Pedagogical Manuals of Early Cantonese:
Incorporation and Reflection of Changes in Language
Cheung, Hung-nin Samuel
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Abstract
What do we teach in a foreign language class: the standard pronunciation and grammar as
prescribed by language authority or the common patois circulated among the populace? To
what extent do we intend our language materials to record and reflect ongoing changes in
speech?
Early pedagogues of Cantonese seemed more interested in teaching the language
as it was actually spoken, rather than promoting a standard form with prescriptive rules, as
would be the practice of later generations.
This paper examines a number of Cantonese
language textbooks of the 19th to 20th centuries and studies the various differences, both
phonological and grammatical, that we find in the lessons and explanatory notes. By placing
these differences in a chronological order, we are able to observe not only the patterns but
also the pace in which the language evolved during a rather short period of a hundred and
some years. The pedagogical manuals indeed constitute a rich collection of "authentic"
materials crucial to any attempt of a diachronic investigation.