Chapter 17 2. Cantonese "pushing" with you

Ao pry, the pronunciation in Cantonese is Ao (ao, Yin Qu Sheng) called (giu, Yin Qu Sheng).It means to have conflicts and make life difficult.Example: "This kid is naturally fond of flirting with other people (this kid is born to like to get along with people)." Many foreigners come to Guangdong, regardless of other things, it is very difficult just because of the language barrier. It often makes people feel that Cantonese is deliberately mixed with You "pry". However, Cantonese sometimes feel that it is Mandarin that is running on Cantonese. On the afternoon of July 25, 2010, more than 10,000 citizens gathered in the square near the Jiangnanxi exit of the Guangzhou Metro. These citizens protested the proposal of the Guangzhou CPPCC members through the behavior of "walking in Cantonese". The channel is changed to a program channel that uses Mandarin as the basic broadcasting language, or broadcasts in Mandarin during the main time periods of these two channels, so as to meet the needs of the language environment of domestic and foreign guests who will come to Guangzhou to participate in the Asian Games and travel in November.” .

Although the proposal itself is based on such considerations: for tourists who do not understand Cantonese, more programs broadcast in Mandarin will be added so that they can learn more about Guangzhou and obtain information.However, it seems to touch the nerves of Guangzhou people defending "local culture".This kind of reaction can't help but make people confused, because now almost every satellite TV broadcasts in Mandarin, and programs in dialects have attracted criticism instead.But Guangzhou is the opposite. Almost all TV broadcasts are in Cantonese, and the addition of Mandarin content has caused resistance.

Maybe Guangzhou people will justify themselves, how much affection they have with Cantonese.Just like Li Gongming said: "I am a native of Guangzhou. I grew up in the old city of Guangzhou. The partners who play together in the streets are also natives. We have a strong affection for Cantonese. First of all, it is a life The basic carrier of communication, it is not only relative to the pronunciation system of Chinese characters, but also includes various aspects of the history and culture of Guangzhou people. Many Cantonese cannot be accurately translated into Mandarin. It will lose a lot of charm and taste of Cantonese itself. This is also common in the translation process of various languages. Therefore, when we are more and more aware that in the era of modern globalization, Cantonese is indeed a language that Guangzhou people can communicate Unique carrier. When talking about the Cantonese expression in childhood, there will always be a sense of intimacy."

In fact, while Cantonese strongly defend Cantonese, they ignore the "violence" that Cantonese imposes on Hakka, Teochew and Hokkien. "Hong Kong was still a multi-dialect society in the early 1970s, and there were nine dialect groups with more than 1% of the population", but now "Cantonese is almost the only language" ("From Dialect Miscellaneous to Cantonese for host").Faced with the strength of Cantonese in Guangdong, Hong Kong and other places, as well as the decline of Hakka and other dialects, writer Tu Tengzi wrote in "Southern Weekend" that Hakka and other dialects are not inherently inferior to Cantonese, "At least, don't be full of Don’t be arrogant enough to derogate other dialects (including Mandarin), and don’t be indifferent to big fish eating small fish and small fish eating shrimp hair. If you think it’s natural for big fish to eat small fish, then sooner or later You'll be helpless against bigger fish."

Undoubtedly, behind this so-called "Cantonese defense war", we can see the competition between languages ​​caused by economic, cultural, political and other factors. "As a powerful culture, the role of Cantonese in Guangdong Province over other dialects is very close to that of Mandarin over Cantonese from a national perspective, that is, a language with a stronger background excludes another language" ("The Defense of Cantonese "The Absurdity and Sadness Behind the War""). In the face of such competition and the result of Cantonese "eating" other relatively weak dialects, Hong Kong writer Chen Yun, whose mother tongue is Hakka, expressed his position in a column in Hong Kong Economic Journal on July 20, 2010: " Hegemony doesn't matter, Cantonese is also domineering. In Guangdong, Hakka, Teochew, Miao, Yao, Zhuang, Dong, Li and other minority languages ​​are excluded... There is neither government power coercion, nor cultural and educational institutions' advocacy, everything comes naturally, Is there no reason?" However, the paper "Change of Language Life in Hong Kong in the Past Two Hundred Years" written by linguist Liu Zhenfa has exposed the "man-made" factors.

We do not intend to discuss the rights and wrongs of Cantonese here, but the parties involved are happy to see the "annexation" phenomenon after the competition, which is worth pondering.In the eyes of the Cantonese, it is only right and proper that the brave wins when they meet on a narrow road.No matter what kind of "weapon" or "hidden weapon" you held at that time, if you can defeat your opponent and finally fight your way through thousands of troops, then you are a well-deserved hero.Cantonese people recognize and implement such principles of dealing with affairs.

Therefore, facing the Cantonese that won after the fierce battle, even if it is not the mother tongue of them or their parents, they still support it.This is their attitude towards the winner.In order to integrate into the life of Cantonese, outsiders must accept the "challenge" in language.Survival of the fittest. Therefore, for all the migrants in Guangzhou, the "challenge" that Cantonese poses to their daily life and work has become a shackle for them to integrate into this city.A netizen said: “Living in Guangzhou for 2 years, the only dissatisfaction with Guangzhou is that Cantonese is spoken everywhere, including TV stations (except for Guangdong Satellite TV, other stations basically speak Cantonese), radio stations, vehicles and other public places. This brings a lot of inconvenience to outsiders. For example, watching TV is basically incomprehensible. 90% of them speak Cantonese, and even the TV series filmed in mainland China are translated into Cantonese! In addition, local people basically speak Cantonese when they communicate with each other. Cantonese, and I have to say one more sentence every time, 'Excuse me, can you speak Mandarin with me.' In fact, for a big city with a large number of migrants, it is not advisable to promote Cantonese throughout the province, because it is not only inconvenient People from other provinces are not convenient for local people (Guangdong actually has many dialects such as: Hakka, Hokkien in Chaoshan). It is good to protect local dialects, but Guangzhou has gone too far. If every city is like Guangzhou Similarly, Chinese dialects are blooming everywhere. I feel that the reasons why Guangdong defends Cantonese are: (1) Guangdong has a strong economy, and fewer people go out to work; (2) Influenced by Hong Kong, speaking Cantonese feels superior .Guangzhou is not only for Guangzhou people, and the development of Guangzhou is also inseparable from outsiders. Can’t you be more magnanimous and tolerant? Since almost everyone in China can understand Mandarin, why do you bother? Are you Guangzhou people the only ones in your Guangzhou eyes? Some people may say that when you go to a place, you have to do as the Romans do. Why don’t we want to integrate into this society, but is it easy to learn a language? I don’t want to make my life and work difficult because of a language barrier .”

Similarly, Yang Yongxin, a reporter assigned to Guangzhou by "Lianhe Zaobao", as an "outsider", also has his feelings: "I have discovered during the two and a half years of working and living in Guangzhou that although ordinary Guangzhou people can tolerate foreigners living in Guangzhou, For foreigners to be truly accepted, Cantonese must be mastered. For example, some local taxi drivers will insist on speaking Cantonese, although passengers are likely to know only half of Cantonese; two Cantonese people converse in Cantonese, even in public The faces of foreigners who can’t understand Cantonese; I recently took the Guangzhou (Zhou) Kowloon (Dragon) through train to Hong Kong, and found that the conductor on the train only spoke Cantonese, not Mandarin, giving people a feeling that only Cantonese speakers have The conditions are like going to Hong Kong. For Cantonese, Guangzhou people still have a sense of superiority, and they hope that everyone around them can use it. However, as Academician Zhong Nanshan, a member of the National People’s Congress and a former member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, pointed out recently, Mandarin There are 4 tones, and Cantonese has 9 tones, so it is very difficult for foreigners to learn Cantonese, they may have no problem listening, but it is a bit too demanding for them to speak.”

Dialects are no longer pure local languages ​​in the modern sense. Due to the development of regional economy, the status of these dialects has gradually improved. Correspondingly, people's sense of superiority has gradually been reflected in dialects. The popularity of Cantonese in the mainland can be seen from the now permanent words, such as "T-shirt, taxi, pay the bill", etc., while the economic status of Guangdong was once popular in the phrase "from east to west, north and south, get rich to Guangdong". It can also be seen in the language.The combination of economic development and popular culture makes Guangzhou's Cantonese complex even more arrogant.Many people who have wandered in Guangzhou for many years feel that they have an open sense of alienation from Guangzhou people about Mandarin.

Of course, for a foreigner, if he cannot integrate into the local language, it will be difficult to integrate into the local social circle, and he will always be on the edge of being a foreigner.Even if smart and clever people from other provinces try to imitate Cantonese to "do as the Romans do", they will still be spotted in front of Guangzhou locals—"This brother doesn't speak Cantonese", because the Cantonese endings are difficult for locals to learn. Guangzhou uses "Cantonese" to naturally separate and marginalize migrant workers and locals. Foreigners living in a different context find it difficult to have intimacy and empathy. On the contrary, it doubles the sense of loneliness and wandering of "foreigners".