Learn to Speak Cantonese I: A Beginner's Guide to Mastering Conversational Cantonese

Jade Jia Ying Wu

Mar 2018 · Learn to Speak Cantonese Book 1 · InspirLang

About this ebook

Imagine falling in love with someone, but not speaking the same language as their extended family. This is the case for Gabriel, the narrator of this textbook, who is an American boy learning Cantonese to impress his girlfriend’s mom. In this Cantonese learning book, you will join Gabriel in his first meeting with Jenny’s mother, who is from Hong Kong and can only speak Cantonese. From having dim sum to describing his favorite pastimes, Gabriel will teach you everything you need to know to master basic conversational Cantonese.Free audio and flashcards downloadable from www.inspirlang.com/resource.

Ratings and reviews

Simple and easy to understand! I loved the layout of the book and the cultural insights it provided.

Good book for beginners! Easy to read, recommend!

About the author

Jade Jia Ying Wu completed her Teaching Certificate Program in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and TCSOL (Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages) from Teachers College, Columbia University and Beijing Language and Culture University in 2016. She holds a bachelor's degree in statistics and quantitative modeling from Baruch College, City University of New York.

 

Jade was born and raised in Guangdong, China, where Cantonese is one of the main dialects. She moved to Swartz Creek, Michigan at the age of thirteen and spent most of her young adulthood living in New York City. Experiencing both Chinese and American cultures, she was often confused yet fascinated by the differences between them. In 2014, she created her website InspirLang to teach Cantonese, Mandarin, and Taishanese to non-native speakers, and developed her own Romanized system for Taishanese. She currently hosts three language podcasts: Learn Cantonese Daily, Learn Mandarin Daily,  and Learn Taishanese Daily. An instructor at CUNY, she is also the author of Learn to Speak Mandarin I: A Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Conversational Mandarin Chinese.

 

In her free time, Jade also enjoys learning other languages such as Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

June Pham was born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam before she moved to New York at the age of 10. She is currently a senior at Baruch College studying Computer Information Systems and Graphic Design. With a passion in art and technology, she enjoys working in tech startups and advertising agencies throughout her college career. Her favorite pastimes are watching indie films, visiting museums and reading fiction novels. Her passion is to travel the world and inspire people through her works. This is the first book that she had ever worked on and she looks forward to more opportunities like this one to come along.

Jasmine Xu is a freelance illustrator. She is currently studying for a BBA degree in Accountancy. She has had a strong passion for the visual arts since childhood. Unable to cease drawing, she does commission work during school breaks and continues to doodle in class. Jasmine was born in Guangdong, China and moved to San Francisco, California as a child. While attending elementary school, she picked up Cantonese from her teachers and friends. With help from Cantopop and TVB dramas, Cantonese became embedded in her head. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Ruth Kevess-Cohen MD is a native English speaker who enjoys learning and teaching languages, especially Esperanto.

Paul Hiller received a BA in Economics from Baruch College in 2014, and is an MA candidate in Baruch's Arts Administration program (expected fall 2018). As an undergraduate, Paul was selected to participate in the Kakehashi Project, a youth exchange program hosted by the Japan Foundation, and was a recipient of the John B. Post award for his service to Baruch's Modern Languages department. Paul is currently employed at the Baruch College Writing Center, and has over five year's experience working in higher education. Paul also serves as a personal assistant for several artists in New York. His professional and academic interests include legacy creation, art conservation, and advocacy for elderly or otherwise marginalized artists. His personal interests include Cantonese, photography, and his two cats, Luna and Franklin. Paul currently resides in New York City.