Language use, and language policy and planning in Hong Kong

Language use, and language policy and planning in Hong Kong

• Poon, Anita Y. K. Dept of Education Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University

Current Issues in Language Planning, 11(1), 1-66, 2010

Routledge

2010

• F Learning & Teaching
  • FE Medium of Instruction, Language of Teaching, Bi-& Multilingual Education, Problems of Bilingualism, Code-mixing & Code-switching
• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RC Educational Planning & Decision Making Process, Educational Administration
• P Social Context of Education
  • PE Law & Education ; Politics & Education

Language Policy Language & Languages Language Planning Bilingualism Monolingualism Chinese Language Cantonese Dialects Biliteracy Code-Mixing Hong Kong Cantonese Hong Kong English Hong Kong Identity Language Use Trilingualism

• Hong Kong

• 1841-1899
• 1900-1941
• 1941-1945
• 1945-1949
• 1950s
• 1960s
• 1970s
• 1980s
• 1990-1997.6
• 1997.7 onwards

• Unknown or Unspecified

This monograph provides an overview of the language situation in Hong Kong from a historical perspective. Hong Kong has evolved in the past 167 years from a small fishing port to an international financial centre which forms part of a financial network hailed by Time Magazine as Ny.Lon.Kong (i.e. New York-London-Hong Kong). Hong Kong has gone through changes of sovereignty twice, once in 1842 as a Chinese territory ceded to Britain after the first Opium War, and a second time in 1997 as a British colony returned to China. It is a micro polity with no natural resources except its deep harbour. Economically, Hong Kong has gradually developed from a fishing port when British settlement began in 1841, to an entrepocirct during 1945-1950s, to a manufacturing hub during 1960-1970s, to an international financial centre since the 1980s. The historical, political and economic development has had a great impact on the language situation in Hong Kong. Its language community started with two separate monolingual groups: one consisting of local Chinese speaking Cantonese and other Chinese dialects, and the other composed of British colonists speaking English. Because of language spread and language shift as a result of political, economic and social changes, the monolingual group of Chinese speakers has become trilingual, speaking Cantonese, English and Putonghua, whereas the monolingual group of English speakers has expanded to include native speakers of such other English varieties as American English, Australian English, Canadian English, Indian English and Singaporean English. In addition, there is a large group of minorities composed of bilingual speakers of English and a south Asian language. Although the development of language use is a natural process, it can be influenced by the government's language policy and planning. In 1997 there was a major political change, and Hong Kong, a capitalist city that practised a free economy for 155 years, was handed back to a socialist regime in China and now functions as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (PRC) under the 'One Country Two Systems' policy. Hong Kong's prospects for a changing language situation depend on its political and economic development as well as PRC's policy.
[Copyright of Current Issues in Language Planning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14664201003682327]

• English

Journal Articles

• 14664208

• 10.1080/14664201003682327

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/en/bibs/bcd0fd48

2010-12-24