Cantonese opera and the growth and spread of vernacular written Cantonese in the twentieth century

This paper outlines some of the contributions of Cantonese opera to the growth in the use of written Cantonese in the twentieth century, and aims to demonstrate the vital role Cantonese opera played in spreading vernacular written Cantonese, in tracing the development from the heydays of Cantonese opera performances during the 1920s and 1930s, through post-World War II, and into the present. The paper studies the link between Cantonese opera and print culture on the one hand (opera scripts for mass readership, songbooks, printed lyrics and dialogues accompanying audiorecordings, etc.), and multimedia materials on the other hand (that is, multimedia productions where written Cantonese can be viewed and read (lyrics (and dialogues at times as well) are printed onscreen in opera films, video-recordings of stage productions, karaoke, etc.). Also addressed are some literacy issues. During the past two to three decades, vernacular written Cantonese (or simply ‘written Cantonese ’ for short)—that is, the written form of Cantonese that reflects the ver