CRI听力:Mandarin Spoken More Widely While Language Diversity Remains in Macau

If you take a walk in downtown Macau, you'll hear a myriad of languages and dialects spoken, Cantonese, mandarin, Portuguese, Hakka and even Fujian dialect. Because of this cultural and linguistic diversity, Macau is being dubbed a living laboratory of languages.

More than 80% of the local residents speak Cantonese in daily communication. But ask any passersby anything, and they'll be able to answer you in Mandarin. Apart from some elderly people who may understand mandarin but cannot speak it, most local people can speak mandarin to varying degrees of fluency.

Dr. Deng Jingbin, Deputy Chairman of the Macau Language Society, says on average Macau people's mandarin level is better than their neighbor Hong Kong. He explains why.

"First, many Chinese in Macau originally came from Guangdong and Fujian. They have many connections with the mainland. Second, Macau has indeed witnessed tremendous economic and social development after the return to China. Compared with Hong Kong, we have a stronger sense of belonging towards the motherland. Third, with more mainland tourists coming to Macau, mandarin is now a necessary skill."

The special administrative region's government and local communities have also been making efforts to promote Mandarin. Mandarin is being taught in most primary and middle schools. There're also speech contests, debates and other activities to give people more chances to use Mandarin.

On the other hand, Portuguese, which is also an official language in Macau after Chinese, is being used less often in daily communication. Dr. Deng Jingbin from the Macau Language Society says this is a natural outcome.

"While there's less daily use, you can still see Portuguese being used in some government offices, especially in the judicial system, as the laws here are written in both Chinese and Portuguese."

While Dr. Deng Jingbin thinks that Portuguese will be spoken by fewer people in the future, Professor Ieong Siu Ling from the University of Macau has no such worries. She believes more people will use Portuguese in 10 years' time.

"Portuguese is a valuable cultural legacy. There're also plans to promote Portuguese in schools. Because with more language competence, it's good for Macao to open up further and to communicate with Portuguese-speaking countries. So in 10 years' time, I don't think Portuguese use will disappear. On the opposite, I believe more people will be proficient in using Portuguese for business purpose, for economic exchanges and things like that."

Professor Ieong is hopeful that Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese as well as English will all continue to be widely used in Macau in 10 years time, helping the region maintain its fascinating multi-lingual features.

For CRI, I'm Xiaohua reporting from Macau.