Photograph by: Mark van Manen , Vancouver Sun
(Source: Vancouver Sun: http://www.vancouversun.com/Census+Mandarin+Cantonese+immigrant+tongues+Metro+Vancouver/7442441/story.html)
I was quoted in today’s Vancouver Sun on census data that indicates a high concentration of Cantonese and Mandarin being spoken in the Metro Vancouver area. The online version was published yesterday. You’ll find the article in today’s paper on p. A4.
Kelly Sinoski’s article is part of a series she’s doing on emerging census data. As Henry Yu (UBC History) her, many of the sites where these languages are spoken are in Chinese churches. Sinoski followed-up with an interview with me on Tuesday morning and then printed this yesterday. I told her about Chinese churches as extended family sites, as I had written about in my 2011 Population, Space, and Place article on “Making a Cantonese-Christian family.” She included arguably the funniest quote that I received during my MA research for the article:
Justin Tse, a UBC grad student who is studying the phenomenon, said the church often provides newcomers with a sense of family and connectedness. One of his research subjects, for instance, told him that he often attends church, but usually falls asleep during the sermon and wakes up when it’s over.
“It’s a lot like going to your dad’s house,” he said. “There’s a strong sort of familial feeling.”
You’ll find the exact transcript quote on p. 761 of the academic article. Thanks, Kelly, for the quote–it was fun chatting! And thanks, Henry, for making the connection!
Justin K.H. Tse 