Problem
It is a process to see Hong Kong. I intend of it equally the province of Bruce Lee together with films inwards which he starred.
However, Cantonese is non the easiest linguistic communication for those of us who speak English. What tin dismiss become wrong, I asked a Brit who lived inwards Hong Kong.
Answer
Cantonese, similar Mandarin, has several tones. The Standard Mandarin language has five, or more, depending on whether yous count a base of operations or blank tone. Standard Mandarin is used inwards Red People's Republic of China together with Singapore. When yous acquire to Hong Kong, yous demand Cantonese. Standard Mandarin is non enough.
Cantonese speakers claim soundless to a greater extent than tones are needed. Despite this my brave friend did his best.
He came unstuck when he visited a Chinese restaurant. He asked for what he idea was a loving cup of coffee. Instead, he got ii empty cups.
This has happened to me earlier inwards restaurants, together with I cause got non understood the reason. We debated the reason. We speculated. We assumed that the helpful together with willing staff were non existence difficult. Maybe the eating theater staff generously employed slow-witted staff. Perhaps the staff were rushed together with brought the cups together with only about other fellow member of staff is supposed to fill upwardly the cups.
Now nosotros know that if yous are non also careful virtually give-and-take social club together with intonation, yous cause got asked for java cups instead of cups of coffee.
Why would anybody desire an empty cup? Sometimes yous desire to portion out your drinks, endeavor it alongside saccharide together with without, demand a loving cup or drinking glass for a drinking glass of H2O to accept a pill, desire to sip milk separately.
If I desire an empty loving cup together with I am speaking English, I specify an empty cup.
Rapport
Another friend of mine who specialises inwards psychology together with rapport, said that autism is a spectrum of abilities to relate to other people together with come across things from their betoken of view. Some people can hold upwardly mild, together with acquire to read signals.
Others to a greater extent than rigid. When told to produce something, they don't interact or enquire questions. They only follow rules together with orders exactly. They think, If I am asked for ii java cups, that's what I fetch.
So nosotros cause got diverse factors to accept into consideration, language, personality. If yous don't cause got the mightiness to railroad train rapport, chat away, mime together with smiling together with read signals, together with neither does the other person. yous cause got to rely on precise linguistic communication for perfect communication.
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Author
Angela Lansbury
Travel author together with photographer, author together with speaker.