Cantonese is spoken in Southern China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. In SF Bayarea, Mandarin and Cantonese are the only two kinds of Chinese programs on TV and Radio. Early Cantonese emigrants, Cantonese pop songs, TV programs, and movies are major reasons for its influence in the Chinese communities.

Interesting enough, VOA (Voice of America) has programs of two Chinese languages: one is Mandarin or Putonghua(the official standard Chinese speech) and the other is Cantonese. The prime time Chinese news of Channel 26 in Bayarea is in Cantonese(7 to 8 pm) and the next hour is usualy bilingual, Cantonese and Mandarin (in different sound tracks with SAP for Mandarin). From this, we can see how important Cantonese is for the Chinese community.