Letters | Losing dialects like Cantonese would be to China’s great detriment

Readers discuss the importance of keeping Cantonese culture alive, the power of music in our lives, and the need for Beijing to clarify its peaceful intentions over Taiwan

Reading Time:4 minutes

Pedestrians walk past an ad for the app Douyin in Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, in 2019. Although Cantonese originated in Guangdong, not everyone in the province speaks it now. Recently, some Cantonese-speaking influencers have complained about Douyin cutting off their live streams. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:30pm, 22 Oct 2022

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I am writing in response to “TikTok sibling Douyin cuts off Cantonese live streams in China because of ‘unrecognisable language’” (October 5). I disagree with how Douyin handled the Cantonese-speaking influencers. Different languages should be welcome on every social media platform.

As a student, I can understand the fading of Cantonese culture in today’s life. The more widely spoken languages, such as English and Mandarin, are undeniably growing in importance in all aspects of society: school, daily life and the business world. Consequently, children are more likely to speak these popular languages than their native tongues.

Hong Kong is a city where Cantonese is the principal language. In Guangdong, the province where Cantonese originated, not everyone knows how to speak Cantonese. This phenomenon stems from the lack of promotion of Cantonese as Mandarin is being taught in schools in place of Cantonese. With Mandarin being spoken by growing numbers of people, Cantonese is gradually being replaced.

For the new generation, the only way for them to learn Cantonese may be through their parents. The sighs of the old generation are getting noticeably louder with the decline of Cantonese.

There are many dialects in a country, particularly in one the size of China, but how many have endured in today’s society? Regardless of whether they originate in a major region or not, languages are priceless. Each of them has a unique culture that has preserved the memories of previous generations.