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Cantonese Language Facts

Information About Cantonese Language

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Extinct: no

Family: Sino-Tibetan

Branch: Sinitic

Continent: Asia

Country: China

Region: Spoken in Guangdong (except for the Hakka speaking areas especially in the northeast, the Min Nan speaking areas of the east, at points along the coast as well as Hainan Island), Macau, and in the southern part of Guangxi. Also possibly in Laos. Also spoken in Australia, Brunei, Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, Indonesia (Java and Bali), Malaysia (Peninsular), Mauritius, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA, Viet Nam.

Countries Where Spoken: China, Hong Kong, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

Countries Where Official: China

Native Speakers: 52,000,000

Speakers Total: 54,810,598

Phrasebase members who speak this language at a native level: 362

Phrasebase members who speak this language at a conversational level: 362

Phrasebase members primary language they are trying to learn: 1,438

Phrasebase members secondary language they are trying to learn: 1,670

Three Letter Code: YUE

Alternative Names: Yuet Yue, Gwong Dung Waa, Cantonese, Yue, Yueh, Yueyu, Baihua

Dialects:

Summary: Part of the Han nationality. Outside of mainland China, many Cantonese-specific characters are used in the writing system. SVO; prepositions; genitives, relatives after noun heads; articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; word order mainly distinguishes subjects, objectives, indirect objects; passives usually indicated by adding a word in front of the verb; tonal. Chinese script in Viet Nam. TV. Grammar. Bible: 1894�1981.

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