New Year, New Language

Happy 2026! Let's *shellebrate* by learning a new language: Cantonese.

As you may already know, I created The Blue Marble Series to explore the inextricable connection between life in the sea and life on land. So while I've designed the "Deep Dive" activity books to help improve ocean literacy, there are also elements to help increase cultural fluency, as well.

Although Cantonese is the native language where Beneath the Surface takes place, I've been focusing on Mandarin in our Ocean Lovers' Chinese lessons.

Why is that? Well, there are a couple of reasons:

1. Unfortunately, I don't speak Cantonese. But I do speak Mandarin, and as a tonal Chinese language, it's a decent foundation for learning Cantonese. Mandarin is also the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan, so there are a lot of opportunities to use it.

   
   

2. Mandarin, much like English, has been used as a universal language not only in China and Taiwan, but throughout the Chinese diaspora. Over 1 billion people alive today speak Mandarin, so it's a pretty useful language to learn in terms of international communication and global studies.

Just as Guangdong Province's oceanic dolphin population is endangered, so is their native language. While the loss of Cantonese is not at a critical stage, and dead languages can actually be revived, species extinction is much more serious.

Still, the risks of losing Cantonese and all of the knowledge the language contains, is something worth preventing. So, here is my attempt to help protect Cantonese. Surely, if the Chinese White Dolphins could speak a human language, it's unlikely they'd speak Mandarin. The "pinkie" pods have existed in the South China Sea for centuries before Northern native Mandarin speakers ever reached their shores 💗

** "Shellebrate" is the Merfolk term for "celebrate".

Sources:

1. CUHK study reveals severe human impact on Chinese white dolphin habitats in northern Lantau waters by analysing long-term data | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office

2. Your Voice: Resilience of Cantonese, the world’s rarest crocodile | Young Post Club

3. How China is Replacing Cantonese with Mandarin