Cantonese - Definition and Overview

Cantonese can refer to:

• Of, or pertaining to, the people of, or things from, Guangdong Province, Hong Kong or Macau in China.
• The native dialect (or language) of
  • Broadly, much of Guangdong and environs. See: Cantonese (linguistics)
  • Narrowly, just Guangzhou and Hong Kong. See: Standard Cantonese
• Cuisine of the style historically popularized in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, or broadly, of immigrants abroad who have origins in Guangdong. See: Cantonese cuisine.

• There are large numbers of Cantonese people residing in Canada, Australia, Malaysia , Singapore , UK , Ireland and the United States.

Etymology

The term "Cantonese" clearly derives its origin from "Canton", the old name given by Westerners to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. Most likely, it is a metonymic corruption of the Cantonese pronunciation Gwong Dung, the name of the province, which used to be romanized as Kwang Tung. The name was then erroneously applied onto the city of Guangzhou.

See also

• List of Cantonese-related topics