: Charlotte, dōjeh néih béi nī dī Charlotte, thank you for giving us
yáuhyuhng ge jīlíu ngóhdeih a. this useful information. It’s really
Jānhaih fēisèuhng yáuh
bōngjoh a!
Charlotte: Yùhgwó néihdeih juhng yáuh
kèihtā ge mahntàih, néihdeih
hóyíh dihnyàuh ngóh, ngóh
wúih jeuhnlihk wùihdaap
néihdeih ge mahntàih ge.
Xiaohan Fēisèuhng gámjeh néih!
and
Wenbo:
English gloss 10
Living and
Well, what about living in Hong studying in
Kong? Hong Kong
They said that we can
probably get a place in a student
dormitory.
What about getting our own
apartment? Is that possible?
Personally, I think that living on
campus is very convenient.
You don’t need to commute to
the university every day. And
you can use the gym and other
facilities on the campus.
The university has banks,
bookstores, a medical clinic,
student canteens, and a
supermarket. So everything’s
very convenient.
But some students do want to live
off the campus. So they usually
get classmates and friends to
share an apartment. And that
makes the cost more reasonable.
very helpful!
If you have any more questions,
you can always email me, and
I’ll do my best to answer your
questions.
Thank you very much!
99
10 2 Relevant phrases 🎧
Living and
studying
in Hong Kong Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss
Chyùhnbo Hohk noun B.A. in Communication
Hohksih Hohkwái Studies
chyùhnbo hohk noun communication studies
hohksih hohkwái noun bachelor’s degree
hohksāang yāusīksāt noun students’ lounge
wùihdaahp verb to answer
gaauyuhk verb to educate
noun education
jeunhàhng verb to conduct, to carry out
mùihtái yìhn'gau noun media studies
chùhngsih verb to engage in
gūngguhng gwāanhaih noun public relations
léihleuhn noun theory
sipkahp verb to involve
daaihjung chyùhnbo noun mass media
seuifuhk geihháau noun persuasion
sahtyuhng adjective practical
mùihtái gūngsī noun media company
jīusāng góngjoh noun admission talk
daihyāt nìhn phrase first year
tūngsīk gaauyuhk noun general education
mihnheung verb to face
yahpmùhn fochìhng noun introductory course
gēibún ge séungfaat phrase basic idea
fōmuhk noun school subject
yàhnmàhn hohkfō noun humanities
séhwúi fōhohk noun social science
fōhohk noun science
fōgeih noun technology
gūngchìhng noun engineering
màhnfa yìhn'gau noun cultural studies
yúhyìhn noun language
tàihdou verb to mention
hohksāang gāaulàuh noun student exchange
100 gaiwaahk programme
gāaulàuh noun exchange
Yale romanization Grammatical form/function English gloss 10
Living and
Bāk Méih noun North America studying in
Hong Kong
hohkkèih noun semester
hóingoih adverb overseas
yātdihng ge tìuhgín phrase certain prerequisites
hó'nàhng adjective possible
noun possibility
ngoihyúh noun foreign language
hóu dō sìh phrase very often
kèihmohng verb to expect
noun expectation
sēungdōng gōu phrase quite high
Yīngyúh séuipìhng noun English language
proficiency
sūkse noun dormitory
yāt go dāanwái noun an apartment
goyàhn adjective personal, individual
gihnsānfòhng noun gym
chitsī noun facility
syūdim noun bookstore
hohksāang faahntòhng noun student canteen
jōu verb to rent
faiyuhng noun fee, expense
hahpléih adjective reasonable
dihnyàuh noun e-mail

Here are some phrases and constructions you can use in daily conversation:

lòihjih . . . ge hohksāang students from . . .

yàuh tóuleuhn . . . hōichí
yáuh . . . ge yāt mihn
johkwàih . . . ge yāt bouhfahn.
yātchai dōu . . .
Jānhaih fēisèuhng yáuh bōngjoh!
Fēisèuhng gámjeh néih!
Jihkdāk góng ge haih . . .
yáuh ginchitsing ge . . .
Ngóh jānhaih dahng néih hōisām.
Ngóh hóu gōuhing hóyíh chāamgā . . .
Fēisèuhng gámjeh néihdeih ge bōngjoh.
Ngóh bíusih chūngsām gámjeh.
to start by discussing . . .
have a . . . side
as part of . . .
everything is . . .
It’s really very helpful!
Thank you very much!
it is worth mentioning that . . .
constructive . . .
I am really happy for you.
I am very happy to participate in . . . 101
Thank you very much for your help.
I express my wholehearted thanks.
10 3 Learning points
Living and
studying 3.1 Construction: ḿwúih ḿ . . . (‘will definitely . . .’)
in Hong Kong
Double negative construction is using two forms of grammatical negation in one sentence.
In Cantonese, double negatives cancel out one another and produce a strong affirmative.

e.g., Ngóh m̀ wúih m̀geidāk nī chi ge sahtjaahp gīngyihm.

I will definitely remember the experience of this internship programme.
Néih haih ngóh jeui hóu ge pàhngyáuh. Ngóh gánghaih m̀wúih m̀ bōng
néih lā.
You are my best friend. I will definitely help you.

3.2 Discourse structure: yùhgwó . . . yìhché . . . gám . . .

(‘if . . . and . . ., then . . .’)
e.g., Yùhgwó yāt go yàhn m̀ jouh wahnduhng, yìhché sìhsìhdōu hóu yeh fan-
gaau, gám kéuih ge sāntái yātdihng m̀ wúih hóu.
If a person does not take exercise, and always goes to bed late, then he will not
be healthy.
Yùhgwó ngóhdeih yáuh hó'kaau ge tàuhjī gaiwaahk, yìhché yáuh ūkkéi
yàhn tùhng pàhngyáuh yātchàih, gám ngóhdeih wúih yáuh yāt go hōisām
ge teuiyāu sāngwuht.
If we have reliable investment plans, and (you) are accompanied by family and
friends, then we will have a happy retirement life.

4 Additional text 🎧
Part of the admissions talk

Fūnyìhng gok wái tùhnghohk tùhng gājéung làih dou gāmyaht ge daaihhohk
jīseun yaht. Gāmyaht ge jīseun yaht wúih yáuh hóu dō m̀tùhng ge góngjoh,
hēimohng daaihgā hóyíh ganggā líuhgáai ngóhdeih ge daaihohk. Ngóh doihbíu
daaihhohk fūnyìhng daaihgā.
Sáusīn dáng ngóh gaaisiuhháh ngóhdeih ge daaihhohk. Ngóhdeih ge daaih-
hohk haih yāt gāan junghahp yìhng daaihhohk, m̀jí jyujuhng gaauhohk tùhng
yìhn'gau, dōu hóu juhngsih hohksāang jíngtái ge faatjín.
Ngóhdeih ge daaihhohk yáuh baat go Hohkyún, bāaukwut Màhn Hohkyún,
Sēung Hohkyún, Gaauyuhk Hohkyún, Gūngchìhng Hohkyún, Faatleuht
Hohkyún, Léih Hohkyún, Séhwúi Fōhohk Hohkyún tùhng Yī Hohkyún. Tùhng-
hohk hóyíh gān'geui jihgéi ge hingcheui sānchíng nī dī hohkyún léuih mihn ge
fōmuhk. Ngóhdeih daaihhohk ge móhngjaahm dōu yáuh chèuhngsai ge jīlíu,
daaihgā m̀wúih wán m̀dóu sēuiyiu ge jīlíu ge.
102 Múih yāt go daihyāt nìhn ge hohksāang dōu sēui yiu sāuduhk Daaihhohk
Tūngsīk Fochìhng. Ngóhdeih daaihhohk ge Tūngsīk Fochìhng haih saigaai
yáuhméng ge. Hái fochìhng léuih mihn, hohksāang hóyíh yáuh gēiwuih jipjūk
m̀tùhng ge fōmuhk tùhng séungfaat.
 Hái tūngsīk fochìhng léuih mihn, yàhnmàhn hohkfō tùhng séhwúi fōhohk ge 10
hohksāang hóyíh hohkjaahp fōhohk tùhng fōgeih, hohk gūngchìhng tùhng fōhohk Living and
ge hohksāang hóyíh hohkjaahp màhnfa yìhn'gau tùhng m̀tùhng ge yúhyìhn. studying in
Ngóhdeih ge daaihhohk haih yāt go gwokjaifa ge daaihhohk. Daaihhohk yáuh Hong Kong
hóu dō m̀tùhng gwokgā tùhng deihkēui làih ge hohksāang. Ngóhdeih dōu yáuh
hóu dō gwokjai gāaulàuh gaiwaahk. Ngóhdeih ge hohksāang hóyíh hái Ajāu,
Āujāu tùhng Bāk Méih ge kèihtā daaihhohk jeunhàhng yāt dou léuhng go hohk-
kèih ge hóingoih hohkjaahp. Sóyáuh ngóhdeih daaihhohk ge hohksāang dōu
hóyíh sānchíng. Nī dī gāaulàuh gaiwaahk deui tùhnghohk làih góng haih hóu
hóu ge hohkjaahp gēiwuih. Hóu sauh tùhnghohk fūnyìhng.
Yùhgwó ngóhdeih ge hohksāang séung jyuh hái daaihhohk léuih mihn, yìhché
séung yuhng daaihhohk ge chitsī, gám hóyíh sānchíng daaihhohk sūkse.
Hohkhaauh léuih mihn yáuh ngàhnhòhng, syūdim, chánsó, hohksāang
faahntòhng, tùhng chīukāp síhchèuhng. Sóyíh yātchai dōu wúih hóu fōngbihn.
Nī go gaaisiuh wúi jīhauh, daaihgā hóyíh chāamgā m̀tùhng hohkyún ge gaai-
siuh wúih, dōu hóyíh tùhng ngóhdeih ge gaausauh kīnggái tùhng líuhgáaiháh
m̀tùhng fochìhng ge chìhngfong.
Hēimohng daaihgā gāmyaht hóyíh dākdóu yáuhyuhng ge jīseun tùhng
sāmyahp líugaai ngóhdeih ge daaihhohk tùhng fochìhng.

Here are some more phrases in the additional text:

gājéung jīseun yaht ganggā junghahp yìhng jyujuhng

parents information day even more daaihhohk to emphasize
comprehensive
university
gaauhohk juhngsih jíngtái Hohkyún Màhn
teaching and pay attention to overall Faculty Hohkyún
learning Faculty of Arts
Gaauyuhk Gūngchìhng Faatleuht Léih Hohkyún Séhwúi Fōhohk
Hohkyún Hohkyún Hohkyún Faculty of Science Hohkyún
Faculty of Faculty of Faculty of Faculty of
Education Engineering Law Social Science
Yī Hohkyún chèuhngsai múih yāt gwokjaifa yìhché
Faculty of detailed go internationalized moreover
Medicine each

5 Exercises and practice

5.1 Answer the following questions based on the situated

conversation and additional text:
Charlotte wúih gin léuhng go hái Gwóngjāu làih ge hohksāang, dímgáai nē?

103
10 Charlotte wah Chyùhnbo Hohk Hohksih Hohkwái ge jyúyiu muhkdīk haih
Living and mātyéh nē?
studying
in Hong Kong

Daaihhohk Tūngsīk Fochìhng haih dímyéung ge fochìhng nē?

Hohksāang gāaulàuh gaiwaahk haih mātyéh gaiwaahk a? Dō m̀ dō hohksāang

sānchíng a?

Dímgáai yáuh dī daaihhohksāang daihyāt nìhn jauh yiu hōichí jéunbeih

sānchíng hóingoih gāaulàuh gaiwaahk nē?

Charlotte ge daaihohk yáuh mātyéh chitsī nē?

Hái Charlotte ge daaihohk, hohksāang hó m̀ hóyíh jyuh hái sūkse a? Charlotte

wah jyuh hái sūkse hóu m̀ hóu nē?

5.2 Use the following constructions to make sentences:

ngóh hóu gōuhing hóyíh chāamgā. . .

yàuh . . . hōichí

104
lòihjih . . . ge hohksāang 10
Living and
studying in
Hong Kong

m̀ wúih m̀ . . .

yùhgwó . . . yìhché . . . gám . . .

5.3 Use at least five words from the list below to write a

short story:
yúhyìhn gaauyuhk hahpléih fōgeih gāaulàuh
sūkse chitsī hó'nàhng sahtyuhng fōmuhk

5.4 Read the following classical poem aloud in this

pronunciation exercise: 🎧

Sung Douh Siu Fú Jī Yahm Suhk Jāu

– Wòhng Buht

Sìhng kyut fuh sāam chèuhn,

fūng yīn mohng nǵh jēun.
Yúh gwān lèih biht yi,
tùhng sih waahn yàuh yàhn. 105
Hói noih chyùhn jī géi,
tīn ngàaih yeuhk béi lèuhn.
Mòuh wàih joih kèih louh,
yìh néuih guhng jīm gān.
10 5.5 For each of the two situations below, write a short
Living and paragraph and read it aloud in response to the
studying
in Hong Kong
information provided:
Néih tùhng pàhngyáuh sihkfaahn kīnggái. Néihdeih dōu góng jihgéi ge daai-
hohk sāngwuht. Chéng néih góng béi néih ge pàhngyáuh jī néih ge daaihohk
sāngwuht haih dímyéung ge.

Néih yáuh yāt go pàhngyáuh. Kéuih hóu séung hái daaihhohk duhk yāmngohk,
daahnhaih kéuih ge bàhbā màhmā m̀tùhngyi yānwaih kéuihdeih gokdāk duhk
yāmngohk jēunglòih hóu nàahn wán gūng. Néih ge pàhngyáuh yìhgā mahn néih
ge yigin. Chéng néih góngháh néih ge séungfaat.

106
APPENDIX 1
Glossary of linguistic terms

adjective: a class of words that describes and modifies nouns.

adverb: a class of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or sentences.
comparative: a form of adjective or adverb that expresses a higher degree of a
quality.
construction: a group of words that forms a constituent of a sentence.
determiner: a word that specifies, identifies, or quantifies the noun or noun phrase
that follows it.
negation: a linguistic mechanism to express a negative state of affairs. It indicates
the absence rather than the presence of distinguishing features.
noun: a class of words that names something, such as a person, place, thing, or idea.
phrase: a group of words forming a unit.
preposition: a word used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction,
time, place, location, or spatial relationships.
pronoun: a word used as a substitution for a noun or noun phrase, e.g., he, she, it,
they in English.
question word: a word used to ask certain types of questions, e.g., what, who, why
in English.
sentence-final particle: a word that occurs at the end of a sentence and does not
carry referential meaning.
verb: a class of words that show an action, occurrence, or state of being.
verb–object construction: a combination of a verb and a noun to form a ‘word-
like unit’, e.g., fan gaau (‘to sleep’) in Cantonese.

107
 APPENDIX 2
English translation of poems

The classical poems in each lesson have mainly been included for the purpose of
providing pronunciation practice. The poems also demonstrate various aspects of
rhyme and rhythm in Cantonese poetry. An English translation of these poems is
provided below.

Lesson 1
Ode to a goose
By Luo Binwang (c.640–c.684)
Goose, goose, goose,
you bend your neck towards the sky and sing.
Your white feathers float on the green water,
your red feet push the clear waves.

Lesson 2
Spring Morning
By Meng Haoren (c.689–c.740)
Spring morning arrives unnoticed in my slumber.
I hear birds twittering everywhere.
I heard the sounds of wind and showers in the night.
Do you know how many flowers were blown away?

Lesson 3
Setting Off Early from Baidi City
By Li Bai (701–762)
I depart from Baidi in the morning amongst colourful clouds,
traveling thousands of miles to Jiangling in a single day.
Hearing gibbons and monkeys from the shore,
108 my little boat passes thousands of mountain peaks.
Lesson 4 Appendix 2
English
translation of
Sympathy for the Peasant poems
By Li Shen (c.772 –c.846)
He ploughs the rice field under the noonday sun,
his sweat dropping onto the soil of the field.
Do you know that in every bowl we eat,
each grain is the fruit of his hard work?

Lesson 5
Climbing the Stork Pavilion
By Wang Zhihuan (688–742)
I can see the sun setting behind the mountains,
the Yellow River is flowing to the sea.
To see scenery thousands of miles away,
I need to ascend to a higher level.

Lesson 6
Missing My Brothers in Shandong on the Double Nineth Festival
By Wang Wei (692–761)
I am a lone outsider in a foreign place,
and at every festival I miss my family.
I know that my brothers must be climbing the mountain
carrying dogwood sprays, but missing me.

Lesson 7
Farewell on the Grassland
By Bai Juyi (772–846)
A field of grass on the plains.
In one year it dies, but then revives.
Wildfires cannot wipe it out,
and the spring breeze brings it back to life.

Lesson 8
At the Yellow Crane Tower, Bidding Farewell to Meng Haoren, on His Way to
Guangling
By Li Bai (701–762) 109
Appendix 2 My old friend says farewell in the west at the Yellow Crane Tower.
English Amid the flower blossoms of March, he heads for Yangzhou.
translation of
In the distance he sails alone and vanishes into the blue-green mountains.
poems
I see only the Yangtze River flowing into the sky.

Lesson 9
A Traveller’s Song
By Meng Jiao (751–814)
A loving mother has needle and thread in her hand,
to make clothes for the son who is about to travel.
Before his departure she sews thread after thread,
worrying that his trip be delayed, and that he will return late.
Who can tell whether a tiny blade of grass
will ever repay the bright sunlight of spring?

Lesson 10
Farewell to Vice Prefect Du Leaving for a Post in Shuzhou
By Wang Bo (650–676)
The walls of Chang’an protect three districts.
Amid wind and haze you can see five rivers.
We bid each other a sad farewell,
we two officials are going opposite ways,
but we will remain good friends.
We are neighbours even though we are apart.
Let us not show sorrow at this fork in the road,
we should not be crying like children.

110
APPENDIX 3
List of learning points

Discourse structure: Yāt làih . . ., yih làih . . ., sāam làih . . . Lesson 1
(‘first . . ., second . . ., third . . .’)
Construction: yāt mihn X yāt mihn Y/yāt bihn X yāt bihn Y Lesson 2
(‘X and Y at the same time’)
Discourse structure: sáusīn . . . yìhnhauh . . . juhng yáuh . . . Lesson 2
(‘first . . . then . . . in addition . . .’)
Construction: yàuhyū . . . (ge) gwāanhaih (‘because of . . .’), Lesson 3
(‘due to . . .’)
Discourse structure: chùhng . . . hōichí, . . ., (yìhnhauh) . . ., Lesson 3
gānjyuh . . ., jeui hauh . . . (‘to begin with . . . (then) . . ., next . . .,
in the end . . .’)
Construction: Question word jauh Question word (‘whatever, Lesson 4
whoever, whenever, wherever, . . .’)
Discourse structure: sáusīn . . . kèihchi . . . lihngngoih . . . Lesson 4
(‘firstly . . . and then . . . in addition . . .’)
Construction: jēung X Verb (‘take X to Verb’) Lesson 5
Construction: Adjective- jó dī (‘a bit too/a little too Adjective’) Lesson 5
Discourse structure: Sáusīn. . . lihng yāt fōngmihn . . . Lesson 5
jeuihauh/júnggit . . . (‘firstly . . ., on the other hand . . .,
in the end . . .’)
Construction: yìh . . . (‘as for . . ., with regards to . . .’) Lesson 6
Discourse structure: jeui Adjective haih . . ., kèihchi jauh haih . . . Lesson 6
(‘the most . . . is, then . . . in addition to that . . .’)
Construction: làih . . . (‘in order to . . .’) Lesson 7
Discourse structure: m̀ léih . . . dōu . . . (‘no matter . . .. also . . .’) Lesson 7
Construction: búnlòih . . . hauhlòih/sāumēi/yìhgā . . . Lesson 8
(‘originally . . . later/finally/now . . .’)
Construction: bīn douh wúih/bīn douh hó’nàhng . . . ? Lesson 8
(‘how can . . . happen?’)

111
Appendix 3 Discourse structure: . . . haih . . ., dōu haih . . ., juhnghaih . . . Lesson 8
List of
(‘. . . to be . . ., also to be, furthermore . . .’)
learning
points Construction: yātdaan . . ., jauh . . . (‘once . . ., then . . .’) Lesson 9
Construction: . . . béi . . . (passive voice) Lesson 9
Discourse structure: sáusīn . . . chèuihchí jī'ngoih . . . Lesson 9
(‘first . . . in addition . . .’)
Construction: m̀wúih m̀ . . . (‘will definitely . . .’) Lesson 10
Discourse structure: yùhgwó . . . yìhché . . . gám . . . Lesson 10
(‘if . . . and . . ., then . . .’)

112
APPENDIX 4
List of relevant phrases

Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson

romanization form/function
Ajāu noun Asia Lesson 3
Āujāu noun Europe Lesson 7
baahn verb to run, to operate Lesson 6
baahnfaat noun method Lesson 4
baakfàhn jī seisahp sei phrase 44 percent Lesson 6
baakfahnjī gáusahp phrase 90 percent Lesson 7
báanbún noun version Lesson 8
baat yuht sahpnǵh phrase the fifteenth day of the Lesson 8
eighth month (lunar
calendar)
bāaukwut verb to include Lesson 1
Bāgēisíhtáan yàhn noun Pakistanis Lesson 6
Bāk Méih noun North America Lesson 10
Bāléih dóu noun the island of Bali Lesson 3
bātgei noun notes Lesson 6
bāttùhng fōngmihn phrase different aspects Lesson 9
béichoi noun competition Lesson 2
beimaht noun secret Lesson 8
bihnghàhng verb to go hand in hand, to be Lesson 7
parallel
bōng verb to help Lesson 2
bōngdóu verb can help Lesson 5
bōngjoh verb to help Lesson 5
noun help
bouhfahn noun part Lesson 6
bouhmùhn noun division, section, Lesson 5
department (company)
bouji verb to decorate Lesson 9
noun decoration
(Continued )
113
Appendix 4 (Continued)
List of
relevant Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson
phrases romanization form/function
bóulàuh verb to preserve Lesson 1
bóuwuh verb to protect Lesson 7
búndeih adjective local Lesson 3
búnfo noun undergraduate Lesson 5
chaakwaahk verb to plan, to engineer Lesson 9
cháansāng verb to generate Lesson 7
chānchīk noun relative Lesson 8
chánsó noun clinic Lesson 6
chau adjective smelly Lesson 1
chéng verb to invite Lesson 9
chéng yàhn verb–object to recruit people Lesson 4
construction
chèuhngsāngbātlóuh adjective immortal Lesson 8
Chèuhngtāan Dóu noun Boracay Island Lesson 3
chéuidoih verb to replace Lesson 7
chèuihsìh adverb at any time, whenever Lesson 9
necessary
chēutjihk verb to be present Lesson 9
chìhngfong noun situation, circumstances Lesson 9
chìhngléuih noun couple Lesson 8
chìhsin sihyihp noun charity Lesson 6
chīmdihng verb to sign Lesson 7
Chīng Mìhng Jit noun Ching Ming Festival Lesson 8
chīngchó adjective clear Lesson 4
Chīngjān jí noun mosque Lesson 6
chīngsiunìhn jūngsām noun youth centre Lesson 6
chitsī noun facility Lesson 10
chīusíh / noun supermarket Lesson 1
chīukāp síhchèuhng
chóichéui chousī phrase take action Lesson 7
chòihfu noun assets, wealth Lesson 7
chóiyuhng verb to use, to adopt Lesson 7
Chùhng Yèuhng Jit noun Chung Yeung Festival Lesson 8
chùhngsih verb to engage in Lesson 10
chūkjeun verb to facilitate Lesson 7
chūngdaht noun conflict Lesson 3
verb to conflict
chyúhléih / verb to handle, to process, to Lesson 3
chyuléih deal with
Chyùhnbo Haih noun Communications Lesson 6
Department (university)
114 chyùhnbo hohk noun communication studies Lesson 10
 Appendix 4
Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson List of
romanization form/function relevant
phrases
Chyùhnbo Hohk noun B.A. in Communication Lesson 10
Hohksih Hohkwái Studies
chyùhnsyut noun legend Lesson 8
chyùhntúng adjective traditional Lesson 1
noun tradition
daai verb to bring Lesson 7
daai líhng verb to lead, to guide Lesson 9
daaih chāan phrase big meal Lesson 4
daaih dō sou noun majority Lesson 7
daaih yìhng adjective large-scale Lesson 1
daaihjihyìhn noun nature Lesson 3
daaihjung chyùhnbo noun mass media Lesson 10
daaihyeuk adverb approximately Lesson 6
dāamsām verb to worry Lesson 2
dahkbiht gābān noun special guest Lesson 9
Dahksīlāai noun Tesla Lesson 7
daihyāt nìhn phrase first year Lesson 10
dájeung verb to fight (war) Lesson 8
dākdóu verb to obtain Lesson 9
dānggeichyu noun registration counter Lesson 9
dānglùhng noun lantern Lesson 8
deihhá phrase on the ground Lesson 1
deihkàuh seuhng phrase on planet earth Lesson 7
deihkēui noun area, district Lesson 3
dihnduhng chē noun electric car Lesson 7
dihnjí yàuhhei noun electronic games Lesson 2
dihnyàuh noun e-mail Lesson 10
dit chān phrase fall down Lesson 1
doihbíu noun representative Lesson 9
verb to represent
dōngdeih màhnfa noun local culture Lesson 1
dōngdoih noun contemporary Lesson 9
dongjyú noun stallholder Lesson 1
dōngyìhn adverb certainly Lesson 4
dou verb to arrive Lesson 9
Douh Gaau noun Taoism Lesson 6
douhséung noun guided tour, docent Lesson 9
dōyùhnfa adjective diverse Lesson 6
duhngmaht noun animal Lesson 7
Dyūn Nǵh Jit noun Dragon Boat Festival Lesson 8
dyún pín noun short film Lesson 2
Faatgwok noun France Lesson 4
115
(Continued )
Appendix 4 (Continued)
List of
relevant Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson
phrases romanization form/function
faatjínjūng gwokgā noun developing country Lesson 7
faatsāng verb to happen Lesson 7
faatyihn verb to discover Lesson 8
Faht daan noun Buddha’s birthday Lesson 6
Faht Gaau noun Buddhism Lesson 6
faht jí noun Buddhist temple Lesson 6
faiyuhng noun fee, expense Lesson 10
fēi verb to fly Lesson 8
Fēileuhtbān noun the Philippines Lesson 3
fochìhng noun course, programme Lesson 4
fōgeih noun technology Lesson 10
fōhohk noun science Lesson 10
fōmuhk noun school subject Lesson 10
fong hái daihyāt waihphrase to be put first Lesson 7
fong séuhng móhng phrase to put online Lesson 2
fōngfaat noun method Lesson 3
fóngmahn verb to interview Lesson 2
fōng'on noun proposal, scheme Lesson 3
fuhkmouh verb to serve Lesson 6
noun service
fuhmín yínghéung phrase negative influence Lesson 3
fūkjí noun well-being Lesson 7
fūng nàhng noun wind energy Lesson 7
gáaikyut verb to solve Lesson 3
gáamsíu verb to reduce Lesson 7
Gáanpòuhjaai noun Cambodia Lesson 3
gáau verb to stir, to disturb Lesson 1
gāau dói noun plastic bag Lesson 7
gāaulàuh noun exchange Lesson 10
gaausauh noun professor Lesson 7
gáausiu adjective funny Lesson 2
gaautòuh noun believer Lesson 6
gaauwúi noun church Lesson 6
gaauyuhk verb to educate Lesson 10
noun education
gahnnìhn phrase in recent years Lesson 3
gāi noun chicken Lesson 1
gaisyun verb to calculate Lesson 7
gajihk noun value Lesson 1
gajihk gūn noun values Lesson 6
gám(yéung) adverb this way Lesson 1
116 gāmyùhng fānsīk yùhn noun security analyst Lesson 5
 Appendix 4
Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson List of
romanization form/function relevant
phrases
gāmyùhng fōgeih noun fintech Lesson 5
gāmyùhng fōgeih noun financial technology Lesson 5
fānsīk analytics
gān'geui adverb on the basis of, according Lesson 6
to
gánjēung adjective nervous Lesson 3
gānjūk phrase to follow closely Lesson 1
gātìhng noun family, household Lesson 8
gātìhng jyúfúh noun housewife Lesson 1
gau adjective enough, sufficient Lesson 4
gauh kēui noun old district Lesson 9
Gáulùhng Sìhng noun Kowloon City Lesson 9
gāyahp verb to join, to become a Lesson 9
member
gēibún ge séungfaat phrase basic idea Lesson 10
geidāk verb to remember Lesson 3
Gēidūk Sān Gaau noun Protestantism Lesson 6
geihseuht noun technology, skill Lesson 7
geiluhk pín noun documentary Lesson 2
géuibaahn verb to hold, to run Lesson 9
gēuijyuh verb to live, to reside Lesson 7
gihnsānfòhng noun gym Lesson 10
gin mihn verb–object to meet Lesson 4
construction
Gīngdōu Yíhdihng Syū noun Kyoto Protocol Lesson 7
gīngjai noun economy Lesson 3
gīngjai faatjín noun economic development Lesson 7
gīngjai hohkgā noun economist Lesson 7
gingjāng noun competition Lesson 4
verb to compete
ginjaahp gīngléih noun trainee manager Lesson 5
ginjūk noun architecture Lesson 9
ginjūk wàahn'gíng noun the built environment Lesson 9
ginyíh noun suggestion Lesson 2
verb to suggest
gitgwó noun result Lesson 5
giufúlìhntīn phrase groaning Lesson 3
góisihn verb to improve Lesson 7
gōn fo noun dry goods Lesson 1
góngjoh noun lecture, seminar Lesson 3
góu noun manuscript, draft Lesson 1
gōuwān noun high temperature Lesson 8
117
(Continued )
Appendix 4 (Continued)
List of
relevant Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson
phrases romanization form/function
goyàhn adjective personal, individual Lesson 10
gú verb to guess Lesson 2
gu'haak noun customer Lesson 7
guhngchyùhn verb to coexist Lesson 7
gūng noun bow Lesson 8
gūngchìhng noun engineering Lesson 10
gūngguhng gwāanhaih noun public relations Lesson 10
gunghin noun contribution Lesson 6
verb to contribute
gūngjok noun job, task, work Lesson 4
gūngjok gīngyihm noun work experience Lesson 4
gūngjung gakèih noun public holiday Lesson 6
gūngyihp noun industry Lesson 7
gūnjung noun audience Lesson 2
gunkoi noun irrigation Lesson 3
verb to irrigate
gúnléih verb to manage Lesson 1
noun management
guntáu noun canned food Lesson 1
gúpiu noun stock, shares Lesson 4
gusih noun story Lesson 8
gwāanbai verb to shut down Lesson 3
adjective closed
noun closure
gwāanjyu preposition about, regarding Lesson 3
gwāndéui noun army Lesson 8
gwānyàhn noun soldier Lesson 8
gwodouh jāibīk phrase overcrowding Lesson 3
gwokgā noun country Lesson 3
hā noun shrimp Lesson 1
hàahng gwo phrase walk through Lesson 1
haahnjai noun restriction Lesson 7
verb to restrict, to limit
háaih noun crab Lesson 1
haakyàhn noun guest Lesson 9
hah mihn preposition below Lesson 7
Hàhngjing Júngchòih noun Chief Executive Officer Lesson 5
hahpléih adjective reasonable Lesson 10
hahpsīk adjective appropriate Lesson 4
verb to be suitable
hái bāan seuhng bihn phrase in class Lesson 6
118 hái géi yaht noih phrase in the next few days Lesson 9
 Appendix 4
Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson List of
romanization form/function relevant
phrases
haih jí phrase to be refer to Lesson 7
haihtúng noun system Lesson 3
hángdihng verb to affirm, to be sure Lesson 5
Hauh Ngaih noun Hou Yi Lesson 8
hauhlòih preposition then later Lesson 8
héikehk noun comedy Lesson 2
Héimáhlāaingá sāan noun the Himalaya mountains Lesson 3
heui m̀ dóu phrase cannot go Lesson 3
heung . . . kèihtóu phrase pray to . . . Lesson 8
hingcheui noun interest Lesson 2
hiptìuh verb to coordinate Lesson 3
noun coordination, conformity
hipwúi noun association Lesson 9
hó chìhjuhk faatjín noun sustainable development Lesson 7
hohkdóu verb have learnt Lesson 5
hohkjé noun scholar Lesson 6
hohkkèih noun semester Lesson 10
hohksāang faahntòhng noun student canteen Lesson 10
hohksāang gāaulàuh noun student exchange Lesson 10
gaiwaahk programme
hohksāang yāusīksāt noun students’ lounge Lesson 10
hohksih hohkwái noun bachelor’s degree Lesson 10
hohksīk phrase learnt Lesson 2
hohksīkjó verb have learnt Lesson 6
hóibou noun poster Lesson 9
hōijín verb to start (a plan) Lesson 1
hōimohk wuhtduhng noun opening event Lesson 9
hōimohk yín'góng noun opening speech Lesson 9
hōimohkláih noun opening ceremony Lesson 9
hóingoih adverb overseas Lesson 10
hóitāan noun beach Lesson 3
hó'nàhng adjective possible Lesson 10
noun possibility
hotmohng adjective eager Lesson 4
hóu dō sìh phrase very often Lesson 10
Húng Gaau noun Confucianism Lesson 6
hūnghei noun the air Lesson 7
jaahmsìh adjective provisional Lesson 5
jaahnjoh noun sponsor Lesson 9
verb to sponsor
jaahpfo póu noun grocery store Lesson 1
jaahphahp verb to gather, to bring Lesson 9
together 119

(Continued )
Appendix 4 (Continued)
List of
relevant Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson
phrases romanization form/function
jaai'hyun noun bond Lesson 4
jānggā verb to increase Lesson 7
jeuhnlihk verb to do the best Lesson 9
jeuihwuih noun gathering Lesson 8
jeun faai phrase as soon as possible Lesson 9
jēunchùhng verb to follow Lesson 7
jeundouh wúi noun progress meeting Lesson 9
jéungdaaih verb to grow up Lesson 5
jéungngāak verb to grasp Lesson 5
jeunhàhng verb to conduct, to carry out Lesson 10
jeunsīng verb to promote, to raise to a Lesson 5
higher position
jīgaak noun qualification Lesson 4
jihkmaht noun vegetation Lesson 7
jījoh verb to subsidize Lesson 6
jīkgihk adjective active, positive Lesson 7
jīk'waih noun position (company) Lesson 4
jīkyihp noun profession Lesson 9
jīkyùhn noun staff Lesson 5
jīlíu noun data Lesson 1
jin noun arrow Lesson 8
jīngchói adjective wonderful, brilliant Lesson 6
jingfú noun government Lesson 1
jingfú gūnyùhn noun government officials Lesson 9
jingmihn adjective positive Lesson 7
jīngsāu verb to levy Lesson 7
jīngtaam dihnyíng noun detective movie Lesson 2
jínláahm noun exhibition Lesson 9
jínláahn chèuhngdeih noun exhibition site Lesson 9
jínsih verb to exhibit Lesson 9
jipdóu verb have received Lesson 9
jipgahn verb to be close to, near Lesson 5
jipjūk verb to contact Lesson 3
jísih noun instruction, directive Lesson 1
verb to instruct
jisīk noun knowledge Lesson 2
jithohk noun philosophy Lesson 6
jityaht noun festival Lesson 8
jiujyuh verb to irradiate Lesson 8
jīuping gwónggou noun recruitment Lesson 4
advertisement
120 jīusāng góngjoh noun admission talk Lesson 10
 Appendix 4
Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson List of
romanization form/function relevant
phrases
jīyùhn noun resources Lesson 7
jokbán noun works Lesson 9
jōu verb to rent Lesson 10
jouhsìhng phrase to result in Lesson 3
jóujīk noun organization Lesson 6
verb to organize
juhngdím noun emphasis, main point Lesson 9
juhngyiusing noun importance Lesson 8
Jūngchāu Jit noun Mid-Autumn Festival Lesson 8
jūnggaau noun religion Lesson 6
jūnggaau seunyéuhng noun religious beliefs Lesson 6
jūnghohk noun secondary school Lesson 6
júngjuhk noun ethnicity Lesson 6
júngleuih noun type, kind Lesson 4
jyúbaahn fōng noun organizer Lesson 9
jyuchaak dānggei verb to register, to enrol Lesson 9
noun registration
jyuhjaak kēui noun housing estate Lesson 9
jyuhnkèih noun legend Lesson 8
jyumìhng adjective famous Lesson 9
jyūnmùhn adjective specialized Lesson 4
jyútàih noun theme Lesson 2
jyúyiu adjective main, chief Lesson 3
kāpyáhn verb to attract Lesson 3
kàuhjīk góngjoh noun recruitment talk Lesson 4
kàuhjīk móhngjaahm noun recruitment website Lesson 4
kaumaht dói noun shopping bag Lesson 7
kaumaht jūngsām noun shopping mall Lesson 9
kāutūng verb to communicate Lesson 8
kèihdoih verb to look forward to Lesson 4
kèihmohng verb to expect Lesson 10
noun expectation
kéihyihp yùhngjī noun corporate finance Lesson 5
kèuhng adjective strong Lesson 4
kīngháh phrase to have a chat Lesson 1
kokyihng verb to confirm Lesson 9
kwāigaak noun specification, standard Lesson 1
làahmsìh adjective provisional Lesson 9
laahpsaap noun rubbish Lesson 1
laihjí noun example Lesson 3
làuhhàhng màhnfa noun popular culture Lesson 2
làuhhàhng yāmngohk noun popular music Lesson 2
làuhleih adjective fluent Lesson 5 121

(Continued )
Appendix 4 (Continued)
List of
relevant Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson
phrases romanization form/function
léihleuhn noun theory Lesson 10
léihlihkbíu noun resume Lesson 4
leuihchíh ge sihchìhng
phrase similar situation Lesson 7
léuihyàuh yihp noun tourist industry Lesson 3
leuihyìhng noun genre Lesson 2
lihng yāt go laihjí phrase another example Lesson 3
líuhgáai verb to understand Lesson 5
noun understanding
lódóu verb have got Lesson 9
lohkyi adjective willing to Lesson 9
Lòhmáh noun Rome Lesson 6
lohngmaahn adjective romantic Lesson 8
lóuhyàhnyún noun old people’s home Lesson 6
lóusyú noun mouse Lesson 1
Lyùhnhahp Gwok noun United Nations Lesson 7
lyùhnlok verb to contact Lesson 9
Maahnggālāai yàhn noun Bangladeshis Lesson 6
maahnwá noun comics Lesson 2
máaih sung verb–object to buy materials for Lesson 1
construction cooking
máaihdóu phrase bought Lesson 1
màhnfa wuhtduhng noun cultural activity Lesson 9
màhnfa yìhn'gau noun cultural studies Lesson 10
màhngāan seunyéuhng noun folk beliefs Lesson 6
màhnjēung noun article, essay Lesson 3
mahtchit adjective close (relationship) Lesson 6
adverb closely (related)
Málòihsāia yàhn noun Malaysian Lesson 6
m̀gokyi phrase unconsciously Lesson 1
mìhngdāan noun name list Lesson 9
mìhngyàhn noun celebrities Lesson 9
mihnheung verb to face Lesson 10
mihnsíh noun job interview Lesson 4
miuhyúh noun Taoist temple Lesson 6
mó / verb to touch Lesson 1
dim
móhngseuhng síusyut noun online novel Lesson 2
muhkdīk noun purpose, objective, aim Lesson 7
muhn adjective boring Lesson 2
Mùhnggú yàhn noun Mongols Lesson 8
mùihtái gūngsī noun media company Lesson 10
122 mùihtái yìhn'gau noun media studies Lesson 10
 Appendix 4
Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson List of
romanization form/function relevant
phrases
m̀yuhnyi adjective unwilling Lesson 7
Nàahmyèuhng noun Nanyang Technological Lesson 5
Léihgūng Daaihhohk University (Singapore)
nàahndouh noun difficulty Lesson 1
Nèihpokyíh noun Nepal Lesson 3
ngaatlihk noun pressure Lesson 3
ngaihseuht noun art Lesson 6
ngàhnhòhng noun bank Lesson 4
Ngòhlòhsī noun Russia Lesson 7
ngoihwuih noun foreign currency Lesson 4
exchange
ngoihyúh noun foreign language Lesson 10
nī go hipyíh noun this protocol, this Lesson 7
agreement
nī léuhng gihn sih phrase these two matters Lesson 7
nìhnchīngyàhn noun young people Lesson 2
noihdeih noun mainland China Lesson 4
noihyùhng noun content Lesson 7
nouhlihk verb to try hard, to strive Lesson 7
nùhnglihk noun lunar calendar Lesson 8
nùhngyihp noun agriculture Lesson 7
oi verb to love Lesson 8
noun love
oi'hou noun hobbies Lesson 2
Oiyíhlàahn noun Ireland Lesson 7
ōnlóuhyún noun old people’s home Lesson 6
ōnpàaih verb to arrange Lesson 4
noun arrangement
pàaihfong noun emission Lesson 7
paak pín verb–object to shoot video Lesson 2
construction
paaksip verb to film Lesson 2
Póutūng'wá noun Putonghua Lesson 5
pui sósìh phrase to make a key cut Lesson 1
pùih verb to accompany Lesson 8
pùihyuhk verb to nurture Lesson 7
saatséi verb to kill Lesson 8
sahmji adverb even Lesson 1
sàhnwá noun myth, mythology Lesson 8
sahpsei saigéi phrase the fourteenth century Lesson 8
sahtyihn verb to achieve Lesson 7
sahtyuhng adjective practical Lesson 10
sāileih adjective formidable Lesson 2 123

(Continued )
Appendix 4 (Continued)
List of
relevant Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson
phrases romanization form/function
sākmúhn phrase stuffed, filled up with Lesson 3
Sām Séui Bóu noun Sham Shui Po Lesson 9
sāmlàhm noun forest Lesson 7
sānchíng verb to apply Lesson 4
sānfú adjective toilsome Lesson 3
sāngmaht noun living things Lesson 7
sāngtaai noun ecology Lesson 3
sāngtaai léuihyàuh / noun ecotourism Lesson 3
sāngtaai yàuh
sāngwuht noun life Lesson 3
sāng'wuht séuipìhng noun living standard Lesson 7
sānping adjective newly hired Lesson 5
sāp adjective wet Lesson 1
sāp fo noun wet goods Lesson 1
sātbaih verb to fail Lesson 8
noun failure
sáubīu noun wristwatch Lesson 1
sáufaat noun technique Lesson 2
sauhsī noun sushi Lesson 1
sáujaahp verb to gather, to collect Lesson 1
sāuléih verb to repair Lesson 1
sāumàaih verb to hide Lesson 8
sé chēutlàih phrase to write it down Lesson 7
séh verb to shoot Lesson 8
séhgāau mùihtái noun social media Lesson 2
Sehkhāk Gaau noun Sikhism Lesson 6
sehksih hohkwái noun master’s degree Lesson 4
sehksih leuhnmàhn noun master’s thesis Lesson 5
séhóu verb to write well Lesson 1
séhwúi noun community, society Lesson 6
séhwúi fōhohk noun social science Lesson 10
séhwúi fūkleih noun social welfare Lesson 6
sékēui noun community Lesson 8
séuhng móhng verb–object to go online Lesson 4
construction
Sèuhngngòh noun Chang’e Lesson 8
seuhngsī noun superior Lesson 9
seui noun tax Lesson 7
séui noun water Lesson 7
séuidouh tāitìhn noun rice terraces Lesson 3
seuifuhk geihháau noun persuasion Lesson 10
124 séuijīk phrase water stains Lesson 1
 Appendix 4
Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson List of
romanization form/function relevant
phrases
sēuiyiu verb to need to, to demand Lesson 5
noun need, requirement,
demand
Sēung Hohkyún noun Business School Lesson 5
séung yút verb–object to appreciate the moon Lesson 8
construction
sēungbán gāauyihk noun commodity exchange, Lesson 4
trading
sēungdōng gōu phrase quite high Lesson 10
séungfaat noun idea, view Lesson 1
sēunggwāan adjective interrelated, related Lesson 4
sēunglèuhng verb to discuss, to consult Lesson 5
seungpín / noun photograph Lesson 9
jiupín
sēungyihp séhwúi noun business world Lesson 5
seunsīk noun message Lesson 8
síhchèuhng noun market Lesson 5
sìhng sān phrase whole body Lesson 1
sìhng tou pín phrase the whole movie Lesson 2
sìhnggūng verb to succeed Lesson 4
sìhng'wàih verb to become Lesson 8
sīngyuh noun reputation Lesson 5
sipkahp verb to involve Lesson 10
sipyíng dim noun photographic shops Lesson 9
sipyíng heichòih gūngsī noun photo equipment Lesson 9
company
sipyíng jínláahm noun photographic exhibition Lesson 9
sipyíngsī noun photographer Lesson 9
sīséung noun thought, ideology Lesson 6
síu síu phrase a little Lesson 4
síuchaakjí noun brochure Lesson 9
sīuhín noun pastime Lesson 2
síuhohk noun primary school Lesson 6
sīusauh verb to sell Lesson 7
síyuhng verb to use, to make use of Lesson 7
noun use
sougeui noun data Lesson 6
sóyáuh adjective all Lesson 5
suhkjaahp verb to be familiar with Lesson 5
suhksihk noun cooked food Lesson 1
suhksīk verb to be familiar with Lesson 4
sūkse noun dormitory Lesson 10
syūdim noun bookstore Lesson 10 125

(Continued )
Appendix 4 (Continued)
List of
relevant Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson
phrases romanization form/function
syūnchyùhn verb to publicize Lesson 1
Taaigwok noun Thailand Lesson 3
taaiyèuhng noun sun Lesson 8
taaiyèuhng nàhng noun solar energy Lesson 7
taidoih nàhngyùhn noun alternative energy Lesson 7
táifaat noun views Lesson 2
tàihchēut verb to put forward, to propose Lesson 7
tàihdou verb to mention Lesson 10
tàihgōu verb to improve, to raise Lesson 5
tàihgūng verb to provide Lesson 3
tàihmuhk noun topic Lesson 3
tàihyi / noun suggestion, proposal Lesson 4
tàihyíh verb to suggest
tāu verb to steal Lesson 8
tàuhjī verb to invest Lesson 4
noun investment
tàuhjī fānsīk noun investment analysis Lesson 5
tàuhjī gūngsī noun investment management Lesson 4
firms
tàuhjī jóu'hahp gúnléih noun portfolio management Lesson 5
tàuhjī ngàhnhòhng / noun investment bank Lesson 4
tàuhhóng
tēuigwōng verb to popularize, to promote Lesson 7
tīn seuhng mihn phrase in the sky Lesson 8
Tīnjyú Gaau noun Catholicism Lesson 6
tìuh louh noun the road Lesson 8
tóuleuhn verb to discuss Lesson 1
Tóuyíhkèih yàhn noun Turkish people Lesson 6
tùhngsih noun colleague, co-worker Lesson 1
tùhngsìh adverb at the same time Lesson 3
tùhngyi verb to agree Lesson 9
noun agreement
tūngjī verb to inform Lesson 5
tūngsèuhng adverb generally, usually Lesson 1
tūngsīk gaauyuhk noun general education Lesson 10
tyùhndéui noun team Lesson 9
wàahn'gíng noun environment Lesson 3
waaihyàhn noun villain Lesson 2
wahnjok noun operation Lesson 4
wahnsung verb to transport Lesson 9
Wàhyàhn noun Chinese Lesson 6
126 waih preposition for Lesson 3
 Appendix 4
Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson List of
romanization form/function relevant
phrases
wán gūng verb–object to find a job Lesson 4
construction
Wān'gōwàh noun Vancouver Lesson 8
wòhhàaih adjective harmonious Lesson 7
noun harmony
Wòhngmóuh noun the Queen of Heaven Lesson 8
Nèuhngnèuhng
wuhtduhng chìhn phrase before the event Lesson 9
wuhtfa gaiwaahk noun revitalization project Lesson 1
wùihdaahp verb to answer Lesson 10
wūjōu adjective dirty Lesson 1
wūséui noun sewage Lesson 3
wūyíhm verb to pollute Lesson 3
noun pollution
yahmhòh determiner any Lesson 9
yàhnháu noun population Lesson 6
yàhnleuih noun human race Lesson 7
yàhnmàhn noun citizen, people Lesson 7
yàhnmàhn hohkfō noun humanities Lesson 10
yàhnmát chiujeuhng noun portraits of people Lesson 9
yahpjīk yīukàuh noun entering requirement Lesson 4
yahpmùhn fochìhng noun introductory course Lesson 10
yahtsèuhng sāngwuht noun everyday life Lesson 6
yahtyuhngbán noun daily necessities Lesson 1
yanchaat verb to print Lesson 9
Yandouh Gaau noun Hinduism Lesson 3
Yandouh yàhn noun Indian Lesson 6
Yannèih noun Indonesia Lesson 3
Yannèih yàhn noun Indonesian Lesson 6
yāt dyuhn sìhgaan phrase a period of time Lesson 1
yāt fahn boují noun a newspaper Lesson 3
yāt fahn gūng noun a job Lesson 4
yāt fahn hahpyeuk noun a contract Lesson 9
yāt fūng kàuhjīk seun noun a cover letter Lesson 4
yāt gāan gafē dim noun a coffee shop Lesson 4
yāt go bouhfahn noun one part Lesson 7
yāt go dāanwái noun an apartment Lesson 10
yāt go wáiyùhnwúi noun a committee Lesson 7
yāt haih liht phrase a series of Lesson 7
yāt jek toujái noun a rabbit Lesson 8
yāt nāp dāanyeuhk noun an elixir Lesson 8
yāt tou geiluhk pín noun a documentary Lesson 3
yātdihng ge tìuhgín phrase certain prerequisites Lesson 10 127

(Continued )
Appendix 4 (Continued)
List of
relevant Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson
phrases romanization form/function
yáuh sēuiyiu ge yàhn phrase people in need Lesson 6
yáuh yisī phrase meaningful Lesson 3
yáuhcheui adjective interesting Lesson 2
yàuhkèihsìh adverb especially Lesson 5
Yàuhtaai Gaau noun Judaism Lesson 6
yáuhyuhng adjective useful Lesson 4
yaujihyún noun kindergarten Lesson 6
yāumahk noun humour Lesson 2
adjective humorous
yigin noun advice, opinion Lesson 2
yíhkaau / verb to rely on Lesson 3
kaau
yihkdōu adverb also, too Lesson 6
yihndoih adjective modern Lesson 1
yihndoihfa adjective modernized Lesson 3
noun modernization
yìhngjeuhng noun image Lesson 1
yihngsīk verb to know, to be familiar, to Lesson 5
acquaint
noun understanding
yìhng'wahn verb to operate Lesson 6
yihng'wàih . . . verb to think that . . . Lesson 1
yihngyuhng noun application Lesson 5
verb to apply
yihpmouh wahnjohk noun business operation Lesson 4
yíhtàih noun issue Lesson 3
yihtdaai yúhlàahm noun rainforest Lesson 3
yihyéuhng fa taan noun carbon dioxide Lesson 7
yínghéung noun influence Lesson 3
verb to influence
yīnghùhng noun hero Lesson 8
yín'góng noun speech Lesson 3
Yīngyúh séuipìhng noun English language Lesson 10
proficiency
Yīsīlàahn Gaau / noun Islam Lesson 6
Wùih Gaau
yīuchíng verb to invite Lesson 9
noun invitation
yīuchíng kāat noun invitation card Lesson 9
yīukàuh noun requirement Lesson 4
verb to require
128 yú noun fish Lesson 1
 Appendix 4
Yale Grammatical English gloss Lesson List of
romanization form/function relevant
phrases
yuhk noun meat Lesson 1
yùhlohk noun entertainment Lesson 2
yùhnchyùhn adverb completely, entirely Lesson 3
yuhng verb to use Lesson 1
yùhngnaahp verb to accommodate Lesson 6
yùhnyān noun reason Lesson 3
yùhnyìh pín noun suspense movie Lesson 2
yuhtbéng noun mooncake Lesson 8
yuhtdái phrase end of the month Lesson 5
yuhtkàuh noun moon Lesson 8
yuhtleuhng noun moon Lesson 8
Yuhtnàahm noun Vietnam Lesson 3
yúhyìhn noun language Lesson 10

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