Is speaking Cantonese enough?

Question

I'm chinese but I can't write or read in chinese. I took 2 years of spanish in high school so far, but I'm not going to anymore because I forget everything over the summer and I really struggle with it anyways. I speaking cantonese enough to get into a college/job I want or do they actually want me to read, write, and speak in 2 languages?

Answer 1

Nei ho ! :}

I think it depends where you go.

If you mean, go overseas to HK or Taiwan for college, you might want to learn Mandarin, speaking and writing-wise (Cantonese has a slight difference in writing though). Mainly because many HK citizens speak Cantonese and know some Mandarin, while Taiwanese MIGHT know Cantonese. And classes aren't in English.

For a job, it really depends on the employer, but if the area you work in speaks mostly Cantonese, you're probably set. The downside is that when someone who only knows Mandarin comes in, you would have to pull out your manager.. who most likely knows Mandarin.

Basically, you're fine if you take a job that needs an English/Cantonese speaker (and doesn't require reading). As for school, you might want to learn to read Mandarin.

Answer 2

Mandarin is more widely known and will get you farther in China, but Cantonese can still get you pretty far.........

Answer 3

2 languages includes English, and I'm assuming that if you could type English then you can speak it. So if you can speak English and Cantonese, that's cool.