關於我哋 About Us

冚唪唥粵文成立於2019年12月,由兩位創辦人:香港語言學家劉擇明博士同廣東話初學者Viveik Saigal,喺一次偶然嘅會面之後成立嘅。

HBL was founded in December 2019 after a chance meeting between the Founders Dr. Chaak Ming Lau, a Hong Kong linguist and Viveik Saigal, a beginner adult learner of Cantonese.

喺討論入面,大家都認同呢啲需求:
During discussions, the need was identified for;

1)改良版嘅耶魯同粵拼羅馬化字體,提供更多提示幫助更準確嘅粵語發音。

2)針對成人同埋兒童初學者水平同認知而寫,而且附有粵拼嘅粵語故事書。

3)粵語分級詞表,用嚟有系統噉學習粵語同埋設計教材。

4)非華語學習者嘅自學、輔助學習單元,令佢哋可以喺廣東話朋友圈子嘅幫助下學習粵語同進行評估。

1) Re-imagining the Yale and Jyutping Romanisation fonts that would contain additional cues for a more accurate Cantonese Pronunciation.

2) Storybooks written in Cantonese and Jyutping for beginner adult and child students written to their level and sensibilities.

3) A graded scale for Cantonese to systematically study the language and plan teaching materials.

4) Self-study/assisted modules for non-Chinese learners designed to be conducted and assessed with the help of laymen Cantonese speakers in their circles of acquaintances and friends.

Illustrated by Karla

呢啲資源可以幫到有以下需要嘅粵語學習者:
These resources would assist non-native learners of Cantonese to

  • 想喺香港生活嘅人

  • 想了解粵語文化嘅人

  • 認同並且想融入香港社區嘅人

  • Live and Work more effectively in Hong Kong 
  • Understand Cantonese culture
  • Identify with and participate in the Hong Kong community

冚唪唥由2019年12月到2023年1月做咗啲咩?
What has the project achieved in the period Dec 2019 to Jan 2023?

要達到呢啲目標,創辦人建立咗一個開放材料同軟件嘅資源庫。當中資源包括有史以嚟第一個粵語分級詞表、圖像化粵拼同耶魯字體、網上粵文分級編輯器同埋其他軟件。

 

有咗呢啲基礎工具之後,冚唪唥邀請咗好多義工作家、編輯、插畫家同配音參與呢個計劃。 2020-2022新冠疫情期間雖然有好多活動限制,但都代表呢段時間內可以有更多義工參與,再加上佢哋嘅效率同互動,令冚唪唥順利完成咗好多工作。

With the above goals in mind, the founders began by creating an open-source depository of resources that include the first-ever Cantonese graded word-list scale, graphical Jyutping and Yale fonts, an online text editor and enabling publishing software. 

With these foundational tools in place, volunteer writers, editors, illustrators and sound artists were invited to the project. The 2020-2022 Covid-induced mobility restrictions meant more qualified volunteers were available for longer durations and with their increased efficiency and interactions a lot more got done. 

經過佢哋嘅努力,而家網站上已經提供咗呢啲資源畀學習者同老師使用:

 

呢啲材料係首個畀兒童同成人學習者建立幼稚園至小學3年級程度流利粵語口語嘅綜合資源。

As a result of their efforts, the resources now available for learners and teachers on the website are,  

These resources are the first ever comprehensive collection for developing oral Cantonese fluency targeting the kindergarten-primary 3 levels for the child and adult learner. 

40本印刷版粵文分級讀本 40 Printed Cantonese Graded Readers

呢個計劃完全依賴創辦人自籌嘅資金同義工慷慨貢獻嘅時間同資源。計劃證明咗只要有效噉利用電腦語言學,將重覆性工作自動化,再利用現有開源資源,一個小型但以目標為本嘅團隊都可以好靈活噉完成好多嘢。

 

自2023年1月31日起,冚唪唥將評估我哋未來喺新興嘅大型語言模型人工智能(LLM AI)世界中嘅角色,以及佢哋喺早期語言學習同教育中可能帶嚟嘅突破。

Being totally self-funded by the founders and the generous contribution of time and resources of community volunteers, this project is a testimonial to what is possible with the effective use of computational linguistics, automating repetitive tasks, and building on existing open-source resources by a small flexible result-focused team.

Effective 31st of January 2023, the project is evaluating its future role in the emerging world of LLM AI solutions and their game-changing possibilities in early language learning and education. 

計劃目標 Project Objectives

先建立流利粵語口語能力 Oracy Before Literacy

創作有助建立粵語說話同聆聽能力嘅材料,等學習者喺開始閱讀同書寫中文之前,可以流利噉聽同講粵語。
Create a corpus of materials that help build fluency in listening and speaking Cantonese before starting to read and write Chinese.

活學粵語 Highlight Romanisation

鼓勵熟練掌握粵拼。粵拼可以清晰顯示聲調和發音,令學習者能夠專注喺口語學習同使用。
Encourage proficiency in Jyutping romanisation. Clearly displayed tones and pronunciations enable learners to focus on oral language learning and usage.

提倡社區學習 Community Teaching

所有資源同工具都免費開放。添加多語言支援,令學習者同老師能夠容易噉指導同定制學習途徑。
Make all resources and tools open and free.  Add multilingual support empowering the learners and teachers to actively direct and customise learning pathways.

學習元素 Learning Elements

羅馬化 ROMANISATION

圖像化粵拼,係改良咗嘅粵語羅馬拼音(粵拼同耶魯)顯示方式,增加發音同音調提示,幫助加快學習記憶。
Graphical Cantonese, the enhanced fonts of Cantonese romanisation (Jyutping and Yale) to help accelerate retention by adding more pronunciation and tonal cues.

分級詞表 GRADED SCALE

根據粵語詞彙頻率同用法分級嘅詞表,係所有學習材料嘅基本參考,用嚟確保學習材料內容可以有間斷咁變化同重複。
A word frequency and usage-based scale of Cantonese words and vocabulary, the fundamental reference of all graded learning materials ensuring spaced and varied repetition and use.

寫作 WRITINGS

分級讀本同其他活動中,用指定範圍詞彙介紹同解釋唔同內容。仲有由本地作家用粵語創作以香港為主題嘅原創故事。
Graded readers and activities that introduce diverse content and interpretation within the word scale. Original stories, written by local writers in Cantonese to create Hong Kong-themed materials.

翻譯 TRANSLATIONS

圖像化粵拼轉換器提供多語言逐字翻譯,可以將粵語文本快速轉換為香港常用嘅第一語言。
Graphical Cantonese Generator with the multi-language word-by-word translation that makes possible quick conversion of Cantonese text to the commonly used first languages in Hong Kong.

學習圈 CIRCLES

具包容性嘅教材同指南,令專業老師、非粵語家長同埋有熱誠嘅人都可以幫助促進早期粵語學習。
Inclusive teaching materials and guidelines that enable professional teachers, non-Cantonese caregivers and motivated laymen to facilitate early Cantonese learning.

口音 ACCENTS

我哋喺社區收集咗各式各樣嘅錄音,等讀者可以聽到普遍嘅香港市區粵語口音。
For the listener to hear a broad cross-section of the urban Hong Kong Cantonese accent, a wide variety of voice recordings were solicited from the community.

粵拼 JYUTPING

計劃着重於粵語口語同聆聽,所以所有材料都會加入粵拼。我們鼓勵大家熟習粵拼,並希望母語者或非母語者採用粵拼作為其中一種粵文輸入法,因為已經有越嚟越多開源嘅閱讀寫作軟件支援粵拼。
With the project focus on Cantonese Speaking and listening, Jyutping romanisation is prominently used in all materials. We encourage proficiency in Jyutping as a viable input method for Cantonese literacy for both native and non-native learners as it is increasingly supported by open-source Jyutping-based reading and writing software.

文化 CULTURE

透過分級讀本入面嘅附加內容嚟回顧同欣賞香港同粵語文化。
Recalling and celebrating Hong Kong and Cantonese culture delivered through additional content in the graded readers.

你有任何嘅問題? Have Any Questions?

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