Cantonese writing as a way to preserve Cantonese dialect

The article is devoted to the problem of preserving the Cantonese dialect in modern China, where the government has been persistently pursuing a policy of spreading the national Chinese language - Putonghua for several decades. In the article, the author analyzes the role of the Cantonese dialect in the culture of the Cantonese region, traces how the status of the Cantonese dialect has changed in mainland China and Hong Kong throughout modern history, examines the factors that threaten the continued existence of the Cantonese dialect, and the ways proposed by native speakers of the dialect to preserve their native language - development of literature in Cantonese dialect, creation of its own distinctive writing system. For the first time in Russian sinology, the author examines a new phonetic writing system for Cantonese, called Yutzitzi and developed recently by Hong Kong linguists, its advantages in comparison with other writing systems, and also sets out the specific principles of this system, providing them with illustrations. The author concludes that creation of literature in Cantonese dialect and implementation of a unified phonetic writing system are quite effective ways to preserve the dialect itself in its oral and written form and the associated identity of the Cantonese region, which is part of the intangible cultural heritage of the entire Chinese nation. At the same time, the loss or preservation of Cantonese dialect largely depends on whether the Chinese authorities soften their language policy towards dialects.