Learning Cantonese
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Jul 10, 2021
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING
PETER checks a Quora notifications on his phone.
PETER (V.O.): "Was Cantonese spoken in Nanyue Kingdom, and what evidence do we have of it?"
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's the answer request from a Japanese Quoran.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What's this Nanyue Kingdom?
Peter researches with his phone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's a ancient Kingdom found by a former Qin Dynasty general in 204 BCE.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Its territory covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau, of China.
Act 2
EXT. SWIMMING POOL - NOON
Peter is resting in a pool chair with a phone in hand.
PETER (V.O.): My Quora profile says that I know Cantonese. But as a native speaker, I feel ashamed that I know nothing about its origin.
Peter checks other Quorans' answers to the question.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There's an answer by an American, another answer by a Vietnamese living in US, and the rest are from Cantonese-speaking Chinese.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Their answers are adequate ones. What value can I add?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Their replies are all negative, believing Cantonese didn't exist then and there.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me do my own independent research.
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There are two schools of thought about the origin of Cantonese. One is since the Nanyue Kingdom 204 (BCE to 111BCE), and the other is since the southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It is obvious that the latter one is more probable. Thus, the answer request about the evidence of the former.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There isn't any direct evidence.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the Nanyue Kingdom's territory did cover the present Cantonese-speaking community.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's conceivable that the Kingdom's indigenous/migrant population speak different dialects, including or evolving the primitive version of Cantonese.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Logically, my hypothesis is possible as there isn't any inherent contradiction.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Empirically, my hypothesis isn't improbable either, as the living language sustains.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although there isn't any direct evidence, there's indirect or circumstantial evidence.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The standard of proof on historical matters like this shouldn't be beyond reasonable doubt.
Peter begins to type his reply on the phone.
EXT. SEASIDE RESTAURANT - NIGHT
Peter's FAMILY is enjoying a seafood mail.
Peter's WIFE: Australian lobsters are now in abundance in Hong Kong.
PETER: Trading with China via the Pearl River Delta has always been important. As a result, Cantonese include some loanwords.
Peter continues to share his observations with the family.
PETER (CONT'D): Eg the expression "冚唪囗冷" meaning "All" is from the ancient Persia Empire...
PETER (V.O.): I sound like an instant expert. I only learned about this during research today!
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Peter is working on his laptop in bed.
PETER (V.O.): There're many Cantonese colloquialisms that can't be aptly represented in Mandarin.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When ancient Cantonese is compared to modern Mandarin, the latter is relatively easy to learn, particularly for foreigners.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Learning Cantonese is really hard.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): I didn't expect an answer request from a Quoran would prompt me to learn more about my mother tongue.
Peter smiles.
.FADE OUT.
THE END
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