HONG KONG ENGLISH AUTONOMY AN D CREATIVIT Y

Edited by Kingsley Bolton

# m *. < p £ m. *t HONG KON G UNIVERSIT Y PRES S University Press 14/F Hing Wai Centr e 7 Tin Wan Pray a Roa d Aberdeen Hong Kon g

© Hong Kon g University Press 200 2

First published 200 2 Reprinted 2004 , 2005

ISBN 96 2 209 553 4

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Chapters 1-12 , 1 5 and 1 6 were first published i n the journal, , Vol. 19, No. 3. Reproduced her e b y permission o f Blackwell Publishers Ltd .

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Printed and bound b y Caritas Printing Training Centre, Hong Kong, China . Contents

List of Contributors vi i

Introduction 1 Hong Kong English: Autonomy and creativit y Kingsley Bolton

Part I: Languag e in Context 2 7

1 Th e sociolinguistic s o f Hong Kong and th e spac e for 2 9 Hong Kong Englis h Kingsley Bolton

2 Th e discours e and attitude s o f English teacher s in 5 7 Hong Kon g Amy B. M. Tsui and David Bunton

3 -Englis h code-switchin g research i n Hong Kong: 7 9 A survey of recent researc h David C. S. Li

4 Th e English-languag e medi a in Hong Kong 10 1 Chan Yuen-ying

Part II: Languag e Form 11 7

5 Toward s a phonology o f Hong Kong English 11 9 Tony T N. Hung vi Content s

6 Relativ e clause s i n Hong Kon g Englis h 14 1 Nikolas Gisborne

7 Hon g Kon g words: Variation an d contex t 16 1 Phil Benson

Part III: Dimension s o f Creativit y 17 1

8 Hon g Kon g writing and writin g Hong Kon g 17 3 Louise Ho

9 Definin g Hon g Kon g poetry in English : A n answe r 18 3 from linguistic s Agnes Lam

10 Writin g between Chines e an d Englis h 19 9 Leung Ping-kwan

11 Fro m Yinglish t o sado-masticatio n 20 7

12 Writin g th e literatur e o f non-denial 21 9 XuXi

Part IV: Resource s 23 9

13 Analysin g Hong Kon g English : Sampl e text s from 24 1 the Internationa l Corpu s o f Englis h Kingsley Bolton and Gerald Nelson

14 Cultura l imaginatio n an d Englis h i n Hong Kon g 26 5 Shirley Geok-lin Lim

15 Researchin g Hong Kon g English : Bibliographica l Source s 28 1 Kingsley Bolton

Part V: Futur e Directions 29 3

16 Future s fo r Hon g Kon g Englis h 29 5 Kingsley Bolton and Shirley Geok-lin Lim

Index List of Contributors

Phil Benson i s an Assistant Professor i n the English Centre, the Universit y of Hong Kong .

Kingsley Bolto n i s Professo r o f Linguistic s i n th e Departmen t o f English , Stockholm University , and Honorary Professor o f English at the University of Hong Kong .

David Bunto n i s a n Associat e Professo r i n th e Facult y o f Education , th e University o f Hong Kong .

Chan Yuen-ying is Professor and Director of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre, the Universit y o f Hong Kong .

Nikolas Gisborn e i s a Lecturer i n th e Englis h Languag e Department , th e University of Edinburgh .

Louise H o wa s until recentl y a n Associat e Professo r i n th e Departmen t o f English, the Chines e Universit y o f Hong Kong .

Tong T. N. Hung is an Associate Professor and Head o f the Language Centre , Hong Kong Baptist University .

Agnes Lam i s an Associate Professo r i n the English Centre , the Universit y o f Hong Kong .

Leung Ping-kwa n i s Chai r Professo r o f Comparativ e Literatur e i n th e Department o f Chinese, Lingnan University .

David C . S . L i i s an Associat e Professo r i n th e Departmen t o f Englis h an d Communication, Cit y University of Hong Kong . viii Lis t o f Contributor s

Shirley Geok-lin Lim i s Honorary Professor o f English at the University of Hong Kong, and Professo r o f English a t the Universit y of California, Sant a Barbara .

Gerald Nelso n i s a Lecture r i n th e Departmen t o f Englis h Languag e an d Literature, Universit y Colleg e London .

Amy B . M . Tsu i i s Chai r Professo r an d Directo r o f th e Teacher s o f Englis h Language Educatio n Centr e (TELEC ) i n th e Facult y o f Education , th e University o f Hong Kong .

Nury Vittach i i s a Hong Kong-base d writer , an d als o a columnis t fo r th e Far Eastern Economic Review.

Xu X i i s a writer base d i n both Hon g Kon g and Ne w York. I

Introduction —J Hong Kong English: Autonomy and creativity Kingsley Bolto n

Background

Hong Kon g i s a n extraordinar y societ y tha t ha s experience d a serie s o f dramatic changes over the last fifty years in almost all aspects of its economic, social an d politica l life. 1 Immediatel y afte r th e Secon d Worl d War , th e population o f Hon g Kon g explode d a s a resul t o f continuou s wave s o f immigration fro m Guangdon g provinc e an d othe r part s o f China , wit h it s population almos t quadrupling from 194 5 to 1951. Since then, its population has continued t o increase at an average rate of one million people per decade, to 3.1 million in 1961 , 4.1 million in 1971 , 5.6 million i n 199 1 and t o aroun d 6.7 million i n th e year 2001 . In th e lat e 1940s , the transfe r o f Shanghaines e industrial expertis e an d capita l helpe d se t up th e labour-intensiv e low-cos t industries, suc h a s textiles , garment s an d plastics , tha t becam e th e majo r employers in the period up to the mid-1970s. These Shanghai emigres brought with the m a cosmopolitanis m an d cultura l capita l tha t foun d expressio n i n the fil m industry , music , food an d entertainmen t i n 1950 s Hong Kong . Th e Shanghainese wer e soo n outnumbere d b y hug e number s o f refuge e immigrants from souther n China , many of whom came from smal l towns and pre-modern agricultural communities in the and Guangdon g province. Thes e immigrant s provide d th e labou r forc e fo r th e low-cos t industries o f th e 1950 s an d 1960s , an d wer e initiall y house d i n extrem e conditions o f discomfort an d overcrowding . After th e riots an d socia l disturbance s o f 196 6 an d 1967 , Hong Kon g underwent anothe r perio d o f rapi d change . I n th e 1970s , MacLehose' s reformist administration began to provide a greatly expanded range of social services, including public housing, health care, public transport and education . The equivalen t o f the Britis h 187 0 Education Ac t (providin g for elementar y education fo r all ) too k effec t i n Hon g Kon g i n 1974 , and th e equivalen t o f the Britis h 194 4 Educatio n Ac t (providin g secondar y education ) wen t int o effect i n 1978 . Judge d b y the usua l economic indicators , Hong Kong societ y 2 Kingsle y Bolton became rich extremel y quickl y i n th e perio d o f it s modern formation , wit h the per capit a GD P rising fro m US$41 0 in th e 1960 s to US$23,00 0 b y 1996 , although great disparities of wealth continue to exist. The territory's separation from mainlan d Chin a meant tha t Hong Kon g also began t o develop it s ow n cultural identity . B y 1971, a majorit y o f th e populatio n (som e 5 6 percent) , could clai m to be 'Hon g Kong-born' , an d b y 1991 this proportion ha d rise n to almost 6 0 percent. B y the earl y 1980s , it was clear that Hong Kong people (a term tha t firs t appeared afte r th e 196 7 riots) wer e no longer 'sojourners' , but 'Hon g Kon g people', heung gong ydhn, with thei r ow n distinctiv e cultur e in film, television , music , print-media and muc h else . The perio d fro m th e 1960 s to the 1990 s als o witnessed th e ris e o f th e modern language, and its growing use in a wide range of publi c domains , includin g th e civi l service , th e mas s media, an d th e entertainment industry. This also contributed t o the specific characteristics of the Hong Kong speech community in the late colonial period. Immigrants and their childre n fro m th e differen t dialec t area s o f Guangdong an d Fujia n province quickly adapted their speech to meet the norms of urban metropolita n Cantonese in the territory. The use of indigenous dialects, such as Hakka, began to decline rapidl y at this time. After th e riot s and disturbance s o f the 1960s , language rights and the recognition o f Chinese as an official languag e became a focus o f intellectual radicalis m i n the earl y 1970s , which le d i n turn t o th e recognition o f 'Chinese ' a s a co-officia l languag e o f government an d la w in 1974. Nevertheless, th e demand s o f parents i n th e mid-1970 s ensured tha t English was retained a s a language of textbooks and at least at a nominal leve l of instruction in the vast majority o f secondary schools. The use of Cantonese in this period also began to expand into many so-called 'high' domains of use, including government, the law courts, and broadcasting. The fact that English occupied th e spac e o f a de jure officia l languag e i n th e territor y allowe d Cantonese t o elaborate it s functions i n Hong Kong in way s that were denie d to 'dialects' in Guangzhou and othe r parts of mainland China , where officia l policy since 194 9 has forcefully promote d the national language, Putonghua . The pre-eminenc e o f Cantones e i n th e 1970 s an d 1980 s helpe d foste r among academics and commentators in the media the ideology of Hong Kong as a 'monocultural' , 'monoethnic' , an d 'monolingual ' society . The fac t tha t this ideolog y wa s a t odd s wit h th e earl y histor y o f th e society , a s well a s it s contemporary development, seem s to have weighed littl e against the force o f such belief. By the 1990s , however, it became clear that Hong Kong's linguistic profile was changing, and this was reflected i n the results of language censuse s and survey s fo r thi s period . Th e number s o f thos e claimin g a reasonabl e command o f English ros e fro m 6. 6 percent i n 198 3 to around 33. 7 percen t in 1993 (Bacon-Shone and Bolton, 1998). By 2001, the census results indicated that, overall, 43 percent now claim to speak English, 34.1 percent Putonghua , and 96.1 percent Cantonese (HKSA R Government, 2001: 39). Multilingualism Hong Kon g English : Autonomy an d creativit y 3 is not onl y confine d t o thes e , a s there ar e als o minority group s o f Chinese dialec t speakers , a s wel l a s Filipinos , Indonesians , Thais , Japanese, Indians, Malaysians , Parsees and other s residen t i n th e territory . After th e Joint Declaratio n o f 198 4 ha d decide d Hon g Kong' s politica l future, th e problematization o f English was intensified b y a range o f languag e debates i n academi c circle s an d th e media . Th e 'fallin g standards ' debat e became a focu s o f commercial , politica l an d ethni c anxieties . Agains t thi s political backdrop, there seemed t o be littl e space fo r a recognition o f 'Hon g Kong English' . I n othe r Asia n societie s suc h a s India , Singapor e an d th e Philippines, ther e wa s a growin g awarenes s an d occasiona l prid e i n a loca l variety o f English , a s well a s a loca l literatur e writte n i n tha t variety . Amon g the genera l Hong Kon g population, however , there wa s a tendency t o regar d Hong Kon g Englis h as , i f not non-existent , the n a s 'bad ' an d 'incompetent ' English (Harris , 1989 : 40). Among linguists, this attitude too k different forms , as i t wa s mediate d b y a mor e sophisticate d an d professiona l approac h tha t described th e English proficiency profil e o f local speakers in terms of concept s such a s 'erro r analysis' , 'approximativ e systems' , 'interference' , 'transfer' , 'communicative strategies ' and 'interlanguage' . Identifiabl e languag e contac t phenomena include d 'code-mixing' , 'code-switching' , 'languag e alternation ' and 'mixe d code' , and linguist s strov e t o describ e an d analys e th e linguistic s of language contac t from a professionally modern perspective . In spit e o f th e anxieties about 'fallin g standards' and 'monolingualism' , knowledg e o f English in the community continued t o spread, a s did th e us e o f a localized variety o f the language; which dre w the interes t o f journalists i f not academics . A 198 7 editorial noted :

The fac t i s Hongkon g Englis h ha s evolve d int o a n incipien t patois , a n inevitable process in any colonial setting where the imported tongu e canno t avoid absorbing the characteristics of the vernacular, especially one as vibrant as Cantonese (South China Morning Post, 1987a: 28)

In th e 1990s , th e number s o f Englis h speaker s increased , particularl y among th e younger ag e groups. One resul t of the popularity o f emigration t o North Americ a i n th e lat e 1980 s wa s tha t b y th e mid - an d lat e 1990s , larg e numbers o f had been educated abroad. A Time magazine article of 199 6 noted that , with the exception o f Filipino domestics, the 34,00 0 resident American s the n constitute d th e larges t foreig n community , outnumbering th e 27,00 0 British . The author s wen t o n t o argu e tha t Hon g Kong's styl e was becoming rapidl y Americanized :

In the streets .. . the tempo o f American mas s culture — from hamburger s t o fashion an d T V shows — suits Hong Kong' s fast-trac k lifestyl e lik e no othe r foreign influence . Hong Kong consumers devour anything American. Disney's new store s pus h everythin g fro m T shirt s t o gol d Micke y Mous e earrings . 4 Kingsle y Bolton

American retailers such as Timberland, Esprit and Toys 'R' Us have sprouted in American-style malls — which are catching on in a society that had always preferred th e small , mom-and-po p store . Cricke t i s out; basketbal l i s in, overtaking socce r a s th e preferre d spor t amon g teenagers . Th e Nationa l Basketball Association runs a nine-person office in Hong Kong. On television, the Cantonese version o f the NBA s 'Inside Stuf f attract s 5 6 percent o f the young male Chinese audience (Ellio t and Strasser , 1996 : 28).

The sam e articl e the n discusse d Chie f Executiv e Designat e Tun g Chee - hwa's intention t o 'revamp ' Hong Kong's education syste m along US lines in order to promote high-tech industries, and noted that four out of six university vice-chancellors polle d ha d America n passports . Th e predictio n tha t Hon g Kong universitie s woul d mov e toward s a n America n unit-credi t syste m ha s proved substantiall y correct , an d thi s chang e no w ha s bee n mad e a t mos t tertiary institutions i n the territory . At the sam e time , just befor e an d afte r th e 199 7 Handover, ther e wa s a rapid growt h i n the us e o f personal computers and th e Internet a t all Hon g Kong universities , an d mos t schools . Hon g Kon g student s hav e becom e computer literat e i n a ver y shor t spac e o f time , an d muc h compute r communication, particularl y websit e us e o n th e Internet , i s conducted i n English, a s well a s e-mail s an d onlin e chat . Whether al l thi s i s evidence o f increasing 'Americanization ' remain s t o be seen . Hong Kong' s culture , lik e its language, has a strong hybrid quality, which finds expression in the interfac e between Englis h an d Chines e s o tha t '[i] n th e ne w bree d o f Hon g Kon g Chinese, the mediation o f languages and cultures is an internal one that takes place insid e individua l speaker s a s the y interac t withi n th e hom e speec h community', s o tha t 'th e younge r generatio n o f Hong Kon g Chines e ar e creating hybri d identitie s fro m a mixe d poo l o f linguisti c an d cultura l resources' (Pennington , 1998 : 28).

The origin s and developmen t o f Hong Kon g Englis h

The origin s o f Englis h i n souther n Chin a dat e bac k t o 1637 , when th e firs t British trading ships under the command o f Captain Weddell reached Maca u and Canton . Afte r th e restrictio n b y imperial decre e o f al l foreig n trad e t o Canton (Guangzhou ) afte r 1755 , this port becam e th e worl d centr e fo r th e tea trade, and a range of other exports including silks and porcelain. The firs t attestations tha t ar e availabl e fo r Chines e speaker s o f English dat e fro m th e 1740s an d ar e cite d b y pidgi n scholar s an d creolist s a s earl y example s o f 'Chinese pidgin English'. The term 'pidgi n English', however, did not appear 1859, and , throughou t th e lat e eighteent h an d earl y nineteent h century , reference wa s typicall y made t o th e 'broke n English' , 'jargon' , o r 'mixe d dialect' use d a t Canton . On e earl y glossar y o f suc h jargon fro m Canto n Hong Kon g English: Autonomy an d creativity 5 includes suc h item s a s chop ('a sea l or stamp') , face ('appearanc e i n society , reputation'), hong (' a commercia l establishment') , an d side (' a position , place'), and i t is interesting to note that these words and expression s are stil l in use in Hong Kon g today (Morrison , 1834) . After the First and Second Opium Wars of 1839-42 and 1856-60 , 'Canton - English' (ye t another term for the jargon spoken in Guangzhou) sprea d nort h with the expansion o f compradore syste m to Shanghai and other treat y ports throughout the country. After the ratification o f the Treaty of Tianjin i n 1862, numerous othe r 'ports' , including inlan d enclaves , were opene d t o Wester n missionaries, merchants, and colonial officials. B y the turn of the century, over forty Chinese cities had been opened to Western powers, and a system of treaty- port 'semi-colonialism ' ha d been establishe d i n China. B y the early twentieth century, however , ther e wa s greatly increased acces s t o educate d varietie s o f English through mission schools and other sources, and some Chinese speakers of English developed a distaste for pidgin. For example, Green (1934 ) note d that 'hundred s o f missio n school s hav e fo r year s pas t bee n turnin g ou t thousands o f Chinese who speak English a t least as well as most non-Englis h peoples; eve n amon g servant s ther e ar e thos e wh o reall y resen t bein g addressed i n pidgin' (1934 : 331). By 1944, Hall noted th e 'decline ' o f pidgin English, which he claimed had begun in the 1890s . After the end of the Secon d World War , and th e formatio n o f th e PR C in 1949 , conditions i n th e treat y ports i n mainlan d Chin a change d drastically . According t o som e accounts , pidgin Englis h continue d t o be spoken i n Hong Kon g during the 1950 s an d 1960s among tradespeople and servants, but most contemporary writers today claim that Chinese pidgin Englis h no longer exists , even in HKSAR . Elsewhere, I have argued that characterizations o f Western 'comic ' writers such a s Leland (1876 ) playe d a n iconi c rol e i n th e creatio n o f a 'Chines e imaginary' i n Britain and the USA from th e mid-nineteenth centur y onwards. Leland's 'rhyme s an d stories ' wer e publishe d durin g a n er a o f unequalle d Western expansion into China through the treaty-port system, and also during a period o f mounting Sinophobia against the 'heathen Chinee' in the Unite d States. Leland's book, Pidgin English Sing-Song, helped construct an overtly racist anti-Chinese discours e that was spread acros s all classes of society in both th e United State s and Britai n (Bolton , 2000) . The 'de-pidginization ' o f English i n treaty-por t er a cam e abou t throug h the system of missionary schools that spread across China in the late nineteenth and earl y twentieth centuries . The earlies t o f thes e missionar y school s wer e established i n Sout h China , i n Maca u and Hon g Kong . Prominent amongs t these were The Morrison Education Societ y School (opened at Macau in 1839, and transferred t o Hong Kong in 1842), and the Anglo-Chinese College (whic h moved t o Hong Kong from Malacc a in 1843) . Early mission school s in Hon g Kong include d S t Paul' s Colleg e (1851) , Diocesa n Girls ' Schoo l (1860) , Diocesan Boys' School (1869) , and St Joseph's (1876) . Eventually, the colonia l 6 Kingsle y Bolto n

government established th e Central School (1862 ) which later became Queen' s College. These school s played a crucial rol e i n the histor y o f Hong Kon g a s a British colony , b y educating a compradore clas s o f merchants wh o playe d i n the commercia l an d politica l developmen t o f China i n th e lat e Qin g perio d (Smith, 1985) . It wa s not , however , unti l th e lat e colonia l perio d tha t acces s t o Englis h in Hong Kon g became availabl e throug h a mas s education system . Followin g the 196 7 riots i n th e territory , a number o f socia l reform s wer e initiate d b y the colonial government, includin g the educational reform s o f 1974 and 1978 , which provide d fo r a syste m o f free , compulsor y primar y an d secondar y education. Largel y because o f these reforms, the numbers o f English speaker s in th e territor y i n recen t decade s ha s rise n dramatically . I n 1960 , th e proportion o f the population claimin g to know English was estimated at 9.7% . By 1991 , this figur e ha d rise n t o 31.6% , and b y 199 6 t o 38.1% , an d b y 200 1 (as noted above ) thi s figure had reached 43%, with 39.8% of these respondent s identifying themselve s a s speaker s o f Englis h 'a s anothe r language ' (i.e . English-knowing bilinguals) .

Post-colonial Hong Kong

At midnight o n 3 0 June 1997 , Hong Kon g cease d t o be a British colony . Th e Handover ceremon y too k plac e a t th e Conventio n an d Exhibitio n Centr e i n Wanchai, o n th e norther n waterfron t o f Hon g Kon g Island . Th e Britis h representatives at the ceremony included Christopher Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong , the Foreign Secretar y Robin Cook , Prime Ministe r Tony Blai r and Princ e Charles . Chines e governmen t official s include d Presiden t Jian g Zemin, Prime Minister Li Peng, Vice-Premier Qian Qichen, People's Liberatio n Army General Zhang Wannian, an d Tung Chee-hwa, the firs t Chief Executiv e of the HKSAR . In hi s speech t o th e 40 0 guests and assemble d world media a t the ceremony, President Jiang Zemin commented o n the historical significanc e of the event , declarin g i n Putonghua that :

The national fla g o f the People's Republic o f China and the regional flag o f the Hon g Kon g Specia l Administrativ e Regio n o f th e People' s Republi c o f China hav e now solemnly risen ove r this land. The return o f Hong Kong t o the motherlan d afte r goin g throug h a century o f vicissitudes indicate s tha t from no w on, the Hong Kong compatriots hav e become true masters of this Chinese land and that Hong Kong has now entered a new era of development (Matheson, 1997 : 3).

Jiang Zemi n conclude d hi s speec h b y re-statin g th e commitmen t o f th e PRC (People' s Republi c o f China ) governmen t t o th e 'on e country , tw o systems' concept , wit h it s promis e o f ' a hig h degre e o f autonomy ' fo r th e Hong Kon g English: Autonomy an d creativity 7

executive, legislative and judicial branches o f the Hong Kong government. At the en d o f the ceremony , i n th e word s o f the South China Morning Post, 'the two groups o f principal official s stood , shook hands and descended fro m th e stage into history' (Matheson , 1997 : 3). Some fiv e year s on , Hon g Kong' s histor y ha s bee n les s politica l tha n economic. B y 1998, the recession tha t hit other Asian economies had begu n to bit e Hon g Kon g and th e followin g thre e year s hav e see n unprecedente d budget deficits , increasin g unemployment , an d th e halvin g o f residentia l property values . Ironically , i n th e year s befor e 1997 , a favourit e trop e o f journalists and other commentators had hinged on the nature of the transition , and whethe r Hon g Kong' s econom y an d lifestyl e woul d 'tak e over ' th e mainland, rathe r tha n th e reverse . In th e event , sinc e 1997 , most economi c indicators fo r th e territor y hav e plunged whil e thos e o f the PRC , led b y the resurgent financial powerhouse of Shanghai, have risen sharply. On 1 2 October 2001, the World Trad e Organizatio n grante d ful l entr y t o China a s an equa l member o f the world's leading capitalist trade organization. As capitalism 'wit h Chinese characteristics ' spread s throughou t mainlan d China , a number o f commentators, both local and international, have voiced concerns that Hong Kong's positio n a s a leadin g busines s an d financia l centr e migh t soo n b e superseded b y Shanghai. As China' s busines s an d tradin g communitie s adap t t o internationa l markets, the popularit y o f English i n th e PR C seems t o hav e reache d a ne w high with government policy-makers, educationalists, and the Chinese public. Last year, th e governmen t introduce d plan s t o begin teachin g Englis h fro m the firs t year o f primary school s acros s th e whol e nation . I n majo r Chines e cities today, such as Beijing and Shanghai there are now campaigns to promote English among police, restaurant staff, taxi-drivers, and other service personnel in anticipation o f an influx o f businessmen and tourist s in the next few years. Beijing will be hosting the 200 8 Olympic Games , and, in the minds o f many, English seems inextricably linked to the nation's continued economic growt h and th e continuatio n o f th e 'Ope n Door ' polic y toward s th e Wes t tha t wa s introduced b y Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970 s (Bolton , 2002) . Hong Kong' s reunification wit h mainland Chin a since 199 7 has raised a number o f issue s related t o the economic , politica l an d socia l developmen t of the HKSAR, but linguistic issues obviously are present in this process as well. The Basi c Law of Hong Kon g broadly stipulated tha t th e Hong Kon g way of life woul d remai n largel y unaltere d throug h a syste m o f 'on e country , tw o systems' fo r a period o f 5 0 years, but th e 'convergence ' o f th e HKSA R with the People's Republic has already begun. Since the economic recession began to bit e i n 1998 , Hong Kon g has begun t o re-evaluat e it s cultural identit y a s well a s it s economi c fundamentals . Despit e th e ofte n mixe d message s o f government spi n doctors , part o f Hong Kong' s postcolonia l P R message t o the internationa l busines s communit y ha s bee n it s clai m t o 'world-class ' 8 Kingsle y Bolton cosmopolitanism. In his October 199 9 Policy Address, entitled 'Qualit y People Quality Home', M r Tung Chee-hwa , the HKSAR' s Chief Executive, launche d the re-branding of Hong Kong as a 'world-class city', asserting that 'Hong Kong should no t onl y b e a majo r Chines e city , bu t coul d becom e th e mos t cosmopolitan cit y in Asia , enjoyin g a status comparabl e t o tha t o f New York in Nort h Americ a an d Londo n i n Europe' . A s part o f thi s polic y statemen t Tung also announced ' a territory-wide publicity campaign to promote the us e of English ' t o hal t ' a declin e i n th e Englis h standard s o f ou r younge r generation sinc e the earl y 1990's ' (HKSA R Government, 1999) .

English sinc e the Handove r

Before 1997 , there wa s speculation tha t th e chang e o f sovereignt y i n Hon g Kong would lead to a reduced rol e for English in the HKSAR, and the parallel promotion o f Chinese i n various domains o f society , including government , the law , and education . I n reality , th e change s tha t hav e take n plac e i n th e last five year s or s o have been les s dramatic tha n man y previously imagined . In government, th e officia l lin e of the government has been t o pursue a 'trilingual, biliterate' language policy that recognizes Cantonese, Putonghua , and Englis h a s spoken languages , and written Chinese and English a s written languages. However , withi n th e governmen t generally , an d withi n th e Legislative Council i n particular, there has been a marked shif t fro m Englis h to Cantones e sinc e th e Handover . Th e shif t toward s Cantones e wa s alread y quite noticeable b y the early 1990s. Yau (1997 : 44-5), for example, notes that in 1995 , there wer e alread y quit e significan t number s o f Legc o councillor s using 'onl y Cantonese' , i.e . 53% of non-directly electe d members , and 89 % of directly elected members . Smalle r percentages o f both group s als o opte d to use 'bot h Englis h an d Cantonese' . I t i s signficant tha t no directl y electe d members i n her dat a chose t o use 'Englis h only' , compared t o 34 % of thos e members who were non-directl y elected. Sinc e 1997 , English i s rarely hear d in Legco , althoug h som e non-Chines e civi l servant s continu e t o presen t information i n English , an d som e Chines e official s an d legislator s d o occasionally opt for Englis h instead o f Cantonese. Within th e civi l service , th e 'localization ' polic y o f th e Hon g Kon g government in the 1990 s led to a decrease in the numbers o f 'expatriate' civi l servants (i.e . non-Chinese government officers, on 'oversea s terms'). In 1999 , it was reported that the numbers of such staff had fallen from 1,80 7 in 199 5 to 778, out of a total civil service workforce o f 188,000. As a result of such changing demographics an d th e change d politica l statu s o f th e HKSAR , it i s perhap s now more commo n t o conduct interna l meeting s i n Cantones e tha n i n th e past. Bu t thi s i s b y no mean s alway s th e case , an d whateve r th e choic e o f language at the spoken level , English stil l appears to be firmly entrenched a s Hong Kong English: Autonomy and creativity 9 the written language o f the civi l service, and a t present Englis h remain s th e dominant language of written records ('th e files'). At the spoken level, a good deal o f Cantonese-Englis h code-mixin g (se e Li , thi s volume) take s plac e i n many government departments, despite the efforts o f the 'Officia l Language s Agency' whose stated mission foregrounds 'promotin g wider and more effectiv e use o f Chinese within th e civi l service', and 'settin g the standards for officia l writing in Chinese and monitoring its use' (HKSA R Government, 2000) . In the domain o f law, various changes took place in the runup to 1997. In 1986, the Hong Kong government launched the 'Bilingua l Laws Project', an d since the n a large proportion o f the written law s of Hong Kon g hav e bee n translated int o Chinese . Fro m th e lat e 1980 s t o th e mid-1990s , variou s amendments t o the Officia l Language s Ordinance hav e permitted th e use o f spoken Chines e into the higher courts. In December 1995 , the first civi l High Court case was heard in Putonghua, and in August 1997 the first criminal High Court case was conducted in Cantonese (Cheung , 1997). Previously, before th e late 1980s , so-calle d 'expatriate ' lawyer s fro m th e UK , Australia, an d Ne w Zealand were heavily represented i n the higher ranks of the legal profession , and a syste m o f court interpreter s wa s available t o manage th e negotiatio n between English , Chinese, and other languages such a s Vietnamese, Filipino, etc. I n th e las t te n year s o r so , increasing number s o f 'local ' Hon g Kon g Chinese hav e bee n appointe d a s barristers an d judges, but , i n spit e o f increasing flexibilit y toward s the us e o f varieties o f spoken Chinese , spoke n English i s still used , particularl y i n th e highe r court s o f th e HKSAR , an d English seems to have retained it s de facto status as the the dominant languag e of court records and almos t all important legal documents. Given the role o f the la w courts in bolstering the HKSAR' s reputation a s a centre fo r regiona l and internationa l business , and th e importanc e o f contractua l la w t o th e international busines s community, i t is likely that th wil l retain it s importance in the system of law for the foreseeable future . Within education , the major chang e in secondary education occurre d i n March 1997 , when th e government announced a new 'fir m guidance ' polic y of requiring the majorit y o f secondary schools t o teach throug h th e 'mothe r tongue', Cantonese. According to this, only 100 secondary schools (som e 22% of the tota l o f 460 ) woul d be allowe d t o us e Englis h a s a teachin g medium , with stif f penaltie s prescribed fo r schoo l principals who did not compl y with the government directive (Kwok , 1997). Later the figure o f 10 0 was amended to 114 , afte r application s fro m a number o f school s t o retai n Englis h wer e approved. Sinc e then , however , i t seems tha t th e governmen t polic y on thi s issue ha s relaxe d somewhat , an d significan t number s o f school s ar e no w continuing Englis h in the upper forms o f secondary schools. A recent repor t from Hu i (2001 ) claim s that 'a s many as 134 out of the 294 Chinese-mediu m secondary schools in Hong Kong are now teaching either al l or some o f thi s year's Form Four students in English', and the n goe s on t o explain that : 10 Kingsle y Bolto n

These student s ar e th e firs t grou p affecte d b y the Government' s "mothe r tongue" policy, introduced three years ago when 223 secondary schools were forced t o adopt Chines e a s the medium o f instruction. Man y principals sai d that th e decisio n wa s made becaus e student s educate d i n Chinese-mediu m schools neede d t o b e proficien t i n Englis h bot h t o succee d i n th e tertiar y education syste m and t o meet society' s expectations (Hui , 2001: 2).

The apparen t confusio n i n governmen t circle s o n a language polic y fo r Hong Kong' s publi c school s ha s bee n matche d b y contestin g view s amon g educationalists o n th e same issue . In April 2000, Professor Chen g Kai-ming , a prominent educationalist , too k issu e with th e us e o f Cantonese a s a teachin g medium, arguin g tha t Cantones e ha d n o us e outsid e souther n Chin a an d Chinese immigran t communitie s worldwide , an d tha t 'Cantones e i s leadin g us nowhere ' (Tacey , 2000 : 9). Cheng' s suggestio n t o promote th e wide r us e of Putonghua , i n preferenc e t o Cantonese , wa s recentl y echoe d b y Michae l Tien Puk-sun , a prominent businessman and th e chair o f a government think - tank o n languag e policy , wh o suggeste d tha t 'al l secondar y schoo l student s should be taugh t in English and Putonghua i n the future t o make Hong Kon g a trilingua l city' :

Mr Tien sai d English wa s the ke y language i n commerce and Putonghua wa s becoming mor e importan t i n th e ligh t o f economi c integratio n wit h th e mainland. Mos t students an d teacher s wer e no t read y fo r th e switc h an d i t might no t b e achievabl e eve n b y 2010. He sai d i t wa s essential t o create a n English-speaking environment in secondary schools (cite d in Cheung and Ng, 2001).

Ironically perhaps , a t a tim e whe n Hon g Kon g continue s t o debat e th e issue o f th e teachin g mediu m fo r schools , i t ha s als o bee n announce d tha t the HKSAR' s neighbour s i n Guangdon g school s hav e no w begu n t o experiment wit h th e us e o f Englis h a s th e mediu m o f instructio n i n senio r secondary schools, in a move 't o equip Guangdong students in urban and Pear l Delta areas with the same command o f English a s their counterparts i n Hon g Kong an d othe r Southeas t Asia n countrie s b y 2005 ' (Yow , 2001 : 2). Bac k i n the HKSAR, the current debates on language i n education remai n unresolved , although a thoroug h revie w o f languag e polic y ha s bee n slate d fo r 200 3 (Cheung an d Ng , ibid.J . In othe r domains , suc h a s medi a an d employment , th e rol e o f Englis h has also been th e subject o f scrutiny and criticism . Chan's survey of the medi a (this volume ) highlight s a numbe r o f limitation s o n English-languag e newspapers and prin t media, includin g thei r limited circulatio n within Hon g Kong's Chines e community . I n th e las t year o r so , th e genera l situatio n ha s deteriorated stil l further . I n Septembe r 2001 , 14 0 employee s wer e suddenl y dismissed fro m th e Hong Kong iMail, includin g man y o f th e newspaper' s international staff . Overnight , th e tabloi d wa s transforme d fro m a feisty , Hong Kong English: Autonomy an d creativity 1 1 irreverent rival of the South China Morning Post to a somewhat unreadable diges t of loca l an d 'Greate r China ' busines s news . I n Novembe r 2001 , Asiaweek magazine wa s shut dow n b y it s parent company , Tim e Inc. , o n ground s o f dwindling profitability . Thi s now leaves the South China Morning Post with a n uncontested positio n a s th e leadin g voic e o f HKSA R journalism. Th e Post management now calculates that around 50 percent of its readers are bilingual Chinese, and the y are very much concerne d t o increase thei r appeal t o suc h an readershi p i n future . In the electronic media, English continues to find a place in local television and radi o stations , despit e th e limite d siz e o f audiences , bu t th e variet y o f satellite televisio n station s o n offe r i s surprisingl y man y fewe r i n othe r supposedly les s develope d Asia n societie s suc h a s th e Philippines . A t th e cinema, b y contrast, ther e ha s been a marked increas e i n th e popularit y o f English-language films, particularly Hollywood movies (subtitle d in Chinese), since th e heyda y o f th e Cantones e cinem a i n th e 1980s . Internet usag e ha s also grown rapidly in the last few years. By June 2001, it was claimed that Hong Kong, South Kore a and Singapor e were leading the Asian region i n term s o f home Internet usage, with 58% of regularly surfing the Interne t from hom e computers , compare d wit h 5 7 percent i n Kore a an d 5 6 percen t in Singapor e (Zajc , 2001) . Popular loca l Internet site s include suc h Chinese - language webpages a s , Netvigator, HongKong.com, although Englis h sites such a s the internationa l Geocities.com, and Microsoft.com and th e locally - based Icered.com also enjoy a measure of popularity. At the same time, however , other figure s pu t th e degre e o f 'Interne t penetration ' i n th e HKSA R a t 4 3 percent o f the adult population, compared wit h 5 1 percent for Sout h Kore a and 4 8 percen t fo r Singapor e (Chiu , 2001 : 8). Nevertheless , man y youn g people i n th e HKSA R increasingl y sur f th e Interne t i n bot h Chines e an d English. A t university , man y student s favou r English-languag e emai l i n preference t o Chinese, not least because of the relative ease of communication in typin g Englis h emails , compare d wit h inputtin g Chines e characters . Fo r recreation, man y students no w sur f th e We b bilingually and multiculturally , accessing popular entertainment sites , music, film sites , and other Web pages in both Chines e and English . In personal domain s such a s family, friends, socia l activities, etc., the us e of spoken English is typically superseded b y Cantonese or 'mixed code', when Hong Kon g Chinese tal k t o one another . Bu t at the sam e time , there i s also evidence tha t th e HKSA R i s becomin g increasingl y multilingua l an d multicultural, i n a variety of ways. Patterns o f emigration t o English-speakin g countries in the late 1980 s and earl y 1990s , coupled th e increased popularit y of oversea s universities , hav e helpe d creat e a younger generatio n wit h a n international outlook. 'Returnee' children now account for 70% of the student population i n the English Schools Foundation (ESF) , which previously mainly taught the children o f British families resident in Hong Kong. Even the 'stay - 12 Kingsle y Bolto n at-home' students who form th e majority o f the student population i n Hon g Kong have become increasingl y cosmopolitan ove r the las t decade, and tha t internationalism ha s been negotiated partl y through English and increasingl y through electroni c medi a suc h a s the Internet , wit h which young peopl e i n Hong Kon g are s o skilful . Precisely how much English Hong Kong people encounter in the personal domain depends on a wide variety of factors, including social class, educational level, and age . The elit e (sociologically , 'capitalist' ) clas s in Hong Kon g ha s long been multicultural, and for their children an overseas education ha s been the norm for almost three decades. In local 'dynastic' families that own banks and major Hong Kong companies, a degree o f intermarriage with European s and Americans ha s become increasingl y acceptabl e i n th e las t four decades . This is also increasingly true o f other socia l classes in the community a s well, to th e exten t tha t so-calle d 'mixe d marriages ' ar e b y no mean s uncommon . In suc h families , oversea s education, travel , cosmopolitanism, an d fluenc y i n a number o f languages i s the norm . In many 'ordinary' families in Hong Kong, English is encountered at home on a daily basis in a number of different ways . Children o f all ages devote hours of homewor k t o th e stud y o f th e language , wit h olde r brother s an d sister s teaching the language to their siblings. A large proportion o f undergraduates at the Universit y of Hong Kon g and other universitie s hav e part-time jobs a s English tutors , an d parent s themselve s ofte n teac h thei r childre n simpl e conversational skills . I n addition , ther e ar e no w aroun d 160,00 0 Filipin a domestic helper s o r 'amahs ' workin g i n th e territory , who ofte n mainl y us e English and who function a s unofficial tutor s with children. Give n that Hong Kong households numbered 1. 8 million in 1996 , the indication i s that English- speaking Filipinas are resident in over 11% o f households. In the 199 3 survey referred t o earlier, a total o f 26.9% of the sampl e reported speakin g Englis h with 'foreig n friends' , whil e 57 % o f th e sampl e state d tha t the y ha d clos e relatives in an English-speakin g country . Many o f th e lower-middl e clas s an d working-clas s childre n a t loca l universities have parents who emigrated from mainlan d China to Hong Kong twenty or thirty years ago, and hav e little or no knowledge English themselves . In suc h familie s th e childre n ofte n hav e littl e chanc e t o spea k English , bu t when the y graduate from universit y and begin work in the business sector, as the majorit y increasingl y do, they find a n immediate us e for spoken English . This i s particularl y th e cas e i f the y manag e t o secur e a job i n on e o f th e international companie s base d i n th e territory , fo r who m s o many student s aspire t o wor k o n graduation . I n suc h companies , ther e i s frequently a n immediate contex t for the use o f spoken English, often wit h colleagues fro m other Asia n societie s a s well a s from Hon g Kong. Spoken Englis h als o serves as a lingu a franc a betwee n som e Hon g Kon g Cantones e speaker s an d Putonghua speakers from mainlan d China, particularly in the professional an d Hong Kon g English : Autonomy an d creativit y 1 3 academic sectors of society. The fashionable restauran t and bar area s popula r among youn g Hongkonger s attrac t residen t Britis h an d America n youths , ethnic Chinese from loca l international schools , returnee kid s from Canadia n and U S universities a s well a s large numbers o f 'local ' young people, creatin g a multicultura l socia l mi x i n th e socia l domai n wa s almos t unknow n twent y years ago . Thu s today , th e complet e rang e o f purpose s tha t youn g peopl e 'need' Englis h for may range from work to social life, and from academi c stud y to entertainment an d recreation . Since 1997 , a number o f competing an d ofte n contradictor y trend s hav e emerged i n the sociolinguistics of Hong Kong society. Official languag e policie s promoting th e increased us e o f the 'mothe r tongue ' hav e been accompanie d by a range o f anxieties concerning both th e future statu s of Cantonese a s well as the continued us e o f English within th e HKSAR . The blurring o f linguistic - concerns wit h politica l worrie s als o seem s t o b e a recurren t them e i n suc h discussions. Fo r example , N g (2001 ) recentl y penne d a scathin g assessmen t of governmen t policie s (entitle d 'Cosmopolitanis m a t risk' ) i n whic h sh e equated recen t linguisti c trend s with a growing ethni c nationalism :

A few years ago, the streets of Central teemed wit h people o f every race an d colour. Now , the crow d i s almost uniforml y Chines e an d local . Bilingualis m used t o be th e rul e in street sign s and publi c notices , now they often ar e i n Chinese only. Although the media has always consisted o f more Chinese tha n English, now a non-Chinese speaker might stay unaware o f even major news . [...] I n th e Legislativ e Council , Englis h speeche s ar e give n littl e coverage . Subtly but certainly, non-Chinese-speaking people find th e Chinese speaker s around them less prepared to make allowance for their disability. Their area s of activit y and awarenes s hav e diminished . Barrister s wh o hav e n o Chines e more frequently fin d themselve s out of work. Patriotism and nationalism ar e the prerequisit e fo r politica l advancement . Onl y Chinese foo d i s politicall y correct for officia l functions. The best people swear by Chinese medicine. The only jarring note i s that most senior civi l servants (al l of whom are Chinese ) send their children t o Britain and th e U S to be educated (Ng , 2001: 16)

Ng goe s o n t o argu e equat e suc h trend s wit h th e increasin g sinicizatio n of Hon g Kong , a s wel l a s concern s abou t th e continue d autonom y o f th e HKSAR, culturally and politically , noting that 'The SA R Government i s to mov e towards greater concentration o f power i n th e hands o f a few senior officials , and powe r i s to be exercise d personall y an d directly , i n imitatio n o f Beijing ' (Ng, 2001 : 16). Ng's measured ye t pessimistic conclusio n i s that :

The determinatio n t o cleans e Hon g Kon g o f it s colonia l pas t an d it s multiculturalism, and strive for a stronger and purer Chinese identity will do Hong Kon g n o good . No r doe s Hon g Kong' s situatio n requir e suc h fundamental ethni c cleansing, even if pervasive economic hardship is making people seem stuck in pessimism . Hong Kong's fundamental institution s an d values ar e sound . The y hav e mad e Hon g Kon g prosperous . China' s recen t 14 Kingsle y Bolto n

success is a story of how the leadership succeeded in steering the nation awa y from ol d habit s int o a moder n societ y - suc h a s Hon g Kong . [... ] T o marginalise wha t i s non-Chines e wil l no t mak e th e SA R a jewel o f th e ascending China. It will only strip Hong Kong of its cosmopolitan nature an d expose its raw centre a s no more than second-rate and provincial (Ng , ibid.).

Such concern s perhaps catc h th e mood o f Hong Kon g at the time o f writing. With the HKSAR stuck in the economic doldrums from earl y 1998, with budge t deficits, salar y cuts, and lo w levels of 'confidence ' i n the community , politica l and economi c anxietie s fin d expressio n i n a rang e o f discourses , includin g those on language. In thi s context, it is perhaps useful t o consider Hong Kong' s own 'complain t tradition' i n language issues, a tradition tha t mirrors discourse s in Britai n an d othe r societie s wher e 'languag e issues ' ofte n instantiat e a displacement o f othe r concerns , particularl y politica l an d socia l anxietie s o f various kind s (Milro y and Milroy , 1985) .

The Hon g Kon g complaint traditio n

The expressio n o f politica l an d socia l concern s i n commentarie s o n loca l language issue s is hardly new. One obviou s example o f this is the discourse o n 'falling standards' tha t has permeated debate s about language fo r a t least th e last thirty years. As early as the 1970s , a number o f articles appeared detailin g the weaknesses and shortcomings o f Hong Kong students in learning English . (Kwok and Chan, 1972 , Kwok and Chan, 1975) . Around th e same time, Hunte r (1974) reporte d tha t ther e wa s much discussio n abou t 'th e poor standar d o f English spoke n an d writte n i n Hon g Kon g b y non-nativ e speakers' , an d suggested tha t the problem coul d be seen a s symptomatic o f the gul f betwee n the Chinese-speakin g an d English-speakin g communitie s (1974 : 15). The us e of 'ba d English ' coul d thu s be see n a s 'a successful compromis e betwee n th e twin necessities of communicating with another community and o f remainin g an acceptable member o f one's own' and a way of 'informing one's interlocuto r that one i s not tryin g to become accepte d b y his community' (1974 : 17). In th e earl y 1980 s on e loca l linguis t describe d student s a s 'cultura l eunuchs' wh o wer e 'semilingual ' i n Englis h an d Chines e (T'sou , 1985) . Another (Gibbons , 1984 ) lamente d th e lo w standard s o f proficiency , an d endorsed Lord's (1974 ) earlie r blistering appraisal of students at the Universit y of Hong Kong :

For the majority o f students entering the University of Hong Kong English i s not a viable mean s o f communicatio n a t all . About a fift h o f the m canno t make themselves understood i n English, and their comprehension o f spoken English i s poor i n th e extreme . Fe w students ca n write Englis h which i s not bizarre (Lord , 1974 , cited i n Gibbons, 1984: 66). Hong Kon g English : Autonomy an d creativit y 1 5

The debate on 'low ' or 'falling ' standard s o f English has thus run fro m a t leas t the mid-1970 s to the present , althoug h i t probably reached a peak in th e lat e 1980s, when a South China Morning Post editorial declare d tha t '[t]h e declin e in th e standar d o f spoke n an d writte n Englis h i n recen t decade s i s obviou s and measurable , an d effort s b y th e Governmen t an d th e tertiar y educatio n institutions have been insufficien t t o stop the slide' (South China Morning Post, 1989: 18) . The debat e wa s not confined t o academics, but was rehearsed an d expressed i n th e broadcas t medi a an d th e loca l press , wit h editorial s o n language policy , feature articles , news reports and letters to the editor regularl y appearing in the South China Morning Post. Many of the arguments als o turne d on th e choic e o f languag e fo r school s betwee n English , Cantones e an d Putonghua but, a s Lin (1997 ) notes , one o f the strongest arguments in favou r of English wa s economic, expressed throug h a n identification o f English wit h business, trade and prosperity . One 198 6 editorial in the South China Morning Post made th e cas e fo r Englis h thus :

English i s pre-eminently th e languag e o f internationa l trade , whic h is , and for th e foreseeabl e futur e wil l remain, Hongkong's raiso n d'etre . There ar e indications that the territory's role in world commerce, far from diminishin g as 199 7 approaches, wil l increase i n importance . Southeas t an d Eas t Asia i s widely seen as the growth area of the future and we are ideally placed to take advantage of this. Hongkong, as a stable and sophisticated oasis , is the obviou s choice o f an y oversea s compan y wishin g t o participat e i n th e boo m year s ahead. The widespread us e o f English i s an obviou s added attractio n (South China Morning Post, 1986a : 10).

A second editorial appeared i n the same newspaper some tw o months late r expressing concern abou t th e possibl e effect s o n busines s and financ e o f th e promotion o f Cantonese :

It is honourable fo r the people o f Hongkong t o feel a sense of 'nationalism ' as we move towards 1997 and the change of sovereignty which will again mak e the territory part o f China .. . Cantonese i s and should alway s be the mothe r tongue o f Hongkong. There i s no disput e i n this . But i t i s a fact o f lif e tha t Hongkong ha s grown t o become a world leader in trade and finance o n th e back o f and assiste d b y the Englis h languag e .. . I t cannot b e dispute d tha t the internationa l languag e i n trad e an d commerc e an d a plethora o f othe r interactions is English. And so it should be in Hongkong (South China Morning Post, 1987b: 8).

The referenc e t o nationalis m i n th e editoria l als o pointe d t o anothe r strand in thi s debate, which was overtly political. In fact, some months earlier , the Post had publishe d anothe r editoria l i n respons e t o a warnin g fro m a Chinese Educatio n Ministr y officia l (M r Yang Xun ) tha t th e promotio n o f Cantonese a s the teachin g medium ra n agains t th e grai n o f mainland polic y 16 Kingsle y Bolto n and woul d b e ' a ste p backwar d fo r Hongkong' . Th e Post's respons e i n thos e pre-Tianmanen day s was to endorse suc h concerns :

Mr Yang has made a n importan t point . W e would recommen d a fresh loo k at th e subject . Putonghu a an d Englis h ar e th e language s whic h Hongkon g should b e stressing . Englis h has , becaus e o f it s adaptability , subtlet y an d richness, plu s historica l accident , becom e th e languag e o f internationa l contact. Hongkong' s statu s a s a centre o f world trad e mus t b e maintained , and ou r childre n mus t lear n Englis h t o prepare the m fo r th e rol e the y will one da y assume. Putonghua i s the officia l languag e o f th e natio n t o whic h Hongkong will be irrevocably joined after 1997. Our children will also become citizens of China, and should speak the language o f their compatriots as well as English (South China Morning Post, 1986b: 16).

The politica l was to take a number o f other forms i n the language debate s of th e era . On e new s repor t eve n suggeste d tha t man y schoolchildre n wer e beginning to lose the motivation t o study English because there was 'a differen t political atmosphere with Hongkong coming under Chines e rule' (Lau , 1986 : 4). Te n year s later , th e politic s o f Englis h too k a ne w tur n whe n significan t numbers o f the Chines e busines s and politica l elit e starte d t o 'drop ' th e us e of English first names in favour o f their Chinese given names. One prominen t civil servant explained hi s decision b y saying T do not hav e a Christian name , because I am not and hav e never been a Christian', adding that T have alway s been a n atheis t an d th e nam e "Brian " is , i n fact , a produc t o f colonialism ' (South China Morning Post, 1996 : 11) . From a n empirica l perspective , ver y littl e har d researc h wa s conducte d on th e issu e o f 'falling ' languag e standard s durin g thes e years , and wha t wa s done was inconclusive at best. King (1987 ) reporte d o n th e results of the Hon g Kong Examinations Authority's (HKEA ) Englis h language examination fo r th e years 198 4 and 1986 . After analysin g a substantial number o f statistics relatin g to 15,00 0 students, his conclusion wa s that there wa s no 'convincin g evidenc e to sugges t that the Englis h standar d o f the best students coming through th e Hongkong syste m has deteriorated i n recent years' (King , 1987 : 17). However , he went on t o add that' [i] t is clear tha t the whole o f the secondary syste m i s being seriousl y affecte d b y the presenc e o f large number s o f students whos e English languag e standard s ar e quit e inadequat e t o cop e wit h a n educatio n in the medium o f English' (ibid) , which suggested tha t the root cause of suc h perceptions wa s the rapi d expansio n o f the educationa l system . Johnson an d Cheung researche d level s o f reading literac y i n th e mid-1990 s a s part o f th e International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA ) World Literac y Project . Thei r result s showe d goo d level s o f attainmen t i n Chinese-language readin g proficiency, but relativel y poor level s of proficienc y in English literacy , although the researc h report suggests that this result migh t be influence d b y the qualit y of schools a s much a s the choic e o f language, a s Hong Kon g English : Autonomy an d creativit y 1 7

'[g]ood school s produce goo d result s in both Chines e and Englis h an d poo r schools ar e equall y consisten t i n producin g poo r results ' (Johnso n an d Cheung, 1995 : 10) . As ha s bee n show n i n man y othe r societies , ideologie s abou t 'fallin g standards' ar e ofte n relate d t o othe r factors , includin g socia l clas s divisions . Romaine (1994 ) suggest s tha t '[s]tandard s o f languag e us e an d standar d languages ar e essentiall y arbitrar y convention s which ca n b e learne d onl y b y going t o school' , an d tha t '[t]hi s i s precisel y wh y the y ar e s o effectiv e i n maintaining barrier s betwee n groups ' (1994 : 202) . Sh e als o point s ou t tha t such debate s hav e existe d i n Britain sinc e the fifteent h century , and continu e to the present day , even at Oxford University . In th e Hong Kong context, on e plausible inference wit h reference t o these 'languag e standards' debates i s that, in large part, they were a reaction t o the rapid and unprecedented expansio n of education, a s well a s the pac e o f politica l an d socia l chang e i n th e societ y at large . Thes e ideologie s continue d t o b e d wit h varyin g degree s o f amplitude u p t o th e 199 7 Handove r (Boyle , 1997) , bu t no w see m t o hav e undergone a definit e reviva l sinc e Hon g Kon g entere d a n economi c slum p in 1998 . In March 1998 , for example , a South China Morning Post editorial with th e rubric 'Standard s of English' gav e a dismal assessment of the English o f HKSA R university students :

The poo r standar d o f Englis h among student s i n Hon g Kon g wil l continu e to cause concern until the right questions are asked. Years of English-language education ha s faile d t o produc e a bilingua l society . Pupil s ofte n leav e secondary education with only rudimentary knowledge of the tongue in which they were taught. It is surprising that so many go on to higher education wit h English a s the medium o f instruction, and emerge with a degree. [... ] Hon g Kong's educational institutions are failing to produce the goods (South China Morning Post, 1998: 18).

By 2000 , various government-backe d campaign s ha d begu n t o rais e th e standard o f Englis h i n busines s an d professiona l sector s i n th e HKSAR , including th e Workplace English Campaign, whic h bega n i n Marc h 200 0 b y focusing on upgrading the English skill s of relatively junior staf f in Hong Kon g businesses, i.e. secretaries, clerks, frontline servic e personnel, receptionists, an d telephone operators , who collectivel y account fo r around a third o f the wor k force. The scheme receive d substantial financial backin g from th e Departmen t of Education and Manpower , who were als o concerned t o 'benchmark ' level s of attainmen t fo r higher-leve l employee s suc h a s compute r operators , engineering technicians, la w clerks, and nurse s (a s well as schoolteachers wh o have bee n targete d i n a separat e an d paralle l campaign) . Th e chairma n o f the government's Workplace English Campaign, Michae l Tien, identified th e issu e as crucial t o the HKSAR' s future : 18 Kingsle y Bolto n

Hong Kong is at risk of being perceived as just another "mainland city " unless standards o f writte n an d spoke n Englis h ar e no t improved , a loca l businessman says . English i s essential fo r th e futur e o f Hong Kon g and th e SAR mus t improv e th e languag e skill s o f it s workforc e t o b e globall y competitive. [... ] H e said the last 10 or so years had seen a decline in Englis h standards, perhap s reflectin g th e politica l shif t toward s th e mainland . Th e perception i n th e busines s worl d i s tha t othe r Asia n capital s ar e stealin g a march on Hong Kong. "We're not making Hong Kong user-friendly enoug h to attrac t foreig n businessmen . W e must mak e Hon g Kon g th e firs t choic e location o f corporat e executive s an d businessme n i n Asia, " M r Tie n said . (Regan, 2000 : 23)

An examination o f the record, a s noted above , throws some doubt on th e reality o f a 'decline ' i n Englis h standard s i n Hong Kon g in th e las t ten year s or so , a s i t i s clear tha t th e discours e o n lo w standards goe s bac k a t leas t t o the 1970s . An alternative explanation i s that the demands o f a rapidly changin g economy hav e vastly increased expectation s o f the qualit y of English required , even from relativel y low-leve l employees, particularly in comparison wit h tha t found i n suc h Asia n societie s a s Singapor e an d th e Philippine s wher e th e sociolinguistic dynamic s o f society are ver y different. Whic h receive s suppor t from report s tha t i n th e HKSAR , the 'deman d fo r goo d Englis h speaker s wa s now outstrippin g supply ' (Gould , 2002 : 1) . Whether th e government' s Workplace English Campaign wil l be judged a success remains t o be seen, but, i f nothing els e suc h debate s a t leas t testif y t o th e ra w tenacit y o f a complain t tradition tha t surface s continuall y i n th e expressio n o f ideologie s o n th e decline i n 'languag e standards' . Whethe r thi s cultur e o f complain t actuall y improves th e climat e fo r languag e educatio n i n th e communit y i s agai n debatable. On e importan t them e o f th e presen t volum e i s that a paradig m shift, especiall y at an attitudina l an d ideologica l level , i s long overdu e i n th e community.

Hong Kon g English: Autonomy an d creativit y

In th e las t twent y years or s o there ha s been a forceful attemp t b y academic s from a number o f different countrie s t o promote a non-Eurocentric (o r 'non - Americentric') approac h t o the discussio n worl d Englishe s (o r 'internationa l varieties of English'), and thi s 'paradigm shift ' i n the academic world has bee n seen i n th e publications o f journals lik e English Today, English World-Wide, an d World Englishes. Bra j B . Kachru, the co-editor o f World Englishes, ha s argued fo r a model o f global English, in terms of 'three concentric circles' , the inner circle (societies such a s Britain, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, etc. where Englis h is the 'firs t language' o f a majority o f the population), the outer circle (societies such a s India, th e Philippines , etc . where Englis h ha s th e statu s o f a 'secon d Hong Kon g English : Autonomy an d creativit y 1 9

language') an d the extending (or 'expanding') circle (societies suc h a s Chin a o r Japan wher e Englis h ha s the statu s o f a 'foreig n language') . In pioneerin g a pluricentri c approac h t o th e stud y o f worl d Englishes , Kachru has challenged a range o f previously orthodox approaches t o Englis h worldwide, particularl y thos e tha t sa w th e 'ne w Englishes ' o f Asi a a s linguistically and culturall y dependent on th e authority of such native-speake r norms a s Britis h o r America n English . I n a recen t paper , Kachr u describe s the sprea d o f Englis h i n Asia , noting tha t a t present :

• Tha t th e estimated tota l English-using population o f Asia adds up t o 35 0 million out of an estimated population o f S\ billion ; • Tha t India, in the Outer Circle , is the third larges t English-using countr y after th e US A and th e UK ; • Tha t Englis h i s th e mai n mediu m i n deman d fo r acquisitio n o f bilingualism/multilingualism i n the whole Asian region ; • Tha t i n part s o f Asi a (e.g. , i n Singapore ) Englis h i s gradually acquirin g the status of the dominant languag e o r the first language — whatever w e mean b y that term (Kachru , 1997 : 7)

Kachru argue s fo r th e acceptanc e an d utilizatio n o f English a s an Asia n language, an d th e acculturatio n o f English t o sociolinguisti c realities , a s wel l as th e imaginativ e needs , o f Asia n societie s suc h a s India , Malaysia , th e Philippines an d Singapore . The worl d Englishe s approac h t o Asia n varietie s of Englis h thu s raise s a number o f question s fo r Hon g Kong . I n th e cas e o f Hong Kong , th e existenc e o f 'Hon g Kon g English' , ha s receive d littl e recognition, despit e th e lon g and rich histor y o f the Englis h language i n th e South Chin a context . Some years ago, Llamzon (1986 ) wrote on the 'lif e cycle ' of new Englishe s in a paper whic h attempt s t o identif y an d describ e th e developmenta l stage s of 'oute r circle ' Englishes . The metapho r o f a lif e cycl e fo r Asia n Englishe s is an interesting one, and one speculation that might arise from a compariso n of Hong Kon g and Philippin e Englis h i s that th e tw o varieties ar e locate d a t different point s i n suc h a cycle . The iron y i n Hon g Kon g seem s t o b e tha t at just tha t time whe n th e governmen t ha s fel t move d t o restric t th e us e o f English i n some officia l domains , bilingualism i n Englis h among th e genera l population ha s reache d it s highes t poin t ever . A s Bacon-Shon e an d Bolto n (1998) put it , the current situation i s that 'not only are more and more peopl e speaking English, but also that they are doing so with varying degrees of ability' , in other words, 'more people than eve r are speaking "good" English, and mor e people tha n eve r ar e speakin g "bad " English ' (1998 : 84). In it s ow n specifi c post-colonial moment , Hon g Kon g Englis h thu s seem s caugh t o n a cus p o f both 'expansion ' an d 'restriction ' (Llamzon , 1986 : 101-2) . I n thi s context , the notio n o f 'autonomy ' refer s no t onl y t o issue s o f linguisti c descriptio n with referenc e t o feature s o f accen t an d vocabulary , bu t als o t o th e histor y 20 Kingsle y Bolto n of th e variety , a s well a s the existenc e an d vitalit y o f creativ e writin g i n th e HKSAR. This volume i s divided into fiv e Parts , 'Language i n Context', 'Languag e Form', 'Dimension s of Creativity', 'Resources', and 'Futur e Directions'. Part I includes fou r chapter s tha t discus s a variety o f issues related t o th e specific s of th e Hon g Kon g sociolinguisti c context . Bolton' s chapte r o n th e sociolinguistics of English in Hong Kong gives an overview of the sociopolitica l background i n the lat e colonia l period, and the n proceed s t o make the cas e for the recognition o f Hong Kong English in terms of both distinctive linguistic features and the growing literary creativity of the variety. The following chapte r from Tsu i and Bunton presents a detailed account of an investigation into the normative attitude s o f English-languag e teacher s i n Hon g Kon g secondar y schools. The result s o f thei r researc h indicat e tha t a t presen t ther e i s littl e support for a notion o f 'Hong Kong English' from practisin g schoolteachers, and that target model of English adopted b y teachers is clearly exonormative, usually as represented b y British dictionaries and grammars and other source s of 'Standar d English' . Li' s chapte r o n Cantonese-Englis h code-switchin g presents a broad surve y of research i n thi s area over the las t twenty-fiv e year s or so . I n hi s analysi s o f th e motivation s fo r suc h languag e switchin g (an d 'mixing') i n the written discourse of the Chinese press, Li posits four context - specific motivations , i.e . euphemism , specificity , bilingua l punning , an d th e 'principle o f economy' . Chan' s chapte r o n th e English-languag e medi a i s written primarily from th e perspective of a professional newspape r writer now working in the field o f journalism education. Chan provides a comprehensive survey of the English media in print journalism, radio, and television, and the n goes on t o argue th e cas e fo r th e trainin g o f a new typ e o f bilingual medi a professional wh o ca n contes t th e assumption s an d biase s i n th e English - language new s coverage o f Hong Kon g and China . Part II, entitled 'Languag e Form', details research on the linguistic aspects of th e descriptio n o f Hong Kon g English . Hung' s chapte r review s previou s research o n th e phonolog y o f Hong Kon g Englis h (HKE) , and als o report s on hi s own original researc h o n th e Hong Kon g accent. Hung's stud y of th e speech forms o f a group o f university students suggest s that the typica l Hon g Kong speake r operate s wit h a smaller se t o f vowe l an d consonan t contrast s than in 'native' varieties of English. Hung postulates an underlying phonemi c system fo r HKE , an d als o describe s a numbe r o f allophoni c variations . Gisborne's chapte r discusse s relativ e clause s i n Hon g Kon g English , an d discusses a number o f issues concerning th e morphosyntacti c featur e syste m of the variety, with particular reference t o relative constructions in Cantonese. Benson's chapte r o n Hon g Kon g words deal s with the distinctiv e vocabular y of Hong Kon g English. I n hi s discussion o f this, Benson focuse s o n pattern s of semantic and pragmati c relationship s internal t o the variety, as well as the sociocultural contex t i n which a localized vocabulary i s used. Hong Kon g English: Autonomy and creativity 2 1

Part III focuses o n 'dimension s o f creativity' i n Hong Kon g English wit h specific referenc e t o literar y production i n th e HKSAR . The fiv e author s i n this section ar e al l themselve s creativ e writers and writ e with som e authorit y on thi s topic . Louise Ho' s contributio n consider s Hong Kon g ('essentiall y a cosmopolitan cit y with a rock-har d Chines e core' ) a s a sit e fo r work s o f th e imagination, especiall y poetry. The chapter includes the work of young Hong Kong poets, as well as four poems from Ho herself. Agnes Lam's chapter tackle s the issu e o f definin g 'Hon g Kon g poetry ' fro m a number o f perspectives , interrogates both notion s o f 'poetry' and 'Hon g Kong', and suggest s that the sociolinguistic concept of 'speech community' ma y be of relevance in framin g an adequat e definition . Tw o poem s b y Lam ar e appende d t o thi s chapter . Leung Ping-kwan considers the tas k of writing poetry 'between ' Chines e an d English, describing the difficulties an d excitements of negotiating between tw o languages an d tw o cultures wit h referenc e t o hi s poem, ' A Leaf o f Passage' . This poem draws on the mythology of the Haida Gwaii, native Americans fro m British Columbi a a s wel l a s th e experience s o f contemporar y Hon g Kon g 'astronaut' father s wh o shuttl e betwee n th e HKSA R and Vancouver . I n th e following chapter , Nury Vittachi, an acclaimed columnist and writer of comic Hong Kong fiction, explores the humorous dimensions of '', a broad form o f Hon g Kon g Englis h tha t migh t wel l b e dubbe d 'basilectal ' b y th e technical linguist. In his contribution, Vittachi affectionately satirize s a range of colloquial style s of this variety, including bar girl patois and taxi-drive r talk. In the final chapter o f this section, Hong Kong novelist Xu Xi describes both her evolution a s a Hong Kong writer, and the schizophrenic identity of Hong Kong itself , a cit y 'neithe r bot h Chines e no r Western' . Thi s chapte r als o includes a n excerp t fro m X u Xi' s recent (2001 ) nove l o f Hong Kon g lif e i n the 1990s , The Unwalled City. Part I V of th e boo k carrie s th e rubri c 'Resources ' an d comprise s thre e chapters intende d t o indicate furthe r resource s fo r thos e intereste d bot h i n the linguisti c an d literar y aspect s o f Hong Kon g English. The chapte r fro m Bolton an d Nelso n dealin g with the Internationa l Corpu s o f English projec t in Hong Kong (HK-ICE ) includes examples of a range o f non-literary texts in Hong Kong English, including a business talk , popular writing, business an d social letters, a broadcast talk , broadcast news , a Legco (Legislativ e Council ) debate, an d a n informa l conversation . Th e followin g chapte r fro m Shirle y Geok-lin Li m discusse s th e potentia l o f creativ e writin g i n Englis h fo r developing th e 'cultura l imagination ' o f HKSA R universit y students . Li m recounts insights from he r ow n experience o f teaching creative writing at the University o f Hong Kon g and present s a number o f poems and shor t storie s authored b y her students , providing an invaluabl e guid e t o th e work o f ne w voices i n Hon g Kon g Englis h literar y production . Th e fina l sectio n i n thi s chapter i s a guid e t o bibliographica l resource s an d th e academi c literatur e on Englis h i n Hon g Kong . Part V comprises a single essa y from Bolto n an d 22 Kingsle y Bolto n

Lim on possibl e 'futures ' fo r Hong Kong English , which review s a number o f issues, linguisti c an d literary , relatin g t o th e theme s o f 'autonomy ' an d 'creativity'. Thi s fina l chapte r expresse s th e hop e tha t a paradig m shif t establishing a ne w discours e fo r 'Hon g Kon g English ' wil l hel p creat e th e cultural spac e fo r a revitalize d attitud e t o th e teachin g o f Englis h a s wel l a s for th e creativ e potentia l o f English an d Englishe s i n th e HKSAR . That the potential fo r such literar y creativity is present in Hong Kong ha s been witnesse d b y a series of literary initiatives in the las t few years, includin g the establishmen t o f th e Hon g Kon g Literar y Festiva l (no w movin g int o it s third year) , a s wel l a s th e settin g u p o f a numbe r o f creativ e writin g programmes a t loca l universities . A ne w antholog y o f Hon g Kon g writin g spanning fiv e decades , calle d City Voices will b e publishe d late r thi s yea r (Ingham and Xu , 2002). In another development , Shirle y Lim (togethe r wit h Page Richards from th e University of Hong Kong) ha s also been a driving forc e in the 'Movin g Poetry' project t o teach creativ e writing in Hong Kong primar y and secondar y schools. The qualit y of the contributions i n the firs t volume o f such poems t o come out o f this project challenges the pessimism o f complain t (Lim and Richards , 2001). When a ten-year-old Hong Kong Chinese boy 2 ca n produce a poe m tha t run s Among the creatures of the deep,/ I saw a goose,/ in metallic grey,/ diving in the abyss,/ stealthily, neck straight./ somethin g unexpecte d happens, remindin g u s o f th e powe r o f bot h imaginatio n an d literar y expression. I f the challenge o f a paradigm shif t i s somehow to change a cultur e of complaint t o one o f confidence, th e children are our future. The other hal f of the equation , w e ma y recall, i s to teac h the m well .

Notes

1. Th e edito r woul d lik e t o than k al l th e contributor s t o thi s boo k fo r thei r encouragement and support in bringing these papers together in this volume. He would also like to thank Susanna Chow, Emily Lee, Zoe Law, Ian Lok, and Michell e Woo for thei r help i n formatting thi s book, and checkin g the text . All errors, o f course, remai n th e editor's . This volume i s the firs t i n a ne w series fro m Hon g Kong University Press entitled Asian Englishes Today. The editor i s very grateful t o Hong Universit y Pres s fo r thei r belie f i n thi s projec t an d thei r soli d suppor t throughout. He would also like to thank the members of the Asian Englishes Today editorial board, which comprises M.L.A. Bautista (D e La Salle, Philippines), Susan Butler (Macquari e Dictionary), Braj Kachru (Universit y of Illinois), Yamuna Kachru (University o f Illinois) , Shirle y Geok-li n Li m (Universit y o f Californi a a t Sant a Barbara), Tom McArthur (edito r of English Today), Larry Smith (co-edito r of World Englishes), Ann e Paki r (Nationa l Universit y o f Singapore) , an d Yasukat a Yan o (Waseda University). I wish to thank my colleague Page Richards and the reviewe r appointed b y Hong Kong University Press for their very helpful comments on thi s introduction. Man y als o thank s t o Can d Lau , wh o di d wonder s wit h th e cove r design. Thi s volume ha s bee n supporte d b y a gran t fro m th e Researc h Grant s Hong Kon g English : Autonomy an d creativit y 2 3

Council o f th e Hon g Kon g Specia l Administrativ e Region , Chin a (Projec t No . HKU/7174/00H). 2. Th e writer of this poem i s Justin Ho Ching, who wrote it while a Primary 5 student at St Paul's Co-educational Primar y School .

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Ingham, Michae l an d X u X i (eds. ) City Voices: An Anthology of Hong Kong Writing in English. Hon g Kong : Hong Kon g Universit y Press . In press . Johnson, Rober t K . and Cheung , Yat-shin g (1995 ) Reading Literacy in Hong Kong: An IEA World Literacy Project on the Reading Proficiency of Hong Kong Students in Chinese and English. Hon g Kong: Department o f Chinese and Bilingua l Studies, Hong Kon g Polytechnic University . Kachru, Bra j B . (1997 ) Englis h a s an Asia n language . I n English is an Asian Language: The Philippine Context. Edite d b y M. L. S . Bautista. Manila: The Macquari e Library , pp. 1-23 . King, Re x (1987 ) Wh y pupil s ar e facin g testin g time . South China Morning Post. 2 4 February. 17 . Kwok, Shirle y (1997 ) Ne w rul e wil l halv e school s usin g English . South China Morning Post. 2 2 March. 7 . Kwok, Hele n an d Chan , Mim i (1972 ) Wher e th e twai n d o meet : A preliminary stud y of th e languag e habit s o f universit y undergraduate s i n Hon g Kong . General Linguistics, 12 , 63-79. Kwok, Hele n an d Chan , Mim i (1975 ) Creativ e writin g i n English : Problem s face d b y undergraduates i n th e Englis h Department , Th e Universit y o f Hong Kong . Topic in Culture Learning, 3 , 27-38. Honolulu: East-Wes t Centre, Universit y o f Hawaii . Lau, Chi-kue n (1986 ) Politica l excus e fo r poo r studies . South China Morning Post. 1 6 December. 4 . Leland, Charle s G . (1876 ) Pidgin English Sing-Song. London : Kega n Paul , Trench , Trubner an d Co . Ltd . Lim, Shirley and Richards , Page (ed. ) (2001 ) Moving Poetry: Hong Kong Children's Poems. Hong Kong : Hong Kon g Universit y Press . Lin, Angel Me i Yi (1997 ) Analyzin g the 'languag e problem' discourse s i n Hong Kong : How official , academic , and medi a discourses construct and perpetuate dominan t models o f language, learning , and education , fournal of Pragmatics, 28 , 427-40 . Llamzon, Teodoro A. (1986 ) Lif e cycl e of new Englishes: Restriction phas e o f Filipin o English. English World-Wide, 7(1) , 101-25 . Lord, Rober t (1974 ) Englis h — Ho w seriou s a problem fo r student s i n Hon g Kong ? The English Bulletin, 4(3) , 1-10 . Matheson, Rut h (1997 ) Dignit y reigns a s Britain lower s flags. South China Morning Post. 1 July. 3. Milroy, James an d Milroy , Lesle y (1985 ) Authority in Language: Investigating Language Prescription and Standardisation. London : Routledg e an d Kega n Paul . Morrison, John R . (1834 ) A glossary of words and phrases peculiar t o the jargon spoke n at Canton. I n A Chinese Commercial Guide Consisting of a Collection of Details Respecting Foreign Trade in China. Edite d b y J. R . Morrison. Canton: Albion Press, unnumbered . Ng, Margare t Ngoi-ye e (2001 ) Cosmopolitanis m a t risk . South China Morning Post. 1 2 September. 16 . Pennington, Marth a C . (1998 ) Th e foll y o f languag e planning ; or , a brie f histor y o f the Englis h languag e i n Hong Kong . English Today, 54, 25-30. Regan, Mar k (2000 ) Languag e 'essentia l t o future o f SAR' . South China Morning Post. 29 February. 2 3 Romaine, Susanne (1994 ) Language in Society: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Oxford : Oxford Universit y Press . Smith, Car l T . (1985 ) Th e English-educate d elit e i n nineteenth-centur y Hon g Kong . Hong Kon g English : Autonomy an d creativit y 2 5

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Abad, Germino 29 8 B International 185 Abbas, Ackbar 29 , 47-48, 176 , 290, 303- Back to the Wall 216 305 Bacon-Shone, John 2 , 19, 42-43, 57, 158, accent, see Hong Kon g Englis h 283, 286, 301 acculturation 19 , 30-31, 23 1 baihua 37 acts of identity 191-19 3 Baker, Barbara 184 , 186, 19 0 Adamson, Bo b 28 5 Baker, Hugh D . 47 Afendras, Evangelo s A. 42, 43, 286 Balla, John 28 5 affricates i n Hon g Kon g Englis h 130 , Bamgbose, Ayo 59 139 Basic Law 7, 35, 108-109, 11 4 Aidoo, Ama Ata 30 6 Bauer, Robert S . 37, 79, 82 Alsagoff, Lubna 145 , 146, 158 Bautista, M.L.A . 22 alveolar approximan t i n Hon g Kon g BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) 46, English 133 , 136, 13 9 106, 109 , 226, 266 19 , 58, 67-68,122,163, Benedict, Pau l K 3 7 222-224, 227, 261, 308-309 Benson, Phi l 20 , 45 , 161-170 , 257-258 , Anglo-Chinese school s 5, 32, 34, 38 285, 289, 295 Apple Daily 11, 87, 90-93, 99 , 104, 11 0 Bhabha, Homi 30 3 Asia 2000 184 , 186 , 290-291 Bhatia, Vijay K 28 8 Asia Inc. 10 5 Bickley, Gillian 28 7 Asian Englishe s 19 , 22 , 31, 45, 59 , 119 , Bilbow, Grahame T . 288 153, 223, 241, 257, 266-268 Bilingual Law s Project 9 , 35-36 Asian Values 214 bilingualism 6,9,11,13,17,19-20,30-31, Asiaweek 11, 105, 112, 18 5 34-35, 41, 43-45, 57-58, 79-80, 85-87, Atkinson, Paul A. 41, 285, 300 90-95, 103 , 191, 193, 260, 282-283, attitudes, see language attitudes; language 303; see also monolingualism ; ideologies and myth s multilingualism ATV {Asia Television Limited) 10 6 Blair, Tony 6 Austen, Jane 22 3 Blanc, Haim 8 1 autonomy 1 , 6, 13 , 18-19, 22, 29, 31, 37, Bloomfield, Leonar d 19 1 39, 219-220, 258, 266, 295-303, 306 Blunden, Edmund 51 , 189, 302, 306 Axler, Maria 59, 287 Bolt, Philip 263, 289 Bolton, Kingsley 1-25, 29-55, 57, 95, 120, i

316 Inde x

122, 141, 158, 161-162, 241-264, 281- 289, 290 , 304, 306 291, 295-31 3 Chan, Yuen-ying 10-11 , 20 , 101-11 5 Borges, Jorge Lui s 19 9 Chang, Helen 30 2 Boyle, Joseph 17 , 258, 284, 285, 287-288, Chen, Albert H. Y . 109 302 Chen, Juliette 18 9 Boyle, Linda 258 , 288 Cheng, Christi e 271, 280 Branegan, Jay 3 5 Cheng, Helen N . L. 283-284, 286-28 7 British colonialism 2-3, 5-7, 13 , 16,19, 20, Cheng, Kai-ming 1 0 29, 31-39, 44, 47-48, 58, 79, 101, 109- Cheng, Tien-mu 3 6 110, 113-114 , 219 , 222-224, 229, 231, Cheung, Anita 17 7 247, 266-267, 269, 296-297, 300, 302- Cheung, Anne S . Y. 36, 110, 285 308 Cheung, Chi-f a 3 9 British Englis h 58 , 67, 89, 143 , 157 , 224, Cheung, Gar y 1 0 226, 228, 259-260, 302, 306 Cheung, Martha P . 48, 202, 290 Bruce, Nigel 281-282, 29 1 Cheung, O i Ling 28 4 Brunei Englis h 5 9 Cheung, Yat-shing 16-17 , 284, 301 Buck, Pearl S . 220 Chin, Wan-kan 3 7 Budge, Carol 28 9 China Daily 36, 102, 11 2 Bunton, Davi d 20 , 57-77, 258, 288, 295 Chinese pidgin English 4-5,31-32,305-307 Burney Report 30 5 Chinese sovereignt y 8 , 15 , 29, 32, 38, 58, Butalia, Kavit a 18 4 103, 108 , 113-114, 299-30 0 Butler, Susan 22 , 44-45, 47, 49 Chinese speakers of English 4-6, 58, 130, 140, 157 , 162, 192, 210 cable televisio n 106 , 111-11 2 Chinese Universit y o f Hon g Kong , Th e Cameron 5 2 (CUHK) 32 , 34 , 184 , 263 , 283-284 , Candlin, Christopher N . 282, 291 286-287, 290-29 1 Cannon, Garlan d 28 9 Chinese writers 189-191,220,229,304,30 8 Canton Englis h 5, 31 Chinese: communists 32, 37, 39,103, 108, Cantonese: culture 11 , 32, 216, 220-221, 110, 112 ; culture 21 , 32, 41, 75, 174 , 226, 258 ; language 2-4 , 8-13 , 15 , 20, 201-202, 229 , 269, 274, 276 ; food 47 , 32, 35-43 , 46 , 50-52 , 57-58 , 79-99 , 84, 202 , 210 , 258 , 271-272 , 310 ; 106-107, 126-129 , 133 , 138-154 , government 6 , 8 , 15-16 , 35 , 39, 101- 157-158, 161-163 , 174-176 , 208-230 , 103, 110 , 112 , 114 , 162 , 299 ; identit y 235-236, 254 , 257, 266, 283, 298-299, 13, 21, 41, 222, 230-231, 267, 306, 308; 305-309; Putonghua and Cantonese in imaginary 5 ; language 2-4 , 8-14 , 17 , Hong Kong 35-37; written form 36 , 42; 20-21, 32, 35-38, 40-43, 45, 49, 57, 59, see also code-mixing and code-switchin g 80-86, 88-95, 104 , 106-107 , 110-112 , in Cantonese and Englis h 145, 158 , 174, 184, 186, 193, 199-205, Carless, David R . 45, 162, 289 210, 212-213, 219, 221-222, 225, 227- Carter, Ron 18 7 228, 267-268 , 281-282 , 300-301 , censorship 110-111 , 165, 258 306-308, 311 ; see also Cantonese ; census result s 2 , 34 , 42-43, 57 , 76 , 153 , Putonghua; an d Mandarin ; literatur e 158, 211, 302 174, 184 , 199-205, 220-221, 225, 228, Chako, Sussy , see Xu X i 268; people 4-16, 21-22, 43-47, 51, 58, Chan, Bria n Hok-shin g 81, 286 76, 79-88, 94-95, 101 , 108, 185 , 188- Chan, E . P. 144 189, 212-215, 220-224, 228-229, 251, Chan, Felix 39, 42 258, 266 , 300 , 304 , 307-309 ; see also Chan, Mim i 14-15 , 45, 48, 162, 257, 286, Hong Kong: Chines e Index 31 7

Chinglish 21 , 47, 59 , 60 , 207-218 , 223 , discourse analysis , see pragmatics an d 305, 30 7 discourse analysi s Chinoy, Mike 10 9 discourse (s): of colonialism 113-114 , 303; Chinua Achebe 30 6 of teacher s i n Hon g Kon g 57-77 ; o n Chiu, Annette 1 1 Hong Kong English 14-18 , 22, 40, 49, Chow, Rey 304-305, 307 52, 303 ; see also language ideologie s Chu, Leonard 11 0 and myth s City at the End of Time 184, 200, 290 Discovery Channel 112 Clark, Julie 18 5 distribution (phonological ) 121 , 129, 135, Clavell, James 214 , 224, 304 137-138 Clyne, Michael 80 , 82, 87 Dream of the Red Chamber, The 221 CNN (Cable News Network) 106,112-113,266 Drydenjohn 176 , 18 1 Coates, Austin 22 4 code-mixing an d code-switchin g i n Eckman, Fred R . 12 0 Cantonese and English 3, 9, 11, 20, 38, education 5-6 , 17-18 , 22 , 30, 37 , 57-77, 43, 49-52 , 79-99 , 282-283 , 286-287 , 219, 266 , 281-282 , 297 , 303 , 305; see 295, 305, 307 also medium o f instruction issu e colonialism, see British colonialis m Elegant, Robert 30 4 complaint tradition , see Hong Kon g Eliot, Thomas S . 176, 223 English Elliot, Dorinda 4 Computerworld/InfoWorld 105 error analysis and interlanguage studies 3, Comrie, Bernard 15 1 30, 59-60,119-120, 122 , 133, 141, 150- Conrad, Joseph 22 7 151, 153 , 157, 207, 258-259, 282-283, i n Hon g Kon g Englis h 20 , 288-289, 30 7 120-121, 129-139 , 159 , 213, 257 ESPN 106 Cook, Robin 6 Eurasians 43, 222 Cortarzar, Julio 19 9 Evans, Stephen 28 4 Cosmopolitan 105 Cox Report 103 , 297 Far Eastern Economic Review 105, 300 Cox, Ah Fong 282, 291 Fenby, Jonathan 10 4 Craig, Kenneth 258 , 289 fiction (Hon g Kong) 21 , 48, 208, 219-233, creative writing: in Hong Kong 20-22, 48, 267, 295, 304, 308 171-237, 242, 265-280, 283, 290, SOS- Filipino language 9 SIS; b y Hong Kong students 265-280 , Filipinos i n Hon g Kon g 3 , 43, 76 , 221, 309-311 224, 269, 274 Crismore, Avon 58-5 9 Financial Times 105 culture, see Chinese: culture; Hong Kong: Fitzpatrick, Liam 18 9 culture Flowerdew, John 283 , 287, 288 Fok, Michelle Ka-lin g 272, 280 Davies, Stephen 16 2 Fong, Bernard 101-10 2 Delbridge, Arthur 163 , 169 Foo, Rebecca 282 , 291 democracy 108-109 , 113-114 , 21 9 Foodscape 202, 290 Detaramani, Champa 28 7 Forestier, Katherine 18 5 dictionaries 22 , 45, 48, 64-65, 72-73, 82 , Forster, Edwar d M . 223 85, 162 , 228, 257 Fortune 105, 108 Dimsum 184, 186, 208, 291 Fotouhi, Sana 279, 280 diphthongs i n Hon g Kon g Englis h 127 - fricatives in Hong Kong English 130-133, 129, 13 8 139 318 Inde x

Fu, Gai l Schaefer 41 , 79, 286, 288 86-87, 89-95, 189 , 212-214, 220-225 , 230, 258 , 304 ; civi l servic e 2 , 8-9 , Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting Limited 107 35-36, 167 , 223 , 260 , 280 , 302 ; Gautier, Theophile 17 6 contemporary histor y 1-14 ; cultur e Gibbons, John 14 , 37, 79-81, 84, 95, 283, 2-4, 32 , 36 , 41, 46, 48, 173-175 , 185 , 285-287 188, 190 , 193-194, 220, 224, 226, 229, Gibbs, Raymond W . 18 7 269, 295 , 298, 303-307 ; English , see Giles, Howard 5 9 Hong Kon g English; identit y 2 , 7, 13, Gisborne, Nikolas 20 , 141-161, 29 5 21, 39 , 41, 47, 79 , 108 , 179 , 181-183 , globalization 75 , 86, 111, 113, 222, 266 186, 191-193 , 221-222, 230, 295, 300, Gould, Vanessa 1 8 304, 306 , 308; language plannin g an d grammar an d usag e books 61-63 , 65-66 , language policie s 8-14 , 35-37 , 68, 71-72, 74 283-284, 297-298; law 2, 9, 35-36, 42, grammar, see Hong Kon g Englis h 216-217, 260 ; see also Basi c Law , Gray, Lawrence 185-18 6 Bilingual Laws Project; literature , see Green, Christopher F . 288 Hong Kon g English : literature ; Green, Owe n M . 5 population 1-2 , 6 , 11 , 33-35, 41-42 , Greenbaum, Sidne y 72, 289 57-58, 76 , 153 , 158 , 301-302, see also Gumperz,John 19 1 census results ; sociolinguistic s of , see Guo, Zhongshi 10 6 Hong Kong English: sociolinguistic s Gupta, Anthea Fraser 4 0 Hong Kon g Baptis t Universit y (HKBU ) 121 Haida Gwai i 21, 203 Hong Kong Cable Television Limited Hall, Robert A. 5 (HKCTV) 10 6 Halliday, Michael A. K 29 6 Hong Kong Commercial Daily 104 Hamlett, Ti m 28 4 Hong Kon g corpu s o f English , see Hancock, Ia n 2 9 International Corpu s o f Englis h i n Handover 4 , 6, 108-110, 113 , 183, 305 Hong Kong (ICE-HK ) Hannah, Jean 14 1 Hong Kong Daily Nervs 104 Hardy, Thomas 22 3 Hong Kong Economic Times 90, 10 4 Harris, Roy 3, 286, 289, 301 Hong Kong Economics Journal 10 4 Henry, Gerard 18 5 Hong Kong English: accent (phonology ) Hirvela, Alan 59, 284 20, 41, 44-45, 80, 119-140 , 159 , 161, HKSAR Government (Hon g Kong Special 214, 222 , 256-257, 266 , 295-296; a s a Administrative Region Government) 2 , 'new English' 283 , 289-290; attitudes , 8-9, 58 , 94, 113 ; see also Hong Kon g see language attitudes; autonomy 8-23, Government 295-303; complain t traditio n 14-18 ; Ho, Chee Lic k 145-146, 15 8 dictionary 48 , 162 ; future s fo r 22 , Ho, Elaine Y . L. 290 295-313; gramma r (an d syntax ) Ho, Louise 21, 48,173-182,184,189,190 , 141-160, 222, 228, 258-263; history of 290, 295, 307 44, 47-48; literary creativity, see creative Hollington, Michae l 17 6 writing, literar y creativit y i n Hon g Holmes, Helen K . 283, 290 Kong; literatur e 3 , 21 , 44 , 189 , Hong Kong : accent , see Hong Kon g 219-233, 303-304, 309; morphosyntax English: accent ; Cantones e an d 153-156; origin s o f 4-6 , 31-32 ; Putonghua i n 35-37 ; see also reference works 45-49; relative clause s Cantonese, Mandarin , Putonghua ; 25,141-160; sociolinguistics 13, 20, 29- Chinese 4 , 9, 11, 22, 41, 44, 58, 81-83, 55, 57-60,141, 281; speech communit y Index 31 9

2, 4 , 21 , 41, 163, 169 , 183 , 191 , 260, International Herald Tribune 105 298; standards of English 3, 8-9,14-18, Internet: explosion 4, 11-12, 111; ICQ43, 40, 49-51 , 58-59 , 259 , 268 , 282 , 49-51; usag e 111-112 , 185 , 244 , 268, 297-303; vocabulary 19-20, 43-47, 49, 270, 28 2 161-170, 204-218, 257-25 8 Iyer, Pico 2 9 Hong Kon g Examination s Authorit y (HKEA) 16 , 68, 73, 301 Jane Eyre 221 Hong Kon g Governmen t 8-9 , 33 , 35 , Janviroj, Pana 11 3 37-38, 51-52, 76 , 217; see also HKSAR Jayawickrama, Nihal 11 4 Government Jefferies, Ala n 184 , 18 5 Hong Kong iMail 10 Jet TV 106 Hong Kong Rose 229, 291 Joaquin, Nic k 30 6 Hong Kong Standard 104, 185, 208, 209 Johnson, Mar k 18 7 Hong Kong Telecom 58, 76 Johnson, Robert K 16-17 , 38, 44, 95, 284- Hong Kon g Universit y (HKU) ; see 286, 30 1 University of Hong Kong, The Jones, Rodney 28 4 Hooper, Anthony G . 304 Joseph, John E . 290 Huang, T . S. 288 Journey to the West 221 Huckleberry Finn 22 1 Hudson, Richar d 158 , 19 1 Kachru, Braj B. 18-19, 22, 29-31, 51, 58- Hui, Poll y 9, 185 , 18 6 74, 141, 191, 259, 265, 296, 303 human right s 11 4 Kachru, Yamuna 2 2 Hung, Ev a 186 , 290 Kamwangamalu, Nkonko 28 6 Hung, Joseph 26 3 289 Keenan, Edward L . 15 1 Hung, Ton y T . N . 20 , 45 , 49 , 119-141 , Kelen, Christopher 184 , 18 5 256-257, 266, 295 Keobke, Ken 282 , 291 Hunter, Dunca n B . 14 Killingley, Siew-yu e 14 9 Hutcheon, Robi n 10 1 King, Rex 16 , 301 hybridity: cultural 4, 51, 307; linguistics 4, Kingman Repor t 29 7 49, 51, 210, 218, 269, 305, 307 Kingston, Maxin e Hon g 220 , 226-227 , Hyland, Ke n 7 9 308 Hymes, Dell 8 1 Klein, Richard 11 0 Knight, Alan 10 9 identity, see Chinese: identity; Hong Kong: Kong, Kenneth C . C. 288 identity Kottjan 19 9 imagination 21-22 , 114 , 265-280 , 303 , Kowloon Tong 22S 307 Kraar, Louis 10 8 India 32 , 107, 11 2 Kwo, Ora W . Y . 285 Indian Englis h 18-19 , 29-32, 48, 57, 119, Kwok, Edmond S . T. 38 127, 157 , 168, 223-224, 241, 259, 266, Kwok, Hele n 14 , 44-45 , 120 , 122 , 141, 296 161-162, 256-257 , 286 , 289 , 306 , Indians in Hong Kong 3, 43, 76, 81, 210, 308 214, 222, 224 Kwok, Shirley 9, 39 Ingham, Michae l 2 2 interlanguage, see error analysi s an d Ladefoged, Pete r 13 9 interlanguage studie s Lai, Ellen 267 , 269 International Corpu s o f English i n Hon g Lai, Winnie Auyeung 28 5 Kong (ICE-HK ) 142 , 157, 241-264 Lakoff, George , 158 , 187 320 Inde x

Lam, Agne s 21 , 48, 183-197 , 290 , 295 , Li, Davi d C . S . 20 , 43 , 79-99, 283-284 , 305, 30 7 287-288, 29 5 Lam, William C . P . 258, 289 Li, Peng 6 Lam, Wing-kwan 8 5 Li, Po 20 4 language attitude s 20 , 57-77, 282 , 287 - Lim, Shirle y Geok-li n 21-22 , 265-280 , 288, 295-303 ; see also languag e 295-313 ideologies and myth s Lin, Angel Me i Yi 15, 95, 285-288, 298 language benchmarks 59 , 267 literary creativity in Hong Kong 20-22, 31, language boundaries 83 , 87, 202-205 44, 48, 173-37, 295, 302 Language Campaign 58 Llamzon, Teodoro A . 1 9 language community , see Hong Kon g localized words in Hong Kong English, see English: speech communit y Hong Kon g English: vocabular y language ideologie s an d myth s 2 , 17-18 , Lord, Robert 14 , 283-284, 286-28 7 30, 40-52, 295-30 3 Lowenberg, Peter H . 5 9 language norms i n Hong Kong 2 , 12 , 20, Lui, Stephanie Po-ma n 276 , 280 44, 57-77, 82, 142, 153, 302 Luke, Kang-kwon g 44 , 58, 79, 82, 84-88, language planning and language policies, 95, 120 , 161, 281, 284 see Hong Kong: language planning and Luo, Dayou 30 4 language policies ; see also medium o f instruction issu e Macintosh, Angus 29 6 lateral in Hong Kong English 133-136,13 9 MacLehose, Murray 1 Lau, Chi-kuen 16 , 35, 110, 300 MacMahon, Jennifer 31 1 Lau, Chunfat 13 9 Macquarie Dictionary 22, 45, 48, 257 Law, Eva 59 Madden, Normandy 11 2 Law, Siu-lan 10 4 Malaysia 112 , 16 8 Lawrence, David Herbert 22 3 Malaysian Englis h 19 , 29-32, 57-59, 126 , Le Page, Robert 45 , 191 130, 153 , 223-224 Lee Kwa n Yew 38 Malaysians in Hong Kon g 3, 43, 221, 223 Lee, Cher Leng 28 6 Man, Vicky 13 9 Lee, Ding Fai 304 Mandarin 32, 37, 43, 85, 91,107,145, 158, Lee, Elbert S . P. 189 225-228, 255; see also Putonghua Lee, Keon Woong 270, 280 Mansfield, Katherin e 22 3 Lee, Micky 79, 83, 85, 95 Marquez, Gabriel Garci a 19 9 Lee, Paul L . M. 286 Marsh, Jon 10 3 Lee, Paul S . N. 11 0 Mason, Richard 22 4 Lee, Sik-yum 5 9 Matheson, Ruth 6- 7 Lee, Wing-on 4 0 Matthews, Stephe n 141-143 , 147-153 , Leech, Geoffre y 15 7 155, 157-158 , 289 Leland, Charles G . 5 Maugham, Somerse t 22 4 Lessing, Doris 22 9 McArthur, Tom 22 , 29, 163, 296 Leung, Benjamin K . P. 33 McCrum, Robert 2 9 Leung, Mei Chun Ma y 262 McGowan,Joe 10 8 Leung, Ping-kwa n 21 , 48, 184 , 189 , 199 , McGurn, William 30 0 201-202, 290, 295, 304-305, 307-30 8 McMahon, April 15 3 Leung, Yin-bing 8 1 media: code-mixing and code-switching in Li, Tsz-chiu 17 8 79-99; Englis h medi a i n Hon g Kon g Li, Ching Chao 20 4 10-12, 20 , 42 , 67-68 , 101-115 , 185 ; Li, David 300-30 1 radio and televisio n 105-10 7 Index 32 1 medium of instruction issue 10, 17, 37-41, Ng, Addy 274, 280 283-285, 29 6 Ng, Kang-chung 1 0 Miller, Lindsay 28 7 Ng, Margaret Ngoi-ye e 13-1 4 Milroy, James 1 4 Ngeow, Karen Yeok-hwa 58 Milroy, Lesley 14, 19 1 Ngugi, Wa Thiong'o 30 6 Milton, John 258-25 9 Noble House 214 Ming Pao Daily News 104 nomenclature 176-17 9 missionary schools 5, 32, 37 non-native speakers of English (NNS ) 60 - Mitchell, Robert Edward 10 2 75 mixed code , see code-mixing an d code - Norton, Teresa 21 6 switching in Cantones e an d Englis h novels (Hon g Kong ) 21 , 48, 191 , 214 , Mo, Timothy 306-30 7 219-233, 243, 304 Mohanan, K P . 119, 139,142, 15 8 monolingualism 2-3 , 41-43, 29 8 Oe, Kenzaburo 19 9 monophthongs i n Hon g Kon g Englis h Ong, Timothy 10 5 122-127, 13 8 Ong, Walter 17 3 Morley, David 10 7 Oriental Daily 104 morphosyntax of Hong Kong English 147, Orwell, George 158 , 199 153-156 Osing, Gordon 200 , 290 morphosyntax o f nativ e varietie s o f Oxford Companion to the English 15 4 163, 29 6 Morrison, John R . 5 Moy, Joyce 3 9 Pakir, Anne 2 2 multilingualism 2-3,11, 19 , 31, 34, 40-41, Palmer, Frank R . 19 1 43, 228 , 282-283 , 286 , 308 , see also Palmer, Gar y B. 187 bilingualism Pannu, Jasbir 8 1 Museum Pieces 202 Parker, Dorothy 22 3 Myers-Scotton, Carol 8 1 Parkin, Andrew 48, 184, 202-204, 29 0 Paroles 185 Nabokov, Vladimir 227 , 229 Pasierbsky, Fritz 3 6 Naipaul, Vidiadhar S . 227 Patri, Mrudula 42 , 81 Nakano, Yoshiko 10 9 Patten, Chris 252, 271, 280 Nanwani, Shalini 27 1 Patten, Christopher 6 , 33 nasals i n Hon g Kon g Englis h 133-136 , PC World 105 138-139 Peking University 19 9 National Geographic, 10 5 Peng, Long 120 , 13 9 native speakers of English (NS ) 30 , 60-67, Pennington, Marth a C . 4 , 42, 59, 80-81 , 70-71, 74 , 125, 144, 151-15 2 95, 120 , 283-288 Native-speaker English teachers (NET ) 58, Pennycook, Alastair 11 3 67,76 People's Republic of China (PRC ) 6-7, 33, nativization 30 , 15 1 36, 57, 108, 167, 258 Nelson, Ceci l L. 25 9 Philippine Daily Inquirer112, 29 8 Nelson, Gerald 21, 49, 241-264 3,18-19, 29-32, 41, 48, New, Christopher 30 4 223, 241, 259, 267, 297-298, 306 News Corporation 112 Phoenix TV 112 Newsbrook, Mark 141, 143-144, 146-148, phonology, see Hong Kong English: accent 150-151, 156-15 7 Pidgin English, see Chinese pidgin Englis h Newsweek 105, 109 Pierson, Herbert D. 59, 284, 287-288 322 Inde x

Pierson-Smith, Anne 28 4 Richards, Stephen 185 , 288 Pinter, Harold 28 0 Roberts, Elfed 16 2 Piatt, John T . 161,29 0 Robertson, Geoffer y 11 0 poetry (Hon g Kong ) 21-22 , 48 , 51 , Robins, Devin 10 7 177-178, 183-206 , 262, 295, 307-308 Roebuck, Derek 3 6 Pollard, Davi d E . 18 6 Romaine, Susanne 17 , 143, 295-297, 30 2 Pomery, Chris 16 7 Room of Ones Own, A 219 Poon, Anita Y . K. 285 RP (Receive d Pronunciation) 12 2 Poon, Wai Yi 95 Running Dog 304 Poplack, Shana 8 1 Rushdie, Salman 22 7 Postiglione, Gerald A. 40, 285, 287 Rusmin, Rum S . 284 postpositive modificatio n i n Hon g Kon g English 14 7 Sankoff, Davi d 8 1 Potter, John 258 , 289 Scollon, Ron 83, 87, 283, 288 Pound, Ezr a 17 5 Sebba, Mark 14 2 pragmatics and discours e analysi s 82-85, semantic opposition s i n Hon g Kon g 89, 93-94, 262, 283, 288 English vocabulary 163-16 7 Prator, Cliffor d 296-29 8 Setter, Jane 12 0 Prince Charle s 6 Shakespeare, William 176 , 249, 267, 270 Putonghua 2 , 6-10, 12 , 15-16, 35-36, 38, Shimatsu, Yoichi Clarke 11 3 41, 43 , 57 , 91 , 107 , 228 , 230 , 255 , Shirk, Martha 11 1 298-299, 306; see also Mandarin short storie s (Hon g Kong ) 21 , 48, 184 , 191, 221, 269, 276-280 Qian, Qichen 6 Siegel, Jeff 8 1 Quirk, Randolph 15 7 Siegenthaler, Peter D. 10 8 Simpson, Robert K M . 51 racism 5 , 222 Sin Chew Jit Poh 11 2 radio broadcastin g i n Hon g Kon g 20 , Sin, King-sui 3 6 106-107, 185 , 209, 249-25 1 SingDao Daily 104 Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) 67 , 76, Sing Pao Newspaper 104 106, 226, 249 Singapore 11 , 40, 112 , 189, 307 Rao, Mani 184-18 6 Singaporean Englis h 3, 18-19, 29-32, 38, Readers Digest 105 48, 57-59,119,126-127,130,141, 144- recognition o f Hon g Kon g Englis h 3 , 146, 153, 157, 161, 214, 219, 223-224, 19-20, 29-31, 161-162 , 29 8 241, 259, 266-267, 296 reduced relative s 146-147 , 15 2 Singaporeans i n Hong Kong 22 1 reference works , see Hong Kong Englis h 266-26 7 Regan, Mark 1 8 Slavick, Madeleine 184 , 186, 19 0 relative clauses, see Hong Kong English Smith, Car l T. 6, 32 Renditions: A Chinese-English Translation Smith, Larry 2 2 Magazine 174, 184, 186, 290 Snell-Hornby, Mar y 87 researching Hong Kon g English 281-29 1 So, Daniel W. C. 32, 57, 285, 286 restrictive/non-restrictive constrast s i n social class 12-14, 17, 33, 40, 43, 165, 219, Hong Kong English 143 , 151-153 225-226, 300, 302 resumptive pronoun s i n Hon g Kon g sociolinguistics, see Hong Kong Englis h English 149-15 2 sociology of language 282-28 4 Richards, Jack C. 44, 58,120,161, 281, 284 Soo, Keng-soon 5 8 Richards, Page 2 2 South China Morning Post (SCMP) 3 , 7 , Index 32 3

11, 15-17 , 39-40 , 42 , 49 , 67 , 76 , 99 , The Jakarta Post 112 101-104, 113, 162, 165-167, 185, 208- The Korea Herald 112 209, 284 , 289, 298-30 0 The Monkey King 221, 306-30 7 Souzajean D ' 13 9 The Nation 11 2 spectrographic analyse s o f Hon g Kon g The Star 112 English accent 122-123, 131-132, 136- The Statesman 112 137 The Straits Times 112 speech community , see Hon g Kon g The Sun 10 4 English The Tatler 102 Spurr, Davi d 10 9 Theroux, Paul 22 8 11 9 Tiananmen 114 , 176 , 235, 300 Stambler, Peter 184 , 186 Tien, Michael Puk-su n 10 , 1 7 Standard Englis h 20 , 58 , 75 , 141 , 259, Tiger Standard 102 307-308 Time 105, 11 2 standards o f English , see Hong Kon g Time Warner 112 English Tin Tin Daily News 104 Standing Committe e o n Languag e Todd, Loreto 2 9 Education an d Researc h (SCOLAR ) translation 48 , 82-87, 95 , 184 , 191 , 193, 291 199-205, 213, 305, 308 Star TV (Satellite Television Asian Region Ltd) Trudgill, Peter 141 , 154 107, 11 2 Tsang, Venus Chiu-ying 272, 273, 280, 309 Stevens, Trudy 28 7 Tsang, Wai-king 83 Stewart, Sarah 11 3 Tse, S. K . 282, 291 stops in Hong Kong English 120 , 130,139, Tsui, Amy B. M. 20, 57-77, 284, 295 257 Tsui, Sio-ming 10 5 Strasser, Steven 4 Tsur, Reuven 18 7 Strevens, Peter 29 6 Tung, Chee-hw a 4 , 6, 8, 39, 51, 108, 113, substrate 145-146 , 157-15 8 271, 28 0 Sun, Andrew 18 5 Tung, Peter C.S . 285 supers trate 145-146 , 15 7 TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited) 50, 93, Svartvik,Jan 15 7 106, 112 , 251 Sweetser, Ev e V 15 8 Twain, Mark 22 3 syntax, see Hong Kon g English: gramma r University of Hong Kong, The (HKU ) 12 , T'sou, Benjamin 14 , 284, 298, 300 14, 21, 32, 34, 48-19, 51, 60, 80, 166 , Tabouret-Keller, Andree 45 , 191 184, 189 , 267-268, 280, 286, 289, 291, Tacey, Elisabeth 10 , 305-306 300, 302, 306, 309 Tam, Lawrence 282-29 1 Unwalled City, The 21, 220 , 229-230, 234- taxonomies o f Hon g Kon g Englis h 237, 291, 308 vocabulary 165-166 , 259 USA Today 105 Tay, Mary W.J. 44,29 0 Taylor, Andrew 45, 162, 257, 290 Vagg, John 16 6 teachers o f English in Hong Kong 17 , 20, Vee, Louis 185 , 186 51, 57-77, 119 , 223, 248, 282 Vietnam News 112 text type s i n Internationa l Corpu s o f Vines, Stephen 104 , 11 1 English projec t 242-255 , 260 Vittachi, Nury 21, 48, 186 , 207, 218, 291, The Asian Wall Street Journal 10 5 295, 305, 307 The Economist 105 vocabulary, see Hong Kong Englis h 324 Inde x vowels in Hong Kong English 20,122-129, Yue , Francis 59, 287 138-139, 256-257 Yuen , Che Hung 18 9 Vs: 12 Hong Kong Poets 184, 291 Yung , Vicki 83

Waiting 229 Zajc , Lydia 1 1 Walcott, Derek 175 , 227-228 zero-subjec t relative s i n Hon g Kon g Walters, Steve 285 Englis h 143-146 , 152-154 , 15 8 Wanchai 21 6 Zhang , Wannian 6 Ward, Alan 258 , 289 Zuraidah , Ibrahim 11 3 Webster, Michael 144 , 152, 258, 289 Weir, Fred 8 7 WH-words an d preposition s i n Hon g Kong English 145 , 148-150 Wilkins, Karin G . 10 8 Williams, Raymond 30 5 Woman to Woman 184, 290, 307 Woman Warrior, The 226, 308 Wong, David T. K. 291 Wong, Eliza Fong-ting 271, 280, 310 Wong, Ho-yin 177 , 310 Wong, Laurence 48 , 184, 290 Wong, Nicholas Y. B. 274, 280 Wong, Nicole Chun-chi 276 , 280 Wong, Sau-ling Cynthia 28 9 Woo, F.William 11 1 Woo, Ka Hei Michelle 22 , 262 Woolf, Virginia 199 , 219, 223 Workplace English Campaign 17-18 world Englishe s 18-19 , 29-31 , 169 , 219, 265-267, 282, 296 Wright, Susa n 28 3

Xu, Xi (Suss y Chako/Komala) 21-22 , 48, 174, 219-237, 290-291, 295, 305, 308

Yang, Anson 28 7 Yang, Xun 15 , 299 Yano, Yasukata 2 2 Yau, Frances Man Si u 8 , 41, 79, 284-285, 287 Yee, Albert H. 300-30 1 Yinglish 210-21 2 Yip, Virginia 141-143, 147-153,155,157- 158, 289 Yow, Sophia 1 0 Yu, Vivenne W. S. 41, 285, 300 Yang Yung: A Journal of Hong Kong and International Writing 184, 269, 280, 311