Born and raised in Canada, Allan Lau is a versatile musician, doing everything from orchestrating movie scores to crafting commercial theme tracks for multinational corporations. He is also a voice artist and bass singer, bringing to life video game characters and movie trailers.

Duck Lau Cho Tak is an award-winning Hong Kong musician/composer actively engaged in various music scenes. He is also an experienced singer, having served as chorus member and performance director for numerous concerts and records.

In this second part of our interview, we discuss some principles and interesting aspects of Cantonese voiceover work and lyric writing.

劉熙信係一名全方位音樂人，從事歌曲及廣告音樂製作、電影電視配樂同電子遊戲聲效設計。

劉祖德係著名香港音樂人/作曲人，有份參與監製、作曲或編曲，亦曾喺眾多歌星嘅演唱會及唱片中擔任和音及演繹指導。

今集係訪問嘅第二部分，我哋討論到粵語配音同填詞嘅一啲原則同趣事。

Vocabulary/transcript

Welcome to Season 3 of Chatty Cantonese! We start things off with a double-interview with two notable figures from the world of Cantopop, Allan Lau and Duck Lau. In addition to talking about their own musical experiences, the pair explain some Cantopop history and how newbies can learn more about the genre and its connection with Hong Kong culture.

Link to vocabulary and transcript

Inspired by a listener question, this episode addresses an issue all beginning Cantonese students face: in thanking someone, when should you use do1 ze6 (多謝) and when should you use m4 goi1 (唔該)?  The underlying principle becomes clear with the help of a few  hypothetical situations.

Transcript and vocabulary

A discussion about where Hongkongers found cool refreshment in the olden days leads Raymond to share some unique drinks. Wonder what "a monk jumping into the ocean" is? Or how you could drink "veggie honey?" Listen to find out.

Vocabulary and transcript

Bernice Chan is a reporter whose career has stretched across the Pacific, reporting for both the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and CBC in Vancouver. She also hosted the award-winning podcast Eat Drink Asia. In the second part of our interview, we talk about our favorite dim sum picks, why Hongkongers love trying new flavors, and where on YouTube you can learn Cantonese cooking.

陳志媺 Bernice Chan 係一名資深記者，佢嘅事業橫跨太平洋，任職於香港嘅《南華早報》同喺溫哥華嘅加拿大廣播公司。 她仲主持過屢獲殊榮嘅 Eat Drink Asia 播客節目。 喺訪問嘅第二部分，我哋傾吓我哋鍾意食嘅點心、點解香港人鍾意嘗試新口味、同一個學習做粵菜嘅 YouTube 頻道。

Made With Lau YouTube Channel

Episode vocabulary and transcript

Bernice Chan is a reporter whose career has stretched across the Pacific, reporting for both the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and CBC in Vancouver. She also hosted the award-winning podcast Eat Drink Asia. In the first part of our interview, we talk about the trajectory of her career and the influence Hong Kong had on how she learned Cantonese. Be sure to check back next episode for the conclusion of our conversation. 

陳志媺 Bernice Chan 係一名資深記者，佢嘅事業橫跨太平洋，任職於香港嘅《南華早報》同喺溫哥華嘅加拿大廣播公司。 她仲主持過屢獲殊榮嘅 Eat Drink Asia 播客節目。 喺訪問嘅第一部分，我哋講到佢嘅職業生涯以及香港對佢學習粵語嘅影響。 請記得收聽埋下一集我哋對話嘅後半部份。

How can this be happening?! In this episode, we dig into SFPs (sentence final particles) useful for expressing surprise, reacting to information that should have been known previously, or relaying sketchy things someone else said that you disagree with.

References:
Basic Sentence-final Particles in Hong Kong Cantonese, by Yuen-lam Tsang

Transcript and vocabulary

A little chat about time in the digital age... How do we stay focused when there are so many distractions out there? And what do you call a "bedside table" in Cantonese?

Transcript and vocabulary

This episode features the second half of our discussion with Dr. Gina Anne Tam, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University, and author of Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860 – 1960 from Cambridge University Press. In this episode, we talk about the relationship between Mandarin and Cantonese in teaching and academia, as well as English’s immense power in the global linguistic landscape.

Works mentioned in this episode:
Silencing Shanghai, by Fang Xu
Gerald Roche (various articles)
Cantonese as Written Language, by Don Snow
Not Like a Native Speaker, by Rey Chow
The Fall of Language in the Age of English, by Minae Mizumura
Borderlands/La Frontera, by Gloria Anzaldúa
Speak Not: Empire, Identity and the Politics of Language, by James Griffiths
Sound, Meaning, Shape: The Phonologist Wei Jiangong (1901-1980) between Language Study and Language Planning, by Mariana Münning

Episode vocabulary and transcript

This episode features the first half of our discussion with Dr. Gina Anne Tam, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University, and author of Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860-1960 from Cambridge University Press. In this episode we talk about the distinction between “dialect” and “language” and what it means for Cantonese. Check back next week for the conclusion of our discussion.

今集有我哋同三一大學歷史副教授，劍橋大學出版社發行《中國方言與民族主義 1860-1960》作者譚吉娜博士討論嘅第一部份。呢一集我哋討論方言同語言嘅區別同埋對粵語嘅意義。大家記得下個禮拜返嚟聽埋後半部份討論。

Episode vocabulary and transcript

More sentence final particles in this episode, this time centering around ones beginning with "z." They can be helpful for talking about quantity, degree, and justification--like when you're talking about that person who's "just" a friend...


Episode transcript and vocabulary