Watch: Penang Hokkien, with restaurateur Tee Phee

Tee Phee, owner of Wellington’s Little Penang restaurants, is a fluent speaker of Penang Hokkien and was always determined to ensure that her local-born children grew up speaking the language. Here she discusses her relationship with the language.

Subtitles in English, Hokkien (Min Nan Chinese), Chinese (Simplified), and Chinese (Traditional) are available for this video. Turn them on in the settings area (the cog icon) after pressing play.

Watch: Mandarin, with poet Ya-Wen Ho

Ya-Wen Ho is a 1.5 generation Taiwanese Hakka New Zealander, a poet, and type researcher at Wai-te-ata Press in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. Here she discusses her complicated relationship with Mandarin and how it became her ‘mother tongue’.

Jack stand with his hands on a fence that is out of shot, staring at the camera. Behind him is the crest of St Mark’s School

Watch: Cantonese, with publisher and typeface designer Jack Yan

Jack Yan was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Wellington. Here he discusses how he has remained connected to his mother tongue, Cantonese.

Close up on rubber stamps with Chinese lettering on them

Chinese languages resources list

Are you keen to improve or teach yourself a Chinese language but unsure where to start? This list is for you.

Watch: Penang Hokkien, with restaurateur Tee Phee

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Watch: Mandarin, with poet Ya-Wen Ho

Watch: Cantonese, with publisher and typeface designer Jack Yan

Chinese languages resources list