This is a continuation of my earlier piece on Learning Cantonese in Hong Kong.
I wrote Part 1 (So yuh wanna learn Cantonese, eh?) in a semi-playful and tongue-in-cheek manner. On the surface, it was a rant about the problems “foreigners” sometimes face learning the Cantonese language in Hong Kong. It listed several common beliefs, presented as “reasons”, why (especially) white westerners (supposedly) shouldn’t waste time learning Cantonese.
I’d guess that the readers who took my last reason for not learning Cantonese at face value didn’t make it past the first line of the relevant paragraph. If they had, they would have noticed I was explicitly questioning the view that English is widely spoken in Hong Kong. I called it a “myth” and related it to Hong Kong’s attempt at branding itself as “Asia’s world city“. I didn’t elaborate on the branding metaphor in Part 1, and assumed some familiarity with the rhetoric of globalization.
LANGUAGE AND GLOBALIZATION
To make the above point clearer, here are several examples of how Hong Kong companies and institutions – mostly with a vested interest in portraying Hong Kong as modern and international – market themselves (or Hong Kong) on their websites. On the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s website we frequently find phrases like “English is widely spoken in this most cosmopolitan of cities” http://www2.cuhk.edu.hk/oafa/hk.php
Foreign (at least New Zealand) students, then, are assumed to want to study overseas in places where English is spoken. New Zealand’s University of Otago has this to say about its exchange partner, The University of Hong Kong (the title at the top of their web page says “Chinese” University of Hong Kong) under the heading “Language of Instruction” (my emphasis):
“The University of Hong Kong instructs courses entirely in English and English is widely spoken in Hong Kong“.
Note that whether or not English is widely spoken in Hong Kong is not directly relevant to the topic indicated by the heading. But, presumably this imagined prevalence of English outside of the university itself and extending to Hong Kong in general is seen as a positive “selling point”.
Similarly,
“Q: I can’t speak Chinese. Can I survive in Hong Kong?
A: Of course! While Cantonese is the mother tongue of the majority Hong Kongers [sic], most can also communicate in English…”
It’s not clear whether a real person actually asked this question, or if it is a fabricated one. But the use of “of course” here is interesting. If it is really a “Frequently Asked Question” (it also appears on other sites), then there is quite a gap between the perceptions of Hong Kong’s linguistic realities as viewed by a typical spokesperson for the education sector and an outsider. As we see later, some expats living in Hong Kong also have a different view.
Transitions Abroad, on its web page promoting English teaching jobs in Hong Kong, similarly assume that their potential customers will see moving to a place where people speak English as a plus (my emphasis):
“The prevalence of English in Hong Kong makes the transition to living there easy. In fact, though this is not suggested, many expatriates in Hong Kong never learn to speak Cantonese because English is so widely spoken and understood.”
Hong Kong’s Tourism Board states that
“…Cantonese is the Chinese dialect spoken by over 88% of the people in Hong Kong. However, English is widely used in the Government and by the legal, professional and business sectors as well as tourist areas. Most taxi drivers and salespeople are able to communicate in English”.
Although the Tourism Board specifies that English is “widely used” in certain sectors, the caption beneath the graphic on the same web page omits the specifics and reads “English is widely used in Hong Kong”.
Note also, the TB’s use of “however”. The reality is that nearly everyone speaks Cantonese as their first language in Hong Kong. But, assuming that you are someone who prefers to speak English, don’t worry about the reality because “However, English is widely used…”. So, you can visit Hong Kong, after all! Once again this draws on the image of an average monolingual English-speaking “westerner” who apparently would have difficulties surviving in a non-English setting.
An exception to my generalization that it is mainly sectors that stand to gain from having Hong Kong branded as a location where English is “widely spoken”, is the WikiAnswers site.
WikiAnswers, to the question “What language is widely spoken in Hong Kong”?, tell us that:
“The main language spoken in Hong Kong is Cantonese although English is also widely spoken across the island”.
Do they mean Hong Kong Island, thus eliminating the New Territories from consideration? If so, it would make their statement more accurate. Or, does it draw on the stereotype of the typical “expat” who lives on Hong Kong Island?
Not everybody sees Hong Kong in the the same light. It’s not difficult to find comments online which directly contradict the image of a Hong Kong where “English is widely spoken”.
LOCAL EXPAT PERCEPTIONS
Contrast the above portrayals with this thread entitled “HK locals can’t even speak English” on a Hong Kong expat forum, for example, and a different view emerges. Or, on this blog.
Another site with no apparent vested interest in persuading its readership to visit Hong Kong – although the writer is a guide book editor – is this one.
Here is how Rory Bowland describes the language situation in Hong Kong with respect to English (again, my emphasis):
“One of the most popular questions about Hong Kong is if people in Hong Kong speak English. The answer is somewhat complex, and most people will be disappointed to hear that speaking English in Hong Kong is somewhat more difficult than the city attempts to portray.
Because of Hong Kong’s role as former British colony, people often arrive to Hong Kong with high expectations about the level of English. In general, they will be disappointed. Hong Kongers are far from fluent in English and it certainly isn’t a second mother tongue. That said, Hong Kongers are arguably the best, aside from Singaporeans, users of English in the Asia region”.
Just a handful of examples – but there is a predictable pattern here. Whenever Hong Kong is being marketed to outsiders as a potential destination for travel, work, study and business, invariably there is emphasis on it being a location where “English is widely spoken”. Given the role of English as a global lingua franca with high status, this is not surprising.
On the other hand, opinions by individuals – usually expats who have lived in Hong Kong for a while and have no vested interest in how it is perceived by outsiders – presumably reflect reality as they themselves experience it.
Lest I be misinterpreted, I am NOT criticizing Hong Kong because the English skills of the general populace do not match the ideal image promoted by a certain sector of its society. As a sociolinguist interested in how language is used in society, given Hong Kong’s history and its educational policies, I wouldn’t expect that English skills would be distributed more evenly throughout society than they obviously are. The point here is not to make value judgements about the linguistic realities of Hong Kong. What I’m getting at, is why do we find the discrepancy between perceptions in the first place? After all, nobody in their right mind, after a visit to the back alleys of Mong Kok or to the outside noodle stands and street markets of Tsuen Wan, Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun etc, would seriously conclude that English was “widely spoken” in those locations, would they? Surely not! But this, ironically, is what a literal interpretation of a phrase like “English is widely spoken in Hong Kong” would entail. One possibility is that the “Hong Kong” here really refers to the parts of Hong Kong where the “typical” westerner/foreigner/expat is expected to frequent. In other words, this identifies a stereotype – at least partially true – that we are all familiar with.
IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING CANTONESE
So far I’ve focused more on English than Cantonese. Now I want to tie what I’ve said so far into the implications for learning Cantonese in Hong Kong. By this I mean that when a learner goes out on the streets with the expectation of practicing Cantonese in an authentic daily interaction, the ideal situation will be one where she finds somebody who either only speaks Cantonese, or is willing to speak it with somebody who is a non-native speaker and a novice learner.
You’re more likely to find somebody who is willing to speak Cantonese with you if that person is either not connected to the tourist, education, government or (international) business sectors, or just doesn’t speak English. It won’t ALWAYS be true – but it’s a useful “rule of thumb” that can reduce the frustrations for the average westerner who wants to learn Cantonese in Hong Kong.
People in Hong Kong who belong to the former category of “international sectors” are far more likely to speak English than those in other fields. Not only is a knowledge of English usually a requirement for working in those areas, but there is also the expectation, shown in several of the above examples, that “foreigners” prefer to speak English.
It would be pointless to argue that that expectation is inaccurate for a certain segment of the expat population that comes to Hong Kong to work or travel for any length of time. But for those interested in getting close to the local language and culture, rather than being part of the “international community”, it is frequently wrong.
What does this mean for the Cantonese learner in Hong Kong? If you want to practice Cantonese, you need to tap into local Cantonese culture, not the part of Hong Kong that markets itself as a place where “English is widely spoken”. Expensive shopping malls and areas where tourists or resident expats uninterested in learning the Cantonese language hang out, will not generally be good places to practice Cantonese. Your average convenience store clerk in Central or Tsimshatsui will not expect “foreigners” to speak Cantonese – and will probably ignore any attempts to do so – regardless of your fluency. For beginners, at least, there seems to be little point in trying to change your typical store clerk’s perception of the world. Try the traditional street markets, rather than the supermarket or more westernized stores. You’ll find it’ll build up your confidence a lot quicker when the little old lady at the vegetable stand smiles and compliments you on your 2 or 3 words of Cantonese. With this under your belt, sooner or later you might even want to try speaking Cantonese in McDonalds!
The Sociolinguistics and Ideology of Learning Cantonese in Hong Kong
This is a continuation of my earlier piece on Learning Cantonese in Hong Kong.
I wrote Part 1 (So yuh wanna learn Cantonese, eh?) in a semi-playful and tongue-in-cheek manner. On the surface, it was a rant about the problems “foreigners” sometimes face learning the Cantonese language in Hong Kong. It listed several common beliefs, presented as “reasons”, why (especially) white westerners (supposedly) shouldn’t waste time learning Cantonese.
I’d guess that the readers who took my last reason for not learning Cantonese at face value didn’t make it past the first line of the relevant paragraph. If they had, they would have noticed I was explicitly questioning the view that English is widely spoken in Hong Kong. I called it a “myth” and related it to Hong Kong’s attempt at branding itself as “Asia’s world city“. I didn’t elaborate on the branding metaphor in Part 1, and assumed some familiarity with the rhetoric of globalization.
LANGUAGE AND GLOBALIZATION
To make the above point clearer, here are several examples of how Hong Kong companies and institutions – mostly with a vested interest in portraying Hong Kong as modern and international – market themselves (or Hong Kong) on their websites. On the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s website we frequently find phrases like “English is widely spoken in this most cosmopolitan of cities” http://www2.cuhk.edu.hk/oafa/hk.php
Foreign (at least New Zealand) students, then, are assumed to want to study overseas in places where English is spoken. New Zealand’s University of Otago has this to say about its exchange partner, The University of Hong Kong (the title at the top of their web page says “Chinese” University of Hong Kong) under the heading “Language of Instruction” (my emphasis):
“The University of Hong Kong instructs courses entirely in English and English is widely spoken in Hong Kong“.
Note that whether or not English is widely spoken in Hong Kong is not directly relevant to the topic indicated by the heading. But, presumably this imagined prevalence of English outside of the university itself and extending to Hong Kong in general is seen as a positive “selling point”.
Similarly,
“Q: I can’t speak Chinese. Can I survive in Hong Kong?
A: Of course! While Cantonese is the mother tongue of the majority Hong Kongers [sic], most can also communicate in English…”
It’s not clear whether a real person actually asked this question, or if it is a fabricated one. But the use of “of course” here is interesting. If it is really a “Frequently Asked Question” (it also appears on other sites), then there is quite a gap between the perceptions of Hong Kong’s linguistic realities as viewed by a typical spokesperson for the education sector and an outsider. As we see later, some expats living in Hong Kong also have a different view.
Transitions Abroad, on its web page promoting English teaching jobs in Hong Kong, similarly assume that their potential customers will see moving to a place where people speak English as a plus (my emphasis):
“The prevalence of English in Hong Kong makes the transition to living there easy. In fact, though this is not suggested, many expatriates in Hong Kong never learn to speak Cantonese because English is so widely spoken and understood.”
Hong Kong’s Tourism Board states that
“…Cantonese is the Chinese dialect spoken by over 88% of the people in Hong Kong. However, English is widely used in the Government and by the legal, professional and business sectors as well as tourist areas. Most taxi drivers and salespeople are able to communicate in English”.
Although the Tourism Board specifies that English is “widely used” in certain sectors, the caption beneath the graphic on the same web page omits the specifics and reads “English is widely used in Hong Kong”.
Note also, the TB’s use of “however”. The reality is that nearly everyone speaks Cantonese as their first language in Hong Kong. But, assuming that you are someone who prefers to speak English, don’t worry about the reality because “However, English is widely used…”. So, you can visit Hong Kong, after all! Once again this draws on the image of an average monolingual English-speaking “westerner” who apparently would have difficulties surviving in a non-English setting.
An exception to my generalization that it is mainly sectors that stand to gain from having Hong Kong branded as a location where English is “widely spoken”, is the WikiAnswers site.
WikiAnswers, to the question “What language is widely spoken in Hong Kong”?, tell us that:
“The main language spoken in Hong Kong is Cantonese although English is also widely spoken across the island”.
Do they mean Hong Kong Island, thus eliminating the New Territories from consideration? If so, it would make their statement more accurate. Or, does it draw on the stereotype of the typical “expat” who lives on Hong Kong Island?
Not everybody sees Hong Kong in the the same light. It’s not difficult to find comments online which directly contradict the image of a Hong Kong where “English is widely spoken”.
LOCAL EXPAT PERCEPTIONS
Contrast the above portrayals with this thread entitled “HK locals can’t even speak English” on a Hong Kong expat forum, for example, and a different view emerges. Or, on this blog.
Another site with no apparent vested interest in persuading its readership to visit Hong Kong – although the writer is a guide book editor – is this one.
Here is how Rory Bowland describes the language situation in Hong Kong with respect to English (again, my emphasis):
“One of the most popular questions about Hong Kong is if people in Hong Kong speak English. The answer is somewhat complex, and most people will be disappointed to hear that speaking English in Hong Kong is somewhat more difficult than the city attempts to portray.
Because of Hong Kong’s role as former British colony, people often arrive to Hong Kong with high expectations about the level of English. In general, they will be disappointed. Hong Kongers are far from fluent in English and it certainly isn’t a second mother tongue. That said, Hong Kongers are arguably the best, aside from Singaporeans, users of English in the Asia region”.
Just a handful of examples – but there is a predictable pattern here. Whenever Hong Kong is being marketed to outsiders as a potential destination for travel, work, study and business, invariably there is emphasis on it being a location where “English is widely spoken”. Given the role of English as a global lingua franca with high status, this is not surprising.
On the other hand, opinions by individuals – usually expats who have lived in Hong Kong for a while and have no vested interest in how it is perceived by outsiders – presumably reflect reality as they themselves experience it.
Lest I be misinterpreted, I am NOT criticizing Hong Kong because the English skills of the general populace do not match the ideal image promoted by a certain sector of its society. As a sociolinguist interested in how language is used in society, given Hong Kong’s history and its educational policies, I wouldn’t expect that English skills would be distributed more evenly throughout society than they obviously are. The point here is not to make value judgements about the linguistic realities of Hong Kong. What I’m getting at, is why do we find the discrepancy between perceptions in the first place? After all, nobody in their right mind, after a visit to the back alleys of Mong Kok or to the outside noodle stands and street markets of Tsuen Wan, Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun etc, would seriously conclude that English was “widely spoken” in those locations, would they? Surely not! But this, ironically, is what a literal interpretation of a phrase like “English is widely spoken in Hong Kong” would entail. One possibility is that the “Hong Kong” here really refers to the parts of Hong Kong where the “typical” westerner/foreigner/expat is expected to frequent. In other words, this identifies a stereotype – at least partially true – that we are all familiar with.
IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING CANTONESE
So far I’ve focused more on English than Cantonese. Now I want to tie what I’ve said so far into the implications for learning Cantonese in Hong Kong. By this I mean that when a learner goes out on the streets with the expectation of practicing Cantonese in an authentic daily interaction, the ideal situation will be one where she finds somebody who either only speaks Cantonese, or is willing to speak it with somebody who is a non-native speaker and a novice learner.
You’re more likely to find somebody who is willing to speak Cantonese with you if that person is either not connected to the tourist, education, government or (international) business sectors, or just doesn’t speak English. It won’t ALWAYS be true – but it’s a useful “rule of thumb” that can reduce the frustrations for the average westerner who wants to learn Cantonese in Hong Kong.
People in Hong Kong who belong to the former category of “international sectors” are far more likely to speak English than those in other fields. Not only is a knowledge of English usually a requirement for working in those areas, but there is also the expectation, shown in several of the above examples, that “foreigners” prefer to speak English.
It would be pointless to argue that that expectation is inaccurate for a certain segment of the expat population that comes to Hong Kong to work or travel for any length of time. But for those interested in getting close to the local language and culture, rather than being part of the “international community”, it is frequently wrong.
What does this mean for the Cantonese learner in Hong Kong? If you want to practice Cantonese, you need to tap into local Cantonese culture, not the part of Hong Kong that markets itself as a place where “English is widely spoken”. Expensive shopping malls and areas where tourists or resident expats uninterested in learning the Cantonese language hang out, will not generally be good places to practice Cantonese. Your average convenience store clerk in Central or Tsimshatsui will not expect “foreigners” to speak Cantonese – and will probably ignore any attempts to do so – regardless of your fluency. For beginners, at least, there seems to be little point in trying to change your typical store clerk’s perception of the world. Try the traditional street markets, rather than the supermarket or more westernized stores. You’ll find it’ll build up your confidence a lot quicker when the little old lady at the vegetable stand smiles and compliments you on your 2 or 3 words of Cantonese. With this under your belt, sooner or later you might even want to try speaking Cantonese in McDonalds!