Save Cantonese: A Project to Preserve Cantonese in the West and a Case of Language Advocacy (Personal and Academic Perspectives)

Abstract

Recent calls by Stanford University and the Community College of San Francisco to cut Cantonese courses and lay redundant members of Cantonese teaching staff have caused controversy among Cantonese heritage speakers on the US West Coast who have launched a global petition to preserve Cantonese in the West and beyond. This talk lays out the sociolinguistic status of Cantonese as a dialect of Chinese, dispel some myths and common misconceptions of Chinese language and dialects, and the role of linguists in preserving heritage languages, all of which can enhance cultural understanding and education. This will be argued to be a case of Language Advocacy which is growing as an academic movement internationally.

This presentation was presented (virtually) as a Lightning Talk at the Ronin Institute Lightning Talk event on 28th February 2022. The recording of the presentation can be found here: https://youtu.be/RuatlmglczE
There is also an accompanying blogpost on the Ronin blog: https://ronininstitute.org/save-cantonese-language-advocacy-for-a-project-to-preserve-cantonese-in-the-west/8176/

#Chinese #Cantonese #Linguistics #Languages #Dialects #Dialectology #Sociolinguistics #Advocacy #LanguageEndangerment #EndangeredLanguages #漢語 #粵語 #華僑 #同胞 #廣東話

Full text

Save Cantonese: A Project to
Preserve Cantonese in the West
and A Case of Language Advocacy
(Personal and Academic
Perspectives)


 ! "
""#$%&'&&
&($%&'&&
)**%"+,The Elephant Man

How it all began and how is it going?
Brief timeline:
-#&'&'./0,*//##1*2/
#""." 張 錫莉 zeong sik lei lousi
###)".,*
%&'&'Save Cantonese at Stanford: 2./0
03'''4"/*"%50%0./06
*#/*0/"
728555  "
728# *
&'&9Save Cantonese at CCSF ##".$
Save Cantonese *00%0085#"00#*&9
-&'&&8555 57 *
-&'&&:0"5.$;05*<9/*. - %
22./0
=0**.#0#$%6576"*6
5%!

How it all began and how is it going
(for me)?
>0Save Cantonese at Stanford ?-&'&90/>".#2
@""2#*0$%
2#=*#)*2/".
,0%#" 港語學 gongjyuhok) ’ ‘保衛海外粵語 A
,
728* *&'&9'3*21/1"1111
B=2#&'&9
728""> #C(B3&3*%&'&9
A#8D""5*/*520*
#""
=0*8#"/*#0/E62*
%50*"0#
#5"%#"210,/#"#0#""0
=*210,#"555 * *1
F%#"0#5"555 *0* *!

Sociolinguistic background: Chinese
dialects
# 方言 fangyan82#"#  #""/2#

***2/80
)20G,#2
.20%01H00/0/%0#
.#"0##"8
728* *&'9('&1#""1*1*2
*I=*#210
=0#%"#6#6#*%0
0"##9CC(
#0###I8 0J#0#K 北方話 
L 粵2.1
 閩K. 閩南 閩北 .
 " D 45
D 客家 .
M 吳K " ."6. " MN
 贛
O" 湘

Chinese topolects ( 方言 )
L

What is so special about Cantonese
(1 in X number of dialects?)
>2.2*22#0
%2%"/*"M
2##K=*0%0
"#"".=05*02
/**5#21H
5 唐人街  唐tong*6
E2 華僑  華 人#1*/
#0./06/0/./06012"
*"%#0*2Save Cantonese
.5#0%0"
M8/E2,#""**0##
1H*###0#%#
"#""5"/2/6D6D65

Language advocacy: personal and
collective
0"0""#""5/502
0"0""$0/0"0.2=
728555 0"0#""/0 "
"./=*=#"6(-&'&&
%8Op-ed’s0blogsonline news channels =*#6
gongjyuhok0social media 2#%#"60*H""=0
//*%"0"0P2/*"
##"0/"2
)020#6"0*%"00##Q2#
2##"*##"#05#0 #/020#
P%"%##E20020
 ,*##/2200*##"#*##
+#.1.*%#"&R0$%&'&&