Cantonese or Putonghua? Which one is better?
Recently, either in Hong Kong or in the Guangdong Province, there are officials suggesting replacing
Cantonese by Putonghua as the language in education and broadcasting. The logic is obvious. Putonghua is
the national language so it should be used more widely than any other languages or dialects. Such a great
language reform would bring many effects to society so it must be considered whole-heartedly.
As part of China, it is reasonable for Hong Kong to switch its mother-tongue to Putonghua, so as to
go in line with the national language. Nowadays, all the paperwork is still written in formal Chinese,
which is different from Cantonese, the informal dialect. Professionals from the education field are
worrying about the burgeoning use of the Internet which affects students’ ability to write in a formal way.
Putonghua, however, upholds formal Chinese grammar. You do not have to translate your words into
formal Chinese form before you write, but this is an essential step if you speak Cantonese. Thus, switching
our language to Putonghua may better students’ writing skills and restore the language standard of
students.
Apart from the benefits we receive in education, other areas like the entertainment field can also
benefit from it. Putonghua is a much more well-known language in the world than Cantonese. If we produce
songs and films all in Putonghua, there may be a greater number of people paying attention to our products.
This helps the promotion of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry. Even the world would again put Hong
Kong under the limelight like it was decades ago.
We can see the advantages of fading out Cantonese and replacing it by Putonghua, but there are still
fierce outcries throughout the Guangdong Province, aiming to protect Cantonese. People stay adamant and
think Cantonese should be treated as important as Putonghua. They have good reasons.
Ostensibly, Cantonese is the most popular language used in the country’s richest areas. This shows
that the use of Cantonese would not affect the competitiveness of people. Actually, Cantonese is so unique
that Putonghua cannot replace it. Everyone knows the poems from Tang Dynasty, and everyone knows that
the poems can be beautiful only when they are read aloud in Cantonese, with its unique rhythm and tone.
So why should we give up such a unique and wonderful language?
Moreover, Cantonese has its importance in communication and broadcasting. Compared with
Putonghua, it can be spoken in a more casual way. This makes a conversation more comfortable. Because of
the special words and sentence structures it has, it does a good job no matter it is used in a coarse way or
a refined way. No other languages or dialects serve the same function. If all the films from Stephen Chow
were made with Putonghua, they definitely would not be as funny as they are.
I think Cantonese should be retained in Hong Kong. Here, Putonghua has been integrated into the
secondary school curriculum and students are all learning Putonghua now. This policy has given full play
the positive effects of Putonghua on students’ written skills. There is no need to fade out Cantonese.
Furthermore, if we want to promote our songs and films, it is not about what language we use, it is about
how good our artworks are. Even in the 1960s and 1970s, Canton pop was the mainstream of music, but
our music could still get worldwide attention. Why? Simply because they were marvellous.
Hong Kong would not suffer a great loss if it does not fade out Cantonese. However, if we embrace
Putonghua and let Cantonese go, the benefits may not be able to cover the losses we are going to encounter.
More importantly, this hurts the feelings of people all over the Guangdong Province, who treat Cantonese as
their valuable cultural asset. It is always important to listen to the citizens and love what they love. For
the sake of this, robust debates are needed before the government takes any step forward.
As a local speaker of Cantonese, I would like to protect it as the city’s language because of its
uniqueness.
By 7A Cheung Hiu Tung (2010-2011)