Thanks for the link. An excellent article. I once met a Cantonese student at my university in Canada, and I spoke to him in Cantonese.He replied that he couldn't speak it, so I said the same thing in Mandarin, and he said that he couldn't speak that either. Then I asked his girl friend what language he could speak, and she said that he speaks Cantonese.
However, many Mandarin speakers also reply in English, even Mandarin teachers. They often say that I speak good Mandarin and then switch to English. In my local Chinese cultural association, all notices are sent out just in English, and the meetings are conducted in English. When they sent out a letter asking for ideas on how to teach Chinese in their school, I suggested that they should first of all actually use it in the association, since the overwhelming majority of the members were native speakers, but there was no reply.
However, many Mandarin speakers also reply in English, even Mandarin teachers. They often say that I speak good Mandarin and then switch to English. In my local Chinese cultural association, all notices are sent out just in English, and the meetings are conducted in English. When they sent out a letter asking for ideas on how to teach Chinese in their school, I suggested that they should first of all actually use it in the association, since the overwhelming majority of the members were native speakers, but there was no reply.