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BFC_Peter -

Before the development boom (late 70s) Shenzhen was just a small fishing village so the 'native'
Hakka/Cantonese speakers will be thin on the ground these days.

The vast majority of people living in Shenzhen are migrants (or descendants of) and while the
proportion of migrants who came from Guangdong may be high because of its proximity, it seems to
me inevitable that the language of choice will be Mandarin.

In the businesses that my colleagues and I deal with, Mandarin is understood by all but there are
also plenty of people around who speak and understand Cantonese.



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dynaemu -

I'd really like to live in Shenzhen for a while since I love big cities but I have a question..

Is mandarin or cantonese more spoken there...

thanks!










johnd -

Mandarin is the main language, and even if you meet someone who is a Cantonese speaker, they will
speak Mandarin to you (if it is obvious that you are not Cantonese).










Mugi -



Quote:

Is mandarin or cantonese more spoken there...

Have you read the previous posts?










gougou -



Quote:

Have you read the previous posts?

His post was merged into here by an admin, that's why it might seem a bit out of context. The
correct question would be: did you use the search function?










Mugi -



Quote:

The correct question would be: did you use the search function?

That it would, now that the context is clear.
I retract my initial jab!










roddy -

Yeah, should have posted to point out I'd done that.










zozzen -

To see which dialects are more important in this city of immigrates, take a look on their
offsprings. Almost all kids i met can speak native Cantonese and Mandarin, but in my short
observation, daily conversation in schools is mostly conducted in Cantonese. I think that's
similar to Hong kong that although many people in 60s can't speak good Cantonese, the local
dialect is still overwhelmingly preferred and the trend will keep going in Shenzhen.










Southernjohn -

Someone wrote that a Cantonese speaker will speak Mandarin to you if it is obvious you are not
Cantonese. This is very true. I live in Southern China near the Macau border. On the Mainland, it
can be quite difficult at times to get Cantonese practice. People will frequently express
astonishment at a foreigner speaking Cantonese. It can be a little annoying sometimes when
someone, such as a checkout girl at the supermarket, will begin to speak Cantonese to me and then
when she looks up and sees my white face, she stumbles for a second and then switches over to
Mandarin.
However, when I travel across the border to Macau for business, it is no problem. I can speak
Cantonese and locals do not bat an eyelid. They actually prefer that I speak Cantonese over
Mandarin.

If you are just concerned about communicating, don't worry. You can speak either language. If you
are specifically wondering about getting language practice in Cantonese, you will have to work a
little harder at it.

southernjohn










huisheng -

10 million guest workers make up the dominant population of Shenzhen, the only city in Guangdong,
in which speaking Putonghua is not discriminated. Although the residents more or less speak
Cantonese to a varying degree of fluency. As mentioned above, you more likely get people speak
Mandarin to you in the street scene.












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