Raising status of Cantonese for Hong Kong culture

          In the previous entry, we have discussed the importance of language towards culture. Trying to promote English and Mandarin more than our own local language, does the language policy dampen the interest of citizens towards Hong Kong and Chinese culture?

          Under the emphasis of “bi-literacy and tri-lingualism” by the HKSAR, Cantonese shares the same status as English and Putonghua at the legal and legislative level. However, the resources directed into development of each language are not well-balanced. Following this policy, a government-funded Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) spent a lot on developing language. However, English and Putonghua are stressed, by holding Summer Immersion Program in Putonghua and Workplace English Campaign, yet Cantonese promotion is scant in 1998-2005(Lee and Leung, 2012).

          In addition, Hong Kong citizens view improving Cantonese as unnecessary because over half of the interviewee in a survey done in 2009 indicates they would rather spend money on English and Putonghua. Nevertheless, a language does not only serve as a communication tool. Cantonese is shaped by the daily change of Hong Kong Community, habits of different walks and education background(Lee and Leung, 2012). In the other words, Cantonese is a historical record of Hong Kong culture and social characteristic, and is a unique present for every local Hong Kong people. There is concern that this undervaluation of Cantonese will soon lead to elimination of Hong Kong culture.

          Interestingly, Cantonese seems to be thriving in Hong Kong despite the practice of language policy. The HK government census in 2009 shows Cantonese is “the most frequently used” language in both non-workplace and workplace settings, while English and Putonghua only reach the level of “infrequently used” and “most infrequently used” respectively(Lee and Leung, 2012). But this current data does not necessarily mean that this situation will last, based on the fact of unawareness of citizens.

          Singapore is a cosmopolitan city same as Hong Kong. Under its bilingual education policy, students learn English as first language while the mother tongue serves as “second language”. This decision is made in view of the globalization and benefit in world trade and competition. The results turn out to be lowering the language proficiency in citizens who develop a non-understandable hybrid “Singlish”. Besides, the students reduce interest in learning mother tongue. The Singapore government now has to work on preserving “Asian culture” and national identity(Vaish, 2006). From this example, we can see the power of language policy on the community, culture and linguistic ecosystem.

          When the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference proposed Guangzhou TV must broadcast in Mandarin in 2010, Hong Kong people gathered in unity and fight for Cantonese (Branigan, 2010). In urgent incident, Hong Kong people do show their value in Cantonese and hence the local culture. Unluckily, we cannot solely rely on these incidents to raise awareness on citizens. Fine-tuning the language policy will be a long-term effective measure to preserve Hong Kong culture.

         Cantonese is the mother tongue of Hong Kong and bears our history and culture. The HK government has to pour more resources on promoting Cantonese in order to prevent local culture elimination. Preserving this unique gift will be an urgent action.

Reference:
Branigan T. (2010). Protesters gather in Guangzhou to protect Cantonese language. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/25/protesters-guangzhou-protect-cantonese
Lee K.S. and Leung W.M. (2012) The status of Cantonese in the education policy of Hong Kong. Multilingual Education. Volume 2. Issue 2.
Vaish V. (2006) Globalization and multilingualism in Singapore: Implications for a hybrid identity. American Educational Research Association

Relationship of language and culture

The “bi-literacy and tri-lingualism” policy has been implemented by the HK government to promote citizen’s proficiency in Cantonese (mother tongue), Mandarin and English. As language is closely linked to the culture it come from and English tends to dominant in Hong Kong education system, concerns about eroding Chinese culture by this policy have been raised.

Politeness is an inseparable component of daily communication which can reflect the cultural background and habit of different societies. Meanwhile, China is renowned as “the kingdom of politeness” so the article is chosen to investigate the effect of language on this important cultural aspect for Chinese (Lu, 2009).

Taking farewell as an example, English provides vocabulary such as “See you” and “Good luck”; while Chinese provides expression which contains deeper and concrete wish for that leaving person, e.g. “man zou” (Walk slowly) and “yi lu shun feng” (Have a nice trip). These may look weird in English speaker because these cultural concepts are implanted in the mother language. Language is a tool for us to construct idea which is heavily influenced by culture. Consequently, it is difficult to explain thoroughly in another language which bears a complete different set of cultural value.

The above example indicates culture is language-specific. To understand and experience a culture well, we need to be competent in that mother language. Learning Chinese culture does not only let us understand the importance and ways of practicing filial deity, making loyal friends and even ruling “the world under heaven”(Tien Sha), it also promotes sense of belonging, harmony between mainlander and Hong Kong people, and identification of nationality (especially for Hong Kong being a post-colonial place). The historical Chinese culture and wisdom may not be able to pass down through generation if a foreign language dominant in Hong Kong.

    Tri-lingualism is not a pure devil in cultural aspect. As we discussed early on, learning foreign language helps understand the foreign culture. Learning language is a process of cultural exchange, boosted by globalization. We may then be able to learn the long-coming of another culture and hence improve our own. The US government has legislated foreign language study in order to prevent cultural isolation and increase competitiveness in world trade (Sorenson, 2011).

    Nevertheless, balance is lost and English weighs heavier than Cantonese or Mandarin, this may lead to erosion of mother tongue which is part of the Hong Kong local culture. Inadequate exposure to Chinese, and hence the culture, may reduce students’ interest in our own country or even develop a worshiping in the Western culture.

    To conclude, language is crucial in cultural learning. Without adequate exposure and learning, we may not be able to preserve our own culture from generations to generations.

Reference:

Lu, Y. (2009). Cultural Differences of Politeness in English and Chinese. Asian Social Science. Volume 5. Issue 6.

The Staradvertiser. (2011). Multilingualism promotes cultural understanding. Retrieved from http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110210_Multilingualism_promotes_cultural_understanding.html?id=115701479.