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Cantonese

Glottolog calls it: Yue Chinese

Reference material, with every source named. Our own communities are further down the page.

Endangerment status

Not endangered

Children are still learning this language at home.

Source: Glottolog (glottolog-cldf, master)

ISO 639-3 yue · Glottocode yuec1235

Speakers at home

The census does not count this language separately. It is folded into a broader category, and the figures below are that whole category — not this language. How many of those people speak it is recorded nowhere. Category: Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)

By state

By city

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS table B16001 (via Census Reporter), ACS 2024 5-year. The second figure counts people who speak English less than “very well”.

The census publishes this table for every state but for only a handful of cities. A city missing from this list is one it does not publish, not one where nobody speaks the language.

Help record this language 0 / 10

Ten small things, each answerable in under a minute by anyone who speaks the language. You do not need to prepare, and you do not have to do them in order.

  • A greetingnone yet

    How do you greet someone, and how do they answer?

  • Numbersnone yet

    Count from one to ten.

  • Familynone yet

    The words for mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, child.

  • Saying goodbyenone yet

    How did the oldest person you knew say goodbye?

  • Foodnone yet

    Name a dish and say how it is made.

  • Weather and seasonsnone yet

    Describe today’s weather, then name the seasons.

  • A place namenone yet

    The name of your home place in this language, and what it means.

  • A proverbnone yet

    A saying that does not translate well. Say it, then explain it.

  • A song for a childnone yet

    Sing something that was sung to you.

  • A storynone yet

    A story you were told as a child. Take as long as you need.

Join a community for this language to add a recording

You keep what you record. It stays credited to you, nobody else can change it, and you can delete it at any time.

Communities on CultureMesh

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Notes from people here

Is this right? For most languages the census refuses to count speakers separately, so the figure above is a whole category rather than this language. If you know better, write it down — on this page you are the source.

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Cite this page

CultureMesh, "Cantonese" language page (https://culturemesh.com/languages/cantonese-25). Endangerment status: Glottolog (glottolog-cldf, master). Speakers at home: US Census Bureau, ACS table B16001 (via Census Reporter), ACS 2024 5-year.