Week 8 - Cultural (16/03/12)

Before embarking on my journey to live and study in Hong Kong, many people asked me how I would cope with the language barrier that they perceived I would face here, especially on our teaching placement. To be honest, prior to our departure, I still wasn’t completely sure how I would deal with it, as I knew that on some level English was used as one source of communication but since I was going to a part of China, I was still unaware at the degree of capability that we would experience. This week, through numerous discussions, lectures and research, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the history of languages in Hong Kong and the impacts that they have had on this country and in fact the world. Ong (2012:1) states that, ‘Language is not simply a tool of communication; it defines ethnic, national, cultural and even religious identities as well’. 

A group of our friends, made up of 7 different mother-tongue languages.

Many people are aware that when Britain declared Hong Kong as one of its many colonies in 1842, they established English as the official language and implemented a Western-styled education system. However, after numerous petitions and riots displaying a continuous strengthening of Chinese national identity, Cantonese was made an official language, of equal status with English in 1974. Following the handover of sovereignty from Britain to the People’s Republic of China, in 1997, Hong Kong’s government adopted a ‘biliterate and trilingual’ policy, acknowledging the use and validity of Putonghua (Mandarin), which can be seen and heard throughout Hong Kong on shop signs, buses and trains. Although Chinese can be split into two languages when spoken, i.e. Cantonese and Putonghua, they share the same written form, allowing speakers of both languages a medium to communicate, even if they cannot speak the other language.

Familiar signs written in both English and Chinese.

From first glance at the history of this topic, through a very biased approach, as english is my mother tongue, I felt that it was a beneficial thing for the people of Hong Kong to use English as their first language but I was very naive to the effects that it had and to some extent, continues to have on many generations of Hong Kongers. On one hand, the use of the English language opened up many pathways for international and economic success. However on the other, vast educational inequalities arose creating an “elite” environment for students who attended schools with an English medium of instruction (EMI), in comparison to those who attended Chinese medium of instruction schools (CMI). Cultural discrepancies also developed, as more emphasis was placed on the importance of learning English to succeed professionally, instead of the riches that cultural dialect offered. As humans use language as a way of signaling identity with one cultural group and difference from others, many younger generations began to associate themselves as hong Kong British, instead of Chinese. Tung (2000:27) noted that, ‘Our young people have much to learn about the history of our country. They should find out more about our great cultural heritage’. This issue has been fascinating for me to learn about and it has lead me to think about the official languages of Northern Ireland (English, Gaelic and Ulster Scots) and how they have effected the ethnic, national, cultural and indeed religious identities of the population and in some cases, how they have caused division and segregation of differing communities.

Sign written in English, Ulster Scots and Gaelic.

Also a result of Hong Kong being trilingual, many of the population have obtained the knowledge to speak Cantonese, English and Putonghua and it is clear from chatting with our friends from Hong Kong that they have a thirst to learn more. This has undoubtedly encouraged me to attempt to learn more languages in depth, as I believe that through a country’s language you can access all areas of their culture. 

As Andrew and I have become more familiar with the multicultural society that exists in Hong Kong, we are looking forward to experiencing what Mainland China has to offer, as we are traveling to Guangzhou to spend a few days with the other Stranmillis students. The past two months in Hong Kong have been surreal to say the least, packed full of  opportunities to learn, see and do many new things...and so 它長可能繼續 (long may it continue)!

References:

Ong, K. (2012) A Review of Bilingual Education In Hong Kong, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Tai Po.

Tung, (2000:27) cited in Tollefson, J.W. and Tsui, A. (2004) Medium of Instruction Policies: Which Agenda? Whose Agenda?, Taylor and Francis