A massive preparation has to be done before giving a speech, especially to the crowd. Can you picture yourself saying something on stage in a language that you’re not fluent in?
Malaysian actress and model, Lim Min Chen was recently invited to be part of the award presenters at a Hong Kong TV Show Awards – 2023 TVB Anniversary Awards. Min Chen was “tasked” to present the award for the category “Malaysia’s Most Favourite TVB Drama”, and she was partnered with veteran HK actor, Bowie Woo.
The pair started by joking around on the stage before revealing the nominees and presenting the award. However, her segment was one of the most talked about parts of the award, with many audience members baffled at how poor her command of Cantonese was.
According to a post by Hong Kong TV station, TVB on Instagram, Min Chen’s fluency in Cantonese was also acknowledged and described as “half-baked Cantonese”.
“Min Chen’s half-baked Cantonese paired with Bowie’s humour made the segment even livelier and more fun!”
“You’re not embarrassing yourself but us”
Netizens, however, were not impressed at all with Min Chen’s fluency and some were baffled as to how she was invited to be part of the presenters when Cantonese was the main spoken language.
“She’s just relying on her beauty. Her Cantonese was so awkward, she’s embarrassing us Malaysians.”
“Why is she speaking Cantonese in such a poor manner? You’re not embarrassing yourself, but you’re humiliating Malaysians.”
“I think Min Chen has done her best.”
“This segment is so cringe.”
“I felt tired listening to her Cantonese.”
“Her Cantonese is so bad.”
You can watch the clip below which features the segment with Min Chen and Bowie Woo as the guest presenters.
What do you think of Min Chen’s spoken Cantonese?