Hi Swantje,
I have read the articles you recommended, so thanks for that. Unfortunately, I have to tell you that Cantonese is a Chinese dialect. The loose use of terms between language and dialect is prolific even amongst Chinese linguists; a parallel found in the categorisation of Chinese medicine as a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) . In asmuchas there is a clear distinction between CAM and Chinese medicine, this applies to Cantonese and Chinese language as well. Sorry to disappoint you. But thanks for the links.

"Like other major varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is often considered a dialect of a single Chinese language for cultural or nationalistic reasons, though in practice Cantonese, like many other Chinese language varieties, is mutually unintelligible with many other Chinese "dialects"."
(from Wikipedia, article on Cantonese (linguistics)).

Hey Swantje,
I'm really curious as to why this topic is of interest to you. Why are you so keen to insist that Cantonese is a language? In my case, I need to sort out the translation issues. What's your point?

Hey Swantje,
I'm really curious as to why this topic is of interest to you. Why are you so keen to insist that Cantonese is a language? In my case, I need to sort out the translation issues. What's your point?

i'm not particularly interested in the topic really. my interests in linguistcs lay elsewhere. copying and pasting from wikipedia was a matter of seconds.

but i'm a linguist and i think people who are writing any kind of thesis touching on fundamental issues in linguistics should know what they are writing about. also, i have read too many articles and theses written by chinese linguists and i though that maybe i could change the world one step at a time...

Erm... I think citing Wikepedia as a "voice of authority" is dubious. If you want to change the world, even if it was slowly, take on the big boys. Perhaps someone out there might think you have a point. If your language expertise in not in the "hard languages", may I suggest that you temper your personal views and attempt an academic dialogue? I might learn something from you. Otherwise, let's draw a line under this matter. Give a chance to some some Chinese linguist out there who might be able to shed light on this topic: dialect or language?

hairui, you are assuming way too much. i'm quoting wikipedia to you as the information in it is correct and easy to understand for lay people. you obviously have no idea of linguistics (sorry to put it that bluntly) and it's no use quoting advanced literature to you as you wouldn't understand it.

i have been studying and researching in linguistics for 12 years ,have been working as a research assistant in an internationally famous linguistics institute for the past 5 years and i know the "big boys" in my field. (no more info about me or you'll find me too easily...) i have given you the answer you were looking for - you could have read it up yourself on google/wikipedia if you could have been bothered, but obviously that's too much like hard work for you.

so, do you want any more so-called "academic dialogue"? i'm fed up with spoon-feeding you knowledge which you should be able to find out yourself on google within 10 minutes. how about opening an introductory linguistics book?

Very rude, indeed. No need for the ranting and raving.

hairui, you are the rude person here.