As I mentioned a few weeks ago, due to many readers asking for Cantonese specific Facebook groups, I did some research into the topic. Here are my tl;dr findings:
1) Canadians and UK residents are representing! US residents, you gotta step up your game.
2) There is a dearth of Cantonese language parenting groups/forums other than this main one: Cantonese Parents, babies and toddlers, which I covered in a previous post.
3) As with all things, if more than a handful of friends are looking for a group and haven’t found anything, this means there is a true need. So, if you want a Cantonese language support group, CREATE ONE.
From my searches on Facebook, a lot of groups come up so I will leave you to look at the ones I didn’t include for relevance and brevity reasons. But, because I’m sure many of you are lazy just like me (I prefer “efficient,” thanks), I have linked the searches below. I have also included instructions just in case you need them.
Keywords: Cantonese, Cantonese Parent
Instructions:
a) Type “Cantonese” or “Cantonese parent” in the Facebook Search bar.
b) Click on “Groups” Tab to filter your search. (Alternately, you can click on the “Pages” Tab, too. But those are generally pages and not communities.)
So, without further ado, here are a few of the groups. Since I am not a member of these groups, I’m not sure how active they are. In general, I have paraphrased the descriptions they included for their groups. If I can find anything else about them without joining the groups, I also note it.
Cantonese Parenting Group – It seems to be a small group but I haven’t really checked it out (for obvious reasons). There are no public posts. But this group seems to be the most relevant.
Cantonese 粵語 (廣東話) 社團 – Not a parenting group, but a group dedicated to the Cantonese language. Originally comprised of Hong Kong immigrants to Canada, the group now welcomes Cantonese speakers from all over the world. The posts are all generally related to Cantonese and are posted in Simplified. (There may also be Traditional posts, but from the public ones I saw, I found only Simplified.)
Cantonese Playgroup for Parents and Toddlers in South Essex – Pretty self-explanatory, this playgroup is mostly for South Essex or East London parents with children aged between 1 and 5. The purpose is to let your children learn and practice Cantonese through play and for you to meet other Cantonese speaking parents. Since this group is very small, she plans on setting up a playgroup when there are enough people.
Cantonese for Parents and Children in South Essex – Again, self-explanatory. This playgroup is for parents (either fluent or can speak only a little Cantonese) who have children at pre-school age and wish to have other Cantonese speaking kids play with their children.
Informal events will be held on the first or second Saturday of the month in either East of London area or West Thurrock (mostly Lakeside Shopping Centre).
Bristol Cantonese Parents, Babies & Toddlers – This group is for English and Cantonese Parents, babies and toddlers in the Bristol area to connect, make friends and create opportunities and play dates to encourage Cantonese language and culture with their children.
They also post information about anything Chinese and/or family friendly in Bristol.
NW Cantonese Parents, Children, Families (UK) – For Cantonese speaking families in the North of England (well, Manchester and surrounding areas!) An informal and relaxed group, they are looking for fellow Cantonese (British-born or otherwise) parents so they can share experiences and to provide their children with the opportunity to meet others with similar family backgrounds/cultures.
They aim to arrange monthly/bi-monthly meets, family friendly and usually involving food whenever possible. Attendance is relaxed and non-compulsory – purely for fun and for meeting others.
Cantonese Conversation Circle – Seems geared more towards practicing Cantonese as an adult (as well as located in Toronto). I can only see the public posts (the last of which was 5-6 months ago) so I don’t know if they have other more recent posts. They meet approximately once a month at a Toronto woman’s house to practice conversational Cantonese. (They specify folks absolutely MUST be queer positive.)
Alright, that’s it for this edition of Facebook groups (Cantonese edition!). If you end up being inspired to start your own Cantonese language Facebook group, please let me know. I would love to feature it and get more members for you. Let me know in the comments, email me at virginia [at] mandarinmama [dot] com, or submit a comment via my Contact Page.
Have a great weekend!