Do you speak Cantonese in downtown Shaoguan?

Shaoguan is dominated by Hakka dialect, followed by Cantonese, and the internal communication of Yao, She and other ethnic minorities still retains their own languages. Shaoguan City and Qujiang County are both Hakka and Cantonese areas; Lecheng and Shipingping towns in Lechang City, Rucheng, Guitou, Gumushui and Tai Po towns in Ruyuan County also speak Cantonese. Nanxiong, Shixing, Wengyuan, Xinfeng, Tangji, Shitang, Danxia and Hongshan in Renhua County, Jiu Feng, Liangjiang, Wushan, Langtian, Xiushui, Yunyan, Shaping, Da Qiao and Liu Yi in Lechang City, and Hougongdu, Longnan and Luo Yang in Ruyuan County are all Hakka dialect areas.

Indigenous people in northern Guangdong first used their mother tongue. After a large number of Hakkas and Guangfu people moved in, the territory of Yuebei dialect has been shrinking and divided into many disconnected dialect communities, which makes Yuebei dialect show rich, colorful and interactive features while retaining certain characteristics.

Northern Guangdong is a "dual culture". Hakka is the main language in rural areas and towns, while vernacular and Putonghua are the main language in towns and central and provincial industrial and mining enterprises. The former is caused by the settlement of ancient "Hakkas" and becomes the "aborigines" now; The latter was influenced by modern "immigrants". During the Anti-Japanese War, Shaoguan, as the wartime capital, moved northward for Guangzhou refugees. After the founding of New China in 1950s and 1960s, a large number of builders poured in. And the "exile" of a group of educated youth and intellectuals in Guangzhou during the "Cultural Revolution". Today, quite a few Cantonese-speaking residents in the city are descendants of Guangfu people who lived in northern Guangdong at that time.

Shaoguan dialect is mainly Hakka dialect, which is widely used in urban and rural areas and has become a tool for language communication between Yao and local Han people. Cantonese is widely used in Shaoguan City, Lechang City and Renhua County, and Putonghua is also widely used in urban areas, counties and industrial and mining areas. In addition, a few rural areas use Xiang dialect, Minnan dialect, Beijiangchuan dialect and Peyo dialect. The Yao people in Shaoguan use Yao language, while the She people give up their national language and switch to Chinese.