Is there a way to differentiate Mandarin and Cantonese

[sandraf]

I have recently started learning Mandarin Chinese. We have a local free television station (SINO TV) that plays shows and movies in Mandarin and Cantonese. Even though I only understand a few words, I like to turn the channel on in the background. The problem is that I may have the channel on for some time before I begin to suspect that the people are not speaking Mandarin.

My question is whether or not there is an easy way for a beginner to differentiate between Mandarin and Cantonese (telltale words or sounds that will determine which language is being spoken)?

Thanks

[linguoboy]

I have recently started learning Mandarin Chinese. We have a local free television station (SINO TV) that plays shows and movies in Mandarin and Cantonese. Even though I only understand a few words, I like to turn the channel on in the background. The problem is that I may have the channel on for some time before I begin to suspect that the people are not speaking Mandarin.

My question is whether or not there is an easy way for a beginner to differentiate between Mandarin and Cantonese (telltale words or sounds that will determine which language is being spoken)?

If the variety is Beijing Mandarin (or something close to it, as PRC standard strives to be), then the difference is quite striking. Just listen for the retroflex consonants--the "rrr" sounds. But these sounds are missing from many varieties of Mandarin (primarily those spoken in Southern China and Taiwan).

So one shibboleth I find more foolproof is to listen for the syllable 係 [hɐi˨], the Cantonese equivalent of 是. In addition to being the Cantonese copula, this is also the most common word for "yes" in the language, so it's very common in speech. The nearest Mandarin equivalent is [haɪ̯˨˩], but it doesn't occur as often and never on its own. Also, listen for the syllabic nasals, especially 唔 [m̩˨˩] "not". They're not as easy to hear, but the Mandarin equivalents (like 呣) aren't words but interjections, so they're not nearly as frequent and usually occur on their own. The Cantonese sounds, on the other hand, are extremely common and show up everywhere.

[ling]

Cantonese has final stops -p -t -k, and also a final -m; Mandarin does not.
Cantonese has an initial ng- sound.
Cantonese has vowel sounds like eui and oi; Mandarin doesn't. (eu similar to French "eu")
Cantonese has syllabic m and ng.
Cantonese speakers often end sentences with an elongated "a".
Cantonese has an "eng" sound as in English "length".
Sounds like "ga" and "gi" are common in Cantonese; rare or non-existent in Mandarin.
In words where "y" precedes "i" ("ying", "yi", etc.), the "y" is pronounced.
The possessive marker in Cantonese is "ge" (sounds like "geh"), and you'll hear it a lot.

Mandarin has sounds like "yen" after consonants: mian, lian, jian.
Mandarin has an initial r-like sound, as in ren, re, ru.
Mandarin (especially Beijing Mandarin) has a final -r sound.
Mandarin has the retroflex consonants zhi, chi, shi.
Mandarin has a sound written "eng", but it sounds closer to "ung" in English "flung".
In words where "y" precedes "i" ("ying", "yi", etc.), the "y" is NOT pronounced.
The possessive marker in Mandarin is "de" (sounds like "duh"), and you'll hear it a lot.

[sandraf]

Thank you both so much! Those are great tips. I will try them out today.

[Passe-Cale]

On top of these, Cantonese has 6/7 tones (Hong Kong/Guangzhou respectively according to Wikipedia) compared to 4 tones for Mandatin.

So whenever I head Cantonese, I can't always tell it is Cantonese but I'm always sure it's not Mandarin by the exotic (to me) tones. I am used to Mandarin's tones but more different tones (be in in Vietnamese, Cantonese or other) make my brain hurt. 不好意思

[MillMaths]

Cantonese has vowel sounds like eui and oi; Mandarin doesn't. (eu similar to French "eu")

I don't think I've heard any /œ/ or /ø/ sound in Cantonese.

[linguoboy]

Cantonese has vowel sounds like eui and oi; Mandarin doesn't. (eu similar to French "eu")

I don't think I've heard any /œ/ or /ø/ sound in Cantonese.

It's actually quite common. It appear in the "hong" of "Hong Kong" (the two elements don't rhyme in Cantonese) and also the third-person pronoun, 佢.

[Tenebrarum]

Easy. Cantonese sounds like a frog, while Mandarin sounds like a cat (or a cat with mouth ulcer, in the case of Beijinghua).

Cantonese has vowel sounds like eui and oi; Mandarin doesn't. (eu similar to French "eu")

I don't think I've heard any /œ/ or /ø/ sound in Cantonese.

How do they sound like to you then?

[ling]

Cantonese has vowel sounds like eui and oi; Mandarin doesn't. (eu similar to French "eu")

I don't think I've heard any /œ/ or /ø/ sound in Cantonese.

張 jeung
香 heung
巨 keui
去 heui