<blockquote>
<p>Mandarin has sure enough affected my Cantonese. &quot;While speaking Cantontese with my mom, I accidentally said one half of a sentence in Mandarin and the other half in Cantonese?</p>
<p>我國語果然有影響我的廣東話。今天我跟我媽媽講廣東話，我無意講的一個句子有一半國語也另外一半有廣東話。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>我的国语果然会影响我的广东话。今天我跟我妈妈讲广东话时，我无意讲的一个句子，有一半是国语，另一半是广东话。</p>
<p>The way to express such a complex sentence is, split the phrases out.  For example</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I accidentally said one half of a sentence in Mandarin and the other half in Cantonese</p>
</blockquote>
<p>is</p>
<p>“I said a sentence.” “The sentence is half Mandarin and half Cantonese.”</p>
<p>我说了一个句子，句子里一半是国语另一半是广东话。</p>
<p>Though yours is good enough to understand, personally I would suggest following translation:</p>
<p>我的粤语（表达）的确被国语所影响。跟我妈说粤语时，我无意间说出了国语粤语参半的一句话。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-14T20:18:34.220Z
thanks so much! is 参半 used often in cantonese as well as mandarin?
Crashalot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-14T20:22:00.327Z
@Crashalot usually 参半 is in mandarin, but also seen in Cantonese.
WDC
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-16T07:43:59.280Z
In daily Mandarin, we would prefer to use 掺杂、混搭、杂糅 instead of 参半, which sounds more like written language.
Harry Summer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-16T08:57:01.413Z
@HarrySummer Right. But the major advantage of 参半 to other alternatives is, the conciseness of “一半是甲另一半是乙”.
WDC
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-14T19:37:50.807Z
2018-05-14T19:51:11.890Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
WDC
<p>The goal is to translate the following:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Mandarin has sure enough affected my Cantonese. "While speaking
  Cantontese with my mom, I accidentally said one half of a sentence in
  Mandarin and the other half in Cantonese?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This translation feels awkward:</p>

<p>我國語果然有影響我的廣東話。今天我跟我媽媽講廣東話，我無意講的一個句子有一半國語也另外一半有廣東話。</p>

<p>What's the appropriate grammar for such a complex sentence?</p>

<grammar><mandarin>
Correct grammar for "While speaking Cantontese with my mom, I accidentally said one half of a sentence in Mandarin and the other half in Cantonese."?
# Correct grammar for "While speaking Cantontese with my mom, I accidentally said one half of a sentence in Mandarin and the other half in Cantonese."?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-05-14)

The goal is to translate the following:

> Mandarin has sure enough affected my Cantonese. "While speaking
> Cantontese with my mom, I accidentally said one half of a sentence in
> Mandarin and the other half in Cantonese?

This translation feels awkward:

我國語果然有影響我的廣東話。今天我跟我媽媽講廣東話，我無意講的一個句子有一半國語也另外一半有廣東話。

What's the appropriate grammar for such a complex sentence?

**Tags:** grammar, mandarin


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-05-14. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

> Mandarin has sure enough affected my Cantonese. "While speaking Cantontese with my mom, I accidentally said one half of a sentence in Mandarin and the other half in Cantonese?
>
> 我國語果然有影響我的廣東話。今天我跟我媽媽講廣東話，我無意講的一個句子有一半國語也另外一半有廣東話。

我的国语果然会影响我的广东话。今天我跟我妈妈讲广东话时，我无意讲的一个句子，有一半是国语，另一半是广东话。

The way to express such a complex sentence is, split the phrases out. For example

> I accidentally said one half of a sentence in Mandarin and the other half in Cantonese

is

“I said a sentence.” “The sentence is half Mandarin and half Cantonese.”

我说了一个句子，句子里一半是国语另一半是广东话。

Though yours is good enough to understand, personally I would suggest following translation:

我的粤语（表达）的确被国语所影响。跟我妈说粤语时，我无意间说出了国语粤语参半的一句话。

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: thanks so much! is 参半 used often in cantonese as well as mandarin?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 usually 参半 is in mandarin, but also seen in Cantonese.  
> **username_2**: In daily Mandarin, we would prefer to use 掺杂、混搭、杂糅 instead of 参半, which sounds more like written language.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Right. But the major advantage of 参半 to other alternatives is, the conciseness of “一半是甲另一半是乙”.  

---

