Hong Kong English Explained

Hong Kong English is a variety of the English language native to Hong Kong. The variant is either a learner interlanguage or emergent variant, primarily a result of Hong Kong's British colonial history and the influence of native Hong Kong Cantonese speakers.

Background

English is one of two official languages in Hong Kong – the other being Chinese (Cantonese) – and is used in academia, business and the courts, as well as in most government materials. Major businesses routinely issue important material in both Chinese and English, and all road and government signs are bilingual.^[1] Since the Handover, English in Hong Kong remains primarily a second language, in contrast to Singapore where English has been shifting toward being a first language. The falling English proficiency of local English language teachers has come under criticism.^[2] The proportion of the Hong Kong population who report using English (that is, all forms) as their "usual spoken language" increased from 2.8% in 2006 to 4.3% in 2016, while 51.1%, 63.5% and 65.6% respectively, reported being able to speak, write and read the language.^[3]

Status

The existence of Hong Kong English, as a distinct variety of the English language, is still a matter of debate among many scholars.

Evidence suggesting variant established

In the literature examining the existence of Hong Kong English as a distinct variety, scholars have sought evidence of expression of the variant which may be classified according to the following criteria:

• Standard and recognisable accent; research has demonstrated the existence of, and local preference for, a local Hong Kong English accent^{[4] [5]}
• Distinctive vocabulary; local media, such as newspapers, clearly show a shared common vocabulary used among English speakers in Hong Kong^[6]
• History; a continuous link can be drawn between Hong Kong English and early pidgin forms used to communicate between traders in Canton before the establishment of Hong Kong as a colony.^[7]
• Literature using the variant; there is a growing corpus of literature produced in English which is meant for local consumption.^[8]
• Reference works; reference texts describing Hong Kong English are beginning to emerge, such as A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor^[9]

Using these criteria, scholars have said that Hong Kong English possesses the attributes of a distinct variety.

Hong Kong English is also featured as a separate entity in the Oxford Guide to World English, under the sub-heading of "East Asia".^[10] Hong Kong English is also included as a separate variety of English within the International Corpus of English, with a dedicated local research team collecting data to describe the usage of English in Hong Kong.^[11]

Evidence suggesting variant not established

It has also been argued that there is no such thing as Hong Kong English^[12] and the predominance of recent works discuss Hong Kong phonology in terms of erroneous deviation from varieties such as British and American English. In one co-authored work describing a study conducted of five Hong Kong speakers of English, it was concluded, controversially, as they conceded, that HKE was at most an emergent variety and perhaps no more than a "learner interlanguage".^[13] In the Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Englishes, it has been classified as in the third phase, that of Nativisation,^[14] but more recently it has been shown that many young people are happy to identify themselves as speakers of Hong Kong English, so it may be regarded as progressing into the fourth phase, that of Endonormative Stabilisation.^[15] Furthermore, by the criteria identified in the above section, scholars have noted that there is very little literature produced in English which is meant for local consumption.

Intelligibility and recognition

It has been demonstrated that English spoken in Hong Kong is highly intelligible to listeners from elsewhere, which helps explain why an increasing number of people are happy to be identified as speakers of this variety.^[16] However, it has been noted that language use is highly politicised and compartmentalised in Hong Kong, where the two official languages are seen as having different and distinct uses. Indeed, it has been argued that even English language teachers in Hong Kong would refuse to acknowledge the local variant of English within a classroom setting, opting instead for more "standard" variations.

It has been argued that the lack of recognition of Hong Kong English as a variety on par with other Asian varieties, such as Indian English or Singapore English, is due to a lack of research.

Pronunciation

As a result of the colonial legacy, the pronunciation of Hong Kong English was assumed to be originally based on British English,^[17] However, nowadays, there are new features of pronunciation derived from American English, and the influence of American English has emerged.^[18] Furthermore, there seem to be some innovative developments that are unique to Hong Kong English, such as a split in the realisation of /v/ as [f] or [w].^[19] Some of the more salient features are listed below.

Segments

• tends to be, so this is,^[20]
• tends to be, so whether is .^[21]
• may be or, so event may have while even has . It seems that occurs at the start of a stressed syllable while occurs at the start of an unstressed syllable.
• There is alternation between [l] and [n], and the same speaker may alternate with words such as light and night, and both loud and number may have either or at the start.
• Words with final add long vowel ; Joyce, for instance, becomes Joysee .
• In final consonant clusters, just as with many other varieties of English, there is a tendency for simplification, so the plosive at the end of words such as think and camp is often omitted. Deletion of coronal plosives and from word-final clusters has been reported to occur in about 76% of tokens, though this frequency is a little less if the function words and and just are excluded from the analysis.^[22]
• L-vocalisation is common, so dark in the coda of a syllable is often pronounced as pronounced as /[ʊ]/, and fill may be pronounced as /[fiʊ]/ while tell is pronounced as /[tʰeʊ]/, just as in London English (Cockney). After back rounded vowels is often omitted, so school is pronounced as /[skuː]/ and wall is pronounced as /[wɔː]/.
• Like many accents in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Hong Kong English is non-rhotic, so is only pronounced before a vowel. However, with the growing influence of American English, many young people in Hong Kong now pronounce the in the coda of a syllable.
• There is often little distinction between the non-close front vowels, pronounced as //æ// and pronounced as //ɛ//, so bat and bet may be pronounced the same (with pronounced as /[ɛ]/).
• Long and short vowels are generally merged, particularly involving the close vowels pronounced as //iː// and pronounced as //ɪ// (so heat and hit are both pronounced pronounced as /[hit]/ with a short tense pronounced as /[i]/) as well as pronounced as //uː// and pronounced as //ʊ// (so pull and pool are the same).
• Vowel reduction is often avoided in function words, so a full vowel occurs in words such as and and to as well as the first syllable of content words such as accept and patrol.

Intonation

• Multi-syllable words are often differently stressed. For example, while the word latte is pronounced in most variants of the English language, it is usually pronounced in Hong Kong English, with the second syllable stressed instead of the first.
• Omission of entire "r-" syllables in longer words; difference becomes, and temperature becomes .
• Words beginning with the unstressed syllable con- are generally pronounced with its stressed form with a lower pitch, e.g. connection, consent, condition. Words beginning with the stressed syllable com- e.g. competition, common and compromise are pronounced .
• The schwa tends to be pronounced as in final closed syllables; ticket is pronounced, and carpet is pronounced .
• The suffix -age is generally pronounced ; message is pronounced, package is pronounced etc.
• There is less vowel reduction in unstressed syllables, and some variation in the placement of stress. For example, chocolate may be pronounced, as distinct from in other varieties of English.^[23]
• Compared to other varieties of English, there is less difference between stressed and unstressed syllables. In most varieties of English, unstressed syllables are reduced, taking less time. This difference is smaller in Hong Kong English.^[24]

Others

• In Cantonese, there is no structure of diphthong+consonant. As a result, pronounced as //eɪn// becomes, pronounced as //eɪm// becomes, pronounced as //ɔɪn// becomes, pronounced as //oʊn// becomes, pronounced as //aʊn// becomes, pronounced as //eɪk// becomes, pronounced as //oʊk// becomes, pronounced as //eɪl// becomes etc.
  • For the case pronounced as //aɪn//, pronounced as //aɪt// or pronounced as //aɪk//, the ending consonant is generally omitted, resulting in pronounced as /[aɪ]/.
• Many Chinese will speak a foreign language with the same characteristic monosyllabic staccato of spoken Chinese, with varying degrees of the natural liaisons between syllables that natives employ. In a similar vein, they often pronounce syllables as if words were transliterated into Cantonese: Cameron is pronounced as pronounced as /[ˈkʰɛmmalɔn]/ based on its transliteration; basic is pronounced as pronounced as /[ˈpei̯se̝k̚]/.
• Exaggeration of certain final consonants, for example to and sounds of the past-tense form of verbs to .
• Differences or omission in ending sounds, as the ending consonants are always voiceless and unreleased (glottalised) in Cantonese with the exceptions of, and, similar to Basel German
• Pronouncing the silent, sounds in words like Green-wich, Bon-ham, Chat-ham, Beck-ham are often reflected in the transliteration of the words; for example, Beckham is transliterated (pronounced).
• Merging the contrast of voiceless/voiced consonants with aspirated/unaspirated if any contrast exists in Cantonese. This is because English voiceless consonants are most often aspirated, whereas the voiced ones are always unaspirated. The stop pronounced as //p// stays as but pronounced as //b// becomes ; pronounced as //t// stays as but pronounced as //d// becomes ; pronounced as //k// stays as but pronounced as //ɡ// becomes ; pronounced as //tʃ// becomes and pronounced as //dʒ// becomes (except when preceded by s, where the English consonants are unaspirated).
• Merging voiceless/voiced consonants into voiceless if there is no contrast in aspirated/unaspirated in Cantonese. Both and become ; both and become ; both and become ; the only exception might be that and are never confused, due to difficulty in pronouncing and : many pronounce as, and as .
• Confusion between homographs (words with the same spelling but different meanings), e.g. the noun resume (a CV) and the verb resume (to continue).

American/British spelling and word usage

• Both British and American spellings are in common use, although the British variant predominates in official circles, and remains the officially taught form in education.
• However, Hong Kong has significant American influence in its treatment of abbreviations and initialisms: the full point is expected in shortened titles (Mr., Ms., Dr., St.), and government honours also retain the full point in post-nominals (G.B.M., G.B.S.), whereas British English no longer uses the full point.
• When referring to the same thing, British vocabulary is more commonly used, for example: rubbish bin instead of garbage/trash can; lift^[25] instead of elevator; mobile phone instead of cell phone; estate agent^{[26] [27]} instead of real estate broker.

Hong Kong vocabulary/expressions

Some words and phrases widely understood in Hong Kong are rare or unheard of elsewhere. These often derive from Chinese, Anglo-Indian, or Portuguese/Macanese.

• A English: italic=yes|[[Chop (device)|chop]] is a seal or stamp, e.g. a company chop is the seal or stamp of a corporation (it actually originates from colonial Indian English). It is now used in some other Commonwealth countries as a non-official term.^[28]
• A Tai-Pan (or taipan;) is a term used in the early 20th century for a business executive of a large corporation.
• An amah is a term used in the early 20th century for a live-in servant (from Macanese/Portuguese ama 'nurse'); now supplanted by [domestic] helper].
• A shroff is a cashier, in a hospital, a government office or a car park (parking garage).^[29]
• Godown is a warehouse. From the Malay Malay: gudang.^[30] The ultimate origins were traced to the Indian subcontinent.^[31]
• Nullah is a concrete or stone-lined canal or a reinforced creek bed used to contain run-off. Nullah entered the English language from Hindi.^[32]
• Jetso ("") is sometimes used to mean discount or special offer.^[33]
• 'Add oil', direct translation of the Chinese, an exclamatory entreaty of encouragement. The usage became popularised by the Umbrella Movement.^[34]
• Lai see, a transliteration of the Cantonese term, also referred to as "red envelopes", or "red packets", or by the Mandarin term, for red envelopes bearing auspicious Chinese phrases or characters containing money and handed out as gifts, particularly during the Lunar New Year festival.

In 2015 University of Hong Kong professor Lisa Lim stated that some of the words, by that year, had declined in usage.^[35]

See also

• Chinese Pidgin English
• Phonemic differentiation
• Regional accents of English
• Chinglish
• Singlish
• Macanese Portuguese
• Code-switching in Hong Kong
• Education in Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Cantonese
• Languages of Hong Kong
• Hong Kong English pop

External links

• Caryn Yeo, (23 Feb 2009). "Hong Kong's English, Cantonese conundrum", The Straits Times
• "The cat got your mother tongue? – The Brits make a linguistic comeback", The Economist (12 June 2008)

Notes and References

1. Eoyang. Eugene Chen . 2000 . From the Imperial to the Empirical: Teaching English in Hong Kong . Profession . en . 62–74 . 25595704.
2. Glenwright . Phil . 2005 . Grammar Error Strike Hard: Language Proficiency Testing of Hong Kong Teachers and the Four 'Noes' . Journal of Language, Identity & Education . en . 4 . 3 . 201–226 . 10.1207/s15327701jlie0403_2 . 1534-8458 . 144687817.
3. Web site: Census and Statistics Department . Main Tables . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181008214316/https://www.bycensus2016.gov.hk/en/bc-mt.html . 8 October 2018 . 10 March 2019 . 2016 Population By-census . Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region . en.
4. Pang . Terence T. T. . 2003 . Hong Kong English: A Stillborn Variety? . English Today . en . 19 . 2 . 12–18 . 10.1017/S0266078403002037. 145090545 .
5. Hung . Tony T. N. . 2000 . Towards a Phonology of Hong Kong English . World Englishes . en . 19 . 3 . 337–356 . 10.1111/1467-971X.00183.
6. Benson . Phil . 2000 . Hong Kong Words: Variation and Context . World Englishes . en . 19 . 3 . 373–380 . 10.1111/1467-971X.00185.
7. Bolton . Kingsley . 2000 . The Sociolinguistics of Hong Kong and the Space for Hong Kong English . World Englishes . en . 19 . 3 . 265–285 . 10.1111/1467-971X.00179. 10356/96202 . free .
8. Bolton . Kingsley . Lim . Shirley . 2000 . Futures for Hong Kong English . World Englishes . en . 19 . 3 . 429–443 . 10.1111/1467-971X.00191.
9. Book: Cummings . Patrick J. . A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor . Wolf . Hans-Georg . 2011 . Hong Kong University Press . 9789888083305 . Hong Kong . en.
10. Wong . May Lai-Yin . 2013 . Concord Patterns with Collective Nouns in Hong Kong English. With Illustrative Material from the International Corpus of English (Hong Kong Component) . Linguistik Online . en . 37 . 1 . 10.13092/lo.37.514. free .
11. Web site: The International Corpus of English . 10 March 2019 . The ICE Project . en.
12. Luke . K. K. . Jack C. Richards. Richards . Jack C. . 1982 . English in Hong Kong: Functions and status . English World-Wide . en . 3 . 47–61 . 10.1075/eww.3.1.04kan.
13. Book: Setter . Jane . Hong Kong English . Wong . Cathy S.P. . Chan . Brian H.S. . 2010 . Edinburgh University Press . 9780748635979 . Edinburgh . en . Jane Setter . 30 June 2020 .
14. Book: Schneider, E. W. . Postcolonial English: Varieties Around the World . 2007 . Cambridge University Press . 978-052-183-140-6 . Cambridge . en.
15. Hansen Edwards . J. G. . 2015 . Hong Kong English: Attitudes, Identity, and Use . Asian Englishes . en . 17 . 3 . 184–208 . 10.1080/13488678.2015.1049840. 220291575 .
16. Hansen Edwards . J. G. . 2016 . The Politics of Language and Identity: Attitudes Towards Hong Kong English pre and post the Umbrella Movement . Asian Englishes . en . 18 . 2 . 157–164 . 10.1080/13488678.2016.1139937. 220288635 .
17. Book: Hung, T. N. . English in Southeast Asia: Features, Policy and Language in Use . John Benjamins . 2012 . E. L. Low . Amsterdam . 113–133 . en . Hong Kong English . Azirah Hashim.
18. Chan . J. Y. H. . 2013 . Contextual Variation and Hong Kong English: Contextual Variation and Hong Kong English . World Englishes . en . 32 . 54–74 . 10.1111/weng.12004.
19. Book: Hung, T. N. . World Englishes: Problems, Properties and Prospects . 2007 . John Benjamins . T. Hoffmann . Amsterdam . 227–237 . en . Innovation in Second Language Phonology . L. Siebers.
20. Sewell . Andrew . 2009 . World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and the case of Hong Kong English . English Today . en . 25 . 1 . 37–43 . 10.1017/S0266078409000066 . 54170922.
21. Deterding . D. . Wong . J. . Kirkpatrick . A. . 2008 . The Pronunciation of Hong Kong English . English World-Wide . en . 29 . 2 . 148–175 . 10.1075/eww.29.2.03det. 10072/42146 . free .
22. Hansen Edwards . J. G. . 2016 . Sociolinguistic Variation in Asian Englishes: The Case of Coronal Stop Deletion . English World-Wide . en . 37 . 2 . 138–167 . 10.1075/eww.37.2.02han.
23. Book: Sewell, Andrew . Second Language Pronunciation Assessment: Interdisciplinary Perspectives . 2017 . Multilingual Matters / Channel View Publications . Isaacs T. . Bristol . 237–255 . en . Pronunciation Assessment in Asia's World City: Implications of a Lingua Franca Approach in Hong Kong . 107 . 10.21832/j.ctt1xp3wcc.17 . 9781783096848 . Trofimovich P..
24. Setter . Jane . 2006 . Speech Rhythm in World Englishes: The Case of Hong Kong . TESOL Quarterly . en . 40 . 4 . 763–782 . 10.2307/40264307 . 40264307.
25. Web site: Glossary of Terms Commonly Used in Government Departments . 19 October 2018 . Civil Service Bureau . en.
26. Web site: About EAA . 2021-04-18 . Estate Agents Authority . en.
27. Web site: Glossary of Terms Commonly Used in Government Departments . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181019125032/https://www.csb.gov.hk/hkgcsb/glossary/glossary_search_en.php?search_name1=estate+agent . 19 October 2018 . 19 October 2018 . Civil Service Bureau . en.
28. Web site: Lim. Lisa. Where does the word 'chop' come from? . South China Morning Post. 2016-07-28. 2022-06-07.
29. News: Lim. Lisa. Where the word 'shroff' came from, and its many meanings. South China Morning Post. 2017-03-17. 2022-06-06.
30. Cassell Giant Paperback Dictionary, 1994
31. Web site: Lim. Lisa. Where did the word 'godown' come from? India, most probably via Malay. subscription . South China Morning Post. 2017-06-10. 2022-06-07.
32. Web site: Lim. Lisa. Why Hong Kong has 'nullahs' not drains. subscription . South China Morning Post. 2017-06-26. 2022-06-07.
33. Web site: 2016-07-15 . What Exactly Is a "Jetso"? . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200803150006/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/hk-magazine/article/2038083/what-exactly-jetso . 3 August 2020 . 2019-07-23 . HK Magazine . en . South China Morning Post.
34. Web site: Lim. Lisa. How 2014 Hong Kong protests popularised the phrase 'add oil'. subscription . South China Morning Post. 2016-09-11. 2022-06-07.
35. Web site: Lim. Lisa. Add oil! The evolution of Hong Kong English, and where our unique words come from . subscription . South China Morning Post. 2015-06-24. 2022-06-07.