ONEOFTHEMOSTSPOKENDIALECTSinChina,SoutheastAsia,andglobally,Cantonesewasneverthelessdeemedalocaldialectenjoyinglittleprestigeamongtheintellectuals.NotmuchwasrecordedinofficialdocumentsorgazetteersabouttheearlyhistoryofHongKong.TheCantoneselanguageanditsoriginremainedmuchofamysteryuntilthemid-20thcenturywhenscholarsstartedtoaccorditwithincreasingattention.
Thankstodedicatedeffortsofearlymissionaries,pedagogues,andlinguists,wecannowtracebacktheevolutionofmodernCantonesesincethe19thcentury—howdifferencesinsounds,words,andgrammardistinguishtheoldfromcontemporaryspeechtoday.
Inthisbook,Hung-ninSamuelCheung,anacclaimedscholaronthestudyofCantonese,offersprofoundinsightstovariousfirsthandcentury-oldmaterialsincludinglanguagemanuals,Bibletranslations,andmapsofHongKong,withfindingsthatwillbeusefulforongoingeffortstostudythedevelopmentoftheCantoneselanguagethathasgonethroughmanyroundsofincredibleand,attimes,dramaticchangesduringthelasttwohundredyears.
