The Politics of English in Hong Kong

Routledge Studies in World Englishes

by Jette G. Hansen Edwards

The focus of this book is on the impact of politics on language and identity in Hong Kong. The book is the first study to track real time language attitude changes against a divisive political landscape. It is also the most comprehensive study of language attitudes in Hong Kong to date, taking place over four years with over 1600 participants. Through both survey and interview data, a multifaceted portrait of language change in progress is presented, providing a more nuanced and complex view of language and identity than has previously been presented. The book examines the status of Hong Kong English in the light of attitudes towards Cantonese, English, and Putonghua, providing a deeper analysis of the linguistic complexity of Hong Kong; it can be argued that one cannot understand attitudes towards Hong Kong English without fully understanding the status and use of English in Hong Kong today. The book also presents a complex examination of language attitudes in Hong Kong by focusing not only on the what of language attitudes, but also the question of for whom , through an analysis of language attitudes by gender, age, identity, and speaking HKE.

246 pages, Hardcover

Published November 16, 2018

Reviews

[Yannes · Rating 3 out of 5]

First and foremost, I appreciate what this book has brought to the table, especially regarding the native language section and showing how Hong Kong is a multilingual and multidialectal society due to many different factors. However, I think the design of this research was inherently flawed due to a lack of understanding and insight into the political situation in Hong Kong. And that, again and again, is obvious throughout the book. From asking very obvious questions like “are politics influencing identities in Hong Kong”, or “are politics influencing identities in Hong Kong”, or using terms like Hong Kong citizens and HKSAR nationality (when in today’s political reality since 1997, there is no such thing as HK nationality because HK is NOT a nation, regardless of personal opinion. Hence, there’s no HK citizens, only residents), or writing statements such as English is a neutral language vs. Cantonese and Putonghua being politicized in Hong Kong (208)… all of these show, at best, the shallowness of the research and, at worst, the lack of understanding to the political and cultural context of Hong Kong, and that is not withstanding the multiple typos and straight up false “facts” (e.g. simplified Chinese was introduced in the late 20th century, not the late 19th century (7)). The Hong Konger identity (one that is portrayed as essentialized and monoethnic) has always been political; English is political because it was the colonizer’s language! To call it “neutral” in this postcolonial moment is simply… inappropriate. On a personal note, I wish this book had delved deeper into the coloniality of English, both before and after 1997. It is already hinted at throughout the book, but never discussed at length.

I had really high hopes going into this book as this is a topic I am very interested in. Overall, I appreciate the conclusion that different speakers are at different stages of accepting HKE. However, as excited as I was going into the book, unfortunately, I don't think it brings enough to the table given the scale of the study :")

2.5