| Languages Of Hong Kong |
Article Index for Languages Of |
Website Links For Languages |
Information AboutLanguages Of Hong Kong |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT LANGUAGES OF HONG KONG | |
| languages of hong konglanguages of hong kong | |
| languages of china | |
| hong kong | |
| hong kong culture | |
| hong kong society | |
|
Hong Kong , as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic Of China , is officially Bilingual with Chinese and English . When Hong Kong was a British Crown Colony , administration was mostly done in English, with Chinese not being granted official status until 1974. After the Transfer Of Sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic Of China in 1997, both Chinese and English remained the official language of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Since Chinese became an official language, most Sign s in public areas and government documents in Hong Kong are bilingual. The majority of the population in Hong Kong have ancestors that were immigrants. These include the immigrants from The Rest Of China , and foreign countries such as India , Nepal , United Kingdom and the Philippines . This has led to a diversity in the languages that can be heard in Hong Kong. __TOC__ CHINESE Spoken Chinese (middle), a Hong Kong-based actress, often acted as a Shanghainese Landlady in her early stage life, whose Cantonese had a characteristic tinge of Shanghainese accent.]] The majority of the population in Hong Kong speak Cantonese , which is the Chinese Spoken Variant that originated in Guangdong province. More precisely, most Hong Kong people speak Standard Cantonese , the dialect originated from the area around present-day Guangzhou . Standard Cantonese enjoys a ''de facto'' official status in Hong Kong, and is used by the government and in broadcasting. However, there are also speakers of other Chinese spoken variants like Toisanese , Teochiu (especially in West Point and North Point ), Hakka (especially in Yuen Long and Kam Tin ). The diversity in Chinese spoken variants in Hong Kong is due to the fact that some families in Hong Kong were immigrants from other regions in The Rest Of China in different periods in history. Some older people in Hong Kong, especially those living in people from the fishing Village s also speak their own Cantonese dialect. China has numerous regional and local variants of spoken Chinese, many of which are mutually unintelligble. Most are only used in their own native areas, but some, particularly the various languages of Guangdong and Fujian have spread to other areas by emmigration from those provinces. Since the 1950s, the widespread use Standard Mandarin in education, the media, and official situations has resulted in nearly everyone in mainland China and Taiwan being able to understand and speak Standard Mandarin in addition to their own native dialects. In Guangdong, many Cantonese speakers are in effect bilingual, in the sense that they speak two mutually unintelligble variants of Chinese. However in Hong Kong Cantonese speakers do not speak Standard Mandarin as it was never used. At the time of the widespread introduction of Standard Mandarin in mainland China and Taiwan, Hong Kong was a British colony and English and the local variant of Chinese, Cantonese, were the most widely used languages in Hong Kong. Cantonese was and continues to be used in education, the media, and in daily life. This has resulted in Cantonese being the only Chinese variant apart from Standard Mandarin to have an official status. Although Cantonese is widely spoken in Hong Kong, Standard Mandarin is the official spoken Chinese variant throughout China . The number of Mandarin learners in Hong Kong had not been large before 1997, but since Hong Kong's transfer to the PRC, Mandarin has become a mandatory subject in most schools. As Hong Kong now has a much closer relationship with the rest of China in terms of trade, Economic Ties and exchange of people, the importance of Mandarin is rapidly increasing. Many adults acquire the language voluntarily to attain better career prospects, and the usage of Mandarin in Hong Kong is increasing. For instance, the announcements on the MTR trains were only made in Cantonese and English before, but are now Trilingual - in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. However, the promotion of Mandarin in Hong Kong has not shown much progress up to now, and many Hong Kongers are not able to communicate in fluent Mandarin. A few extremists may also regard Mandarin as a cultural invasion from the rest of China. Through Real-time NICAM , though, some Mandarin television programmes are viewed by the local audience. Written Chinese For Written Chinese , Traditional Chinese Character s are widely used, and is the ''de facto'' writing standard in Hong Kong. In Mainland China , however, Simplified Chinese Character s are used. Owing to the increasing number of tourists from mainland China, simplified Chinese characters are now more frequently used in Hong Kong. Simplified Chinese characters can be found on posters, leaflets, flyers and signs in the tourist areas. In schools, students are fond of using simplified Chinese character too, because of its efficiency. Although Cantonese is the mostly widely spoken Chinese Variant in Hong Kong, the standard writing system is Standard Written Chinese . Standard Written Chinese is based on Standard Mandarin (''Putonghua/Guoyu'') and is different to Cantonese in grammar and vocabulary. It is the standard throughout China (including Taiwan ) and also Singapore . There is also a writing system based on the vocabulary and grammar of spoken Cantonese, which people write according to the way they speak. Written Cantonese is gaining popularity in newspapers and magazines for quoting conversation, but such writing is usually unintelligible to Chinese people outside Hong Kong, Macau and some other Cantonese speaking communities, and is considered non-standard by many, notably educators. Some have credited this system to the challenges the standard Chinese writing system has faced in pop culture in recent years. Past struggles to be an official language Mockery of non-Cantonese accents ENGLISH English is the major working language in Hong Kong, and is widely used in commercial activities and legal matters. Although the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to the PRC by the United Kingdom in 1997, English is still one of the Official Language s of Hong Kong, and its official status is enshrined in the Basic Law . For most of the population who are ethnic Chinese, though, it is a second language acquired from school education, taught from the Kindergarten level. About a quarter of Secondary School s use English from Form 1 to Form 3 as the medium of instruction for all subjects except Chinese language and Chinese history, and a higher proportion of schools use English for instruction at Form 4 and above. Many courses in the local Universities are taught in English, while some are offered by the British Council ; sometimes professors are "strongly encouraged" by the schools to use English as the instruction language. Average Hong Kongers who do not frequently use English speak it with some Accent , which is largely considered inferior and regarded as incorrect. Nevertheless, English enjoys a prestige and respected status in the Hong Kong society and by many Chinese people in Hong Kong. Code-Switching between Cantonese and English Many Hong Kongers Use Both Cantonese And English within the same sentence when speaking, using Cantonese syntax with English words and phrases. For example, one might hear, "唓，都唔make sense!" ("Ugh, that makes no sense!") Some regard this way of speaking an affectation, and consider people speaking this way admirers of the West who think that English is more "elegant", "handy" or "cool" than Chinese. Cantonese speakers who incorporate too much English are even dubbed "language-handicapped" by purists. However, some code-switchers maintain that that is the only way they can make themselves understood, and could not genuinely express themselves in "pure" Cantonese. The code switching can freely mix English words and Chinese grammar, for instance "你 Un 唔 Un ?" ("Do you understand?")(not a common use) which follows the Chinese grammar syntax 'verb - 唔 - verb' to ask "Do you verb?". Notice also the corruption of 'understand' to 'un' since most cantonese verbs are single syllables. English words and phrases usually incorporated by Hong Kongers when speaking Cantonese: even (''ad.''), by the way, in between, anyway, somehow, general (''a.'')... English words used so often that might be regarded as part of Hong Kong Cantonese: keep (''v.'', meaning ''to retain''), claim (''v.'', often pronounced like "came"), care (''v''), like (''v,'', pronounced lai-kee,), share (''v.''), partner (often pronounced "park-la"), file (often pronounced fai-lo), number (pronounced lum-ba), case (pronounced kei-see) ... Transliterations in Hong Kong after 1997 Before 1997, Cantonese pronunciation was the basis for ). OTHER EUROPEAN LANGUAGES French For many people in Hong Kong, the French Language stands for high culture. It is the third most learnt foreign language in Hong Kong, after English and Japanese. Many institutions in Hong Kong, including Alliance Française , provide French courses. French is included as a subject in the HKCEE , but not in HKALE , with accordance to British International General Certificate Of Secondary Education 's (IGCSE) standard. The IGCSE French syllabus used by the University Of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate (UCLES) is adopted in the examination. The only French bookstore in Hong Kong is located on Wellington Street , Central . Real estate developers in Hong Kong, though they may scarcely know French, are fond of giving their constructions French names, for example, ''Bel-Air'', ''Les Saisons'' and ''Belle Mer''. In Hong Kong, this kind of Foreign Branding is not confined in the real estate industry. As can be expected, many Boutique s and Restaurant s adopt French names, such as Yucca De Lac , an already-closed high-class restaurant in Ma Liu Shui . Sometimes only French elements such as Article s and Preposition s are added to the name, such as the restaurant chain Café De Coral . Similar Anglo-Franco medley can be seen easily on a menu of Délifrance , a French-style restaurant chain in Hong Kong. The names of Café de Coral and Yucca de Lac also reflect an interesting naming tradition in Hong Kong: the foreign name does not need to be an accurate translation of its Chinese counterpart, as long as it sounds elegant and has a certain aural resemblance to the Chinese one. The Chinese name of Café de Coral is 大家樂 (''lit.'' We All Happy), to which "de Coral" sounds close; Yucca de Lac is rendered as 雍雅山房 (''lit.'' Majestic Mansion), with 雍雅 approximating "Yucca". German , Hong Kong. Note that the name of the restaurant, as well as the words on the cup pad, are in German.]] The exact number of German speakers in Hong Kong is unclear, but the number is significant enough for the establishment of the German Swiss International School (''Deutsch-Schweizerische Internationale Schule''), which claims to number more than 1,000 students, at The Peak of Hong Kong Island . Many institutions in Hong Kong provide German courses. The most well-known one is the . The latter one also offers an European Studies degree course of German Stream, Bachelor of Social Science in European Studies (German Stream), in parallel with the French stream. For a lot of people in Hong Kong, their first impression on Germany may be that it is a country with very advanced technology. As a result, German language often gives people a sense of high technology. However, German language can sometimes act as a symbol of romantic western culture. Western restaurants and shops with German names can be found in Hong Kong. But the complicated spelling of German words often give an inferior image to Hong Kong people. Spanish Although Spanish is hardly spoken in Hong Kong, many perceive it as having an exotic, Mediterranean feeling and some private housing estates in Hong Kong have Spanish names, such as Monte Vista (lit. ''view mountain'') and '' Villa Athena'' (intended to be ''Village of Athena'', ''Villa Atenea'' in proper Spanish). There are some Spanish and Mexican restaurants in Hong Kong, whose owners speak Spanish. Some of these restaurants' menus include Spanish, as well as Chinese and English. Portuguese and Macanese Portuguese and Macanese (also known as Patuá) are mainly spoken by Macanese People who have settled in Hong Kong . Most are bilingual or multilingual and speak Cantonese and English as their first languages. Russian , Hong Kong displays an exotic Christmas decoration. The Russian expression "С ПРАЗДНИКОМ ВАС!" is added to enhance the Eastern European feeling.]] Although Russian is not widely spoken in Hong Kong, it acts as a unique symbol of Eastern European culture in Hong Kong. OTHER EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES Japanese . Interestingly enough, the character 站, substituted by 駅 in the name, also appears as if serving as a footnote.]] A significant number of Japanese businessmen work in Hong Kong, so it is not uncommon to hear Japanese conversation in the city. Moreover, Japanese is the most learnt foreign language in Hong Kong (beside English, of course), as Japanese culture, including Anime , Manga , Sushi and Pop Music , has been popular in Hong Kong for more than two decades. Bookstores selling Japanese Magazine s are easily found in Hong Kong. Written Japanese appears not just on the menus of Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong. Sometimes Hong Kongers like to replace Chinese Characters with Japanese words. For example, Aji Ichiban , a snack and candy chain, uses the '' Hiragana '' の in place of the Chinese character 之, rendering their name as 優の良品. Another example would be the use of the '' Kokuji '' 駅 to substitute 站 (lit. ''station''), as in Nu Front (東角駅), a shopping mall for Hong Kong youngsters in Causeway Bay . 東角 ( Cantonese IPA /təʊŋ55 kɔk33/; Jyutping dong1 gok3) is the old name of the place. Also, Metro Town, a new private estate in Tseung Kwan O , has the Chinese name 都會駅. These loanwords are pronounced by Hong Kongers as if they were their Chinese counterparts (i.e. の as 之, and 駅 as 站). It should be noted that the Japanese ''kokuji'' 駅 actually corresponds to the Chinese character 驛. However, 驛 refers to posts for Horse s in ancient times, and is replaced by 站 in the modern era, which refers to stops for Vehicle s. Some youth mistakenly pronounce 駅 as if it were the Chinese character 尺, according to the folk wisdom " Read The Side If Any ", an often false rule for reading unknown characters. As Japanese culture is so popular in Hong Kong, some Japanese terms have been absorbed into Hong Kong Chinese, not just for stylistic purposes. The most notable example is the term "人氣" ( Popularity ). The term "花火" ( Firework ) is also often used in Cantopop . The terms "大搜查" and "事件簿" were once very popular, and were much used by the local media. Korean may surpass Japanese to become the most learnt Asian language in Hong Kong. McDonald's restaurants in Hong Kong used a Korean catchphrase, ''Dea Dan Heyo'' ("it's great"), in one of their commercials in 2005. Vietnamese Vietnamese is used in Hong Kong among Chinese Vietnamese who had settled in Vietnam and then moved to Hong Kong, and by the Boat People who left Vietnam following the wars. A Vietnamese-language broadcast made by the Hong Kong government in 1988, which announced that Hong Kong was going to receive no more Vietnamese refugees, has become part of the Collective Memory of many Hong Kongers living in that era. The beginning words, " Bắt đầu Từ Nay ", which mean "from now on", are probably the only Vietnamese phrase that most non-Vietnamese in Hong Kong know. The phrase ''Bắt đầu từ nay'' was then used by some locals to disparagingly refer to the Vietnamese people. SOUTHEAST ASIAN LANGUAGES Tagalog leaving St Joseph Church after a Sunday service in Central.]] Tagalog and other Philippine Languages are used by Filipinos In Hong Kong , most of whom are domestic helpers. Most Filipinos in Hong Kong have Sunday as their fixed holiday, upon which they congregate in Central to socialize, eating self-prepared food, singing, playings cards, and even selling various items. This is such a long-standing practice that the "No littering" signs in those areas are written in Tagalog as well as Chinese and English. Tagalog can also be seen in some branches of Philippine corporations in Hong Kong; newspapers and magazines in Tagalog can also be easily bought in Central. There are also a small number of Church es in Hong Kong that have Masses or Services in Tagalog, for example the afternoon masses provided by the St Joseph Church in Central. Many Filipina maids address their employers as either ''sir'' or ''ma'am'' . Some of them learn to speak Cantonese, and one of the most common Cantonese terms they utter is '' Pengyau '' ("friend" in Cantonese), which they use to address a stranger. Some are even familiar with certain Cantonese slang and Curse Words . .]] Indonesian Indonesian is the common language for the significant number of Indonesians working in Hong Kong; most of them are domestic helpers. On Sunday and public holidays, they usually gather at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to socialize. Many shops sellings Indonesian items can be found in Hong Kong, for instance, on Sugar Street in Causeway Bay. Thai , Kowloon City]] '' and '' Tom-Yum-Goong ''. Some few-minute-long Thai lessons can be found on some bus RoadShow TV programmes every now and then, one of which was taught by Sandra Ng , a local comedienne and actress. SOUTH ASIAN LANGUAGES . The Urdu words read " Halaal Chicken Shop".]] A significant number of Indians and Pakistanis can be found mainly in Tsim Sha Tsui . Signboards written in Hindi or Urdu can be seen in the area, and conversation in South Asian languages including Nepali , Sindhi and Punjabi , as well as Urdu and Hindi, can be heard. The Indian and Pakistani populations are more integrated into Hong Kong culture than Westerners dwelling in Hong Kong, at least linguistically. While few Westerners and "" in Hong Kong can speak fluent Cantonese, many Pakistanis and Indians speak almost-perfect Cantonese. In 2004, the Home Affairs Bureau and Metro Plus AM 1044 jointly launched radio shows ''Hong Kong-Pak Tonight'' in Urdu and ''Harmo Sagarmatha'' in Nepalese. MIDDLE EASTERN LANGUAGES Arabic in Hong Kong has its name in Arabic on its facade.]] Arabic is used frequently in among the Muslim communities in Hong Kong. Arabic words can also be found in the menu and the decorations in the restaurants that serve Chinese Islamic Cuisine in Hong Kong. Persian AFRICAN LANGUAGES In early 1990s, a famous local Rock band called Beyond released a song called ''Amani''. The song is about the harm that wars had brought to the children in Africa , and sends out the message of peace. While most part of the song is in Cantonese Chinese, a sentence "''Amani nakupenda nakupenda wewe''" is kept repeated in the song. That sentence, as well as the title of the song, was in Swahili , a Lingua Franca for East Africa and surrounding areas. The sentence actually means "I love you, Peace". The song was once pretty popular among Chinese teenagers in Hong Kong, but few of them knew that the title was Swahili. Apart from that, there seems to be a significant number of Ghanians in Hong Kong, as court interpreters who know Twi are perenially sought by the government {Link without Title} . A number of African restaurants can be found in Chungking Mansions , Tsim Sha Tsui, where African Language s are sometimes used in Menu s. EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|