I agree 100% that Mandarin is huge, where Cantonese is becoming a much smaller market in the US. NY Times article today states that - In Chinatown, Sound of the Future Is Mandarin

Which is why my Learning Chinese Material is in Mandarin. I do get calls from time to time on Cantonese and I refer them to two physical bookstores I know that have Cantonese Material.

Labels: Cantonese, learn chinese

I heard it again today, but if you already know Mandarin just rent a couple of HK Soap Operas with sub-titles and spend watch the series all the way through. After 20 or so hours of this supposedly you will be able to understand Cantonese. Originally I heard this from some Taiwanese who were working in a travel agency and needed to Learn some Cantonese. Cantonese is a dialect of Mandarin. I don't know if it helps that you also know Taiwanese.

Labels: Cantonese

I tested carrying a few products in Cantonese after getting a few requests. I then sent out an E-Mail to everyone who had asked, and the product was so slow in selling.

My personal opinion is Cantonese with the transfer from Great Britain to China has seen an increased usage of Mandarin. Cantonese will become more of a language spoken at home. In the US there is a large historical community of Cantonese Speakers that is centered around the historic Chinatowns, some overseas Chinese such as from Vietnam also speak Cantonese. Most people in the US are interested in speaking Mandarin because it's the official language spoken in China, and has the most opportunities. My guess is 99% of the US market for Learning Chinese is Mandarin. A while ago I also carried a few Taiwanese products, and these also did not sell well. My wife liked the Taiwanese Video's I had a lot, but unfortunately they were not selling. Since per Peter F. Drucker, the purpose of a business is to make a profit (no profit it's hard to stay in business), at this time I am going to focus on Mandarin.

As I grow bigger I am sure I will add some Cantonese and Taiwanese products, but not for a while.

Labels: Cantonese, Learning Chinese