Assignment 2: Group Presentation
• Luke, K.K. and Richards, J.C. (1982). English in Hong
Kong: Functions and status. English World-Wide, 3, 47-
64.
• Li, D. (1999). The functions and status of English in
Hong Kong: A post-1997 update. English World-Wide, 20,
67-110.
• Evans, S. (2010). Language in transitional Hong Kong:
Perspectives from the public and private sectors. Journal
of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 31(4),
347-363. (Based on questionnaire survey)
Assignment 2: Domains
• The civil service/public sector
• The Legislative Council
• The legal system
• The media
• The business/professional world
• The education system
English as a Global Lingua Franca
World Englishes
Elaine Espindola
ENGL405
Week 9
Consequences for English
New mother-tongue varieties in consequence of migration / people
movement (Inner Circle):
• American English, Australian English, New Zealand English, South
African English
• Caribbean English → influenced by British English
New second-language varieties in Africa, Asia and the Pacific in
consequence of English-oriented colonial / post-colonial education
systems and lingua franca use (Outer Circle):
• Indian English(es)
• Singapore English: Standard Singapore English / Singlish
The spread of English
has resulted in the
evolution of new
mother-tongue
varieties of English in
the United States,
Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and South
Africa. These varieties
are now accepted as
autonomous varieties of
English with their own
distinctive
characteristics.
Kachru’s ‘circles’ model
The Outer Circle
In countries such as India and Singapore, English
plays an important institutional role (e.g. in government
administration, legal system, education).
acts as a lingua franca in multilingual settings, i.e.
people from different language backgrounds use it for
social purposes.
is a vehicle for literary creativity: many major novelists
writing in English are from ‘outer circle’ territories.
Turning point in the history of English
The first decade of the 17th century is a turning point
in the history of English.
1607 Establishment of first permanent English
settlement in North America at Jamestown.
1612 Establishment of first English trading post in
India at Surat by the East India Company.
World Englishes The spread of English in
the Outer Circle can be
attributed to the impact of
English-medium
education during the
colonial and (particularly)
post-colonial eras and the
use of the language as a
lingua franca.
The use of English as a
lingua franca in
multilingual states such as
India, Nigeria and
Singapore has been crucial
to the emergence of the
new Englishes.
Singapore has three
main ethnic groups:
Chinese (75.2%)
Malay (13.6%)
Indian (8.8%)
The Chinese population in Singapore traditionally spoke
southern varieties of Chinese, such as Hokkien, Cantonese,
Hakka and Chiu Chow. In the late 1970s the government
introduced a Speak Mandarin Campaign. This has proved
to be very successful. Most Chinese people have switched
to the use of Mandarin at home. This has created greater
cohesion among the Chinese community.
Singapore
National language Official
languages
Malay
English
Mandarin
Malay
Tamil
The promotion of English
The promotion of English as the main working
language and medium of instruction has
stemmed from the government’s desire to
• maintain harmony in a multi-ethnic/lingual society:
English is perceived to be a ‘neutral’ lingua
franca
• promote economic development: the widespread
use of English is believed to offer the city-state an
advantage in a rapidly globalising world.
Phua Chu Kang
– the Singlish-
speaking central
character of a
popular television
comedy in
Singapore.
[Link]
h?v=WR7PjuXhqNQ
[Link]
h?v=e6qcI2EO5Uw
Speak Good English Movement
To counter the spread of Singlish and promote the
use of Standard English, the government launched
the Speak Good English Movement in 2000.
“They (younger Singaporeans) should not take the
attitude that Singlish is cool or feel that speaking
Singlish makes them more Singaporean. If they
speak Singlish when they can speak good English,
they are doing a disservice to Singapore.”
Speak Good English Movement
Objectives:
(i) To raise awareness of the importance of
speaking and using good English in our daily
lives and to make speaking good English a
lifestyle choice.
(ii) To encourage everyone, especially our youth
to express themselves not just with functional
language but also with the language of the heart,
to say what they feel, not just what they think
and analyse.
Sticky notes
• The Speak Good English Movement’s new campaign features the extensive
use of sticky notes, which act as a visual representation of this year’s tagline
and a call for all Singaporeans to “Make Good English Stick” by constantly
making the effort to use and practise the English language.
• The Movement’s new tagline for the year also underscores the use of sticky
notes as a metaphor of a reminder to speak Standard English at all times. With
a host of activities and events centred on sticky notes, the Speak Good English
Movement will be planting visible reminders around Singapore of the need to
make good English stick.
Criteria for the existence of a variety of
English
• Accent
• Vocabulary
• History
• Literary creativity
• Reference Works
Arguments against HKE
• Luke and Richards (1982) claimed that there
was‘no such thing as Hong Kong English’. In
their view, the norm or standard consumed by
learners of English in the territory was an external
(i.e. British) one rather than an internal one.
• Johnson (1994) argued that the idea of a Hong
Kong variety of English ‘ has received little
support’.
• Li (2000) has argued that a nativised variety of
English has not emerged in Hong Kong. This is
because English is generally not used as a lingua
franca in Hong Kong.
‘Usual’ language in Hong Kong: 1911-2011
100
90
80
70
Percentage
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1911 1961 1966 1971 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011
Cantonese Other Chinese Dialects English
Arguments for HKE
• Census data in the past two decades indicate that there
has been a significant increase in the number and
proportion of Hong Kong people who possess ‘ a
knowledge’ of English.
• The widespread employment of English-speaking
domestic helpers from the Philippines.
• The return of large numbers of Hong Kong people from
the US, Canada, Australia, etc. after 1997.
• The increasing use of English in consequence of
overseas travel and education.
• The wide use of English in electronic communication.
Census data on L1 and L2 in HK (1966-2011)
100
90
80
70
60
Percentage
50
40
30
20
10
0
1966 1971 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011
Year
Cantonese Other Chinese Dialects L1 English L2 English L1 Putonghua L2 Putonghua
Composition of lists of jurors in
Hong Kong (1855-2011): Names
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1855 1865 1875 1885 1895 1905 1915 1925 1935 1941 1955 1965 1975 1985 1993 2011
Non-Chinese Chinese
Use of English in free time in HK (Evans, 2011)
• views on various issues relating to the teaching, learning and use of English in
Hong Kong, their family members’ English ability, together with key
demographic data (e.g., age, home language);
• The questionnaire was completed by 823 participants (teenagers and young
adults) (March - May 2010)
• Teenagers: 531 students aged 15-19 from nine secondary schools and a
commercial college across the SAR. Around a half of these students (280)
were studying in English-medium institutions, while the remainder were
studying through the medium of Chinese (219) or a combination of Chinese
and English (32).
• Young adults (292): full-time undergraduates (185) and junior-level
professionals (107) in their twenties - part-time Bachelor’s or Master’s at
PolyU;
• Both categories of respondent completed the questionnaire in class. Just
under half of the 823 participants lived in the New Territories (46.7%), while
the remainder resided in Kowloon (37.7%) or on Hong Kong Island (15.4%).
The geographical distribution of the sample broadly reflects the distribution
of the population as a whole: New Territories (52.1%), Kowloon (29.4%) and
Hong Kong Island (18.5%) (Census & Statistics Department, 2006).
In
sta
n tm
es
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
sag
i ng
So
c ial W
eb
ne sit
tw es
or
kin
gs
ite
Ne s
ws
pa
pe
rs
Em
ail
Bo SM
ok S
Point 1 (Not at all)
s–
f ic
Bo tio
ok n
s–
Point 2
f ac
tua
l
Bl
Point 3
On og
l ine M s
ag
dis az
cu ine
ssi s
on
fo
Pe ru
rso ms
na
ll
Point 4 (Very often)
ett
er s
Co
mi
cs
Di
Reading & writing: Teenagers
ari
es
100%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
In
sta Em
n
t ail
So m
cia es
ln sa
et gi
wo ng
rk
in
g
sit
es
SM
S
W
eb
Bo sit
ok es
s–
fa
Pe ct
ua
rso l
Point 1 (Not at all)
na
ll
ett
er
s
Point 2
Bl
og
Ne s
w
sp
ap
Point 3
Bo er
ok s
s–
f ic
tio
On n
lin M
ed ag
isc az
us in
sio es
n
fo
Point 4 (Very often)
Reading & writing: Adults
ru
m
s
Di
a rie
s
Co
m
ic
s
Speaking & listening: Teenagers
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
gs
s
s
as
o
on
ic
ng
s
s
lm
re
di
t
op
in
se
an
us
isi
tu
ni
Ra
Fi
er
er
Sh
M
ur
ec
ho
lev
ath
ov
s ta
/L
lep
Te
G
g
Re
Te
in
s
s/
lk
ell
on
Ta
av
ti
Tr
nc
fu
cial
So
Point 1 (Not at all) Point 2 Point 3 Point 4 (Very often)
Speaking & listening: Adults
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
gs
as
ng
n
io
s
s
ic
s
lm
sio
re
op
se
in
an
d
us
i
on
u
Ra
Fi
er
er
Sh
vi
ct
ur
M
ph
h
ov
le
Le
sta
at
Te
le
/G
ng
Re
s/
Te
lli
lk
ns
e
Ta
av
io
ct
Tr
unf
al
ci
So
Point 1 (Not at all) Point 2 Point 3 Point 4 (Very often)
Criteria for world Englishes
Accent A standard and recognisable pattern of pronunciation
handed down from one generation to another.
Vocabulary Particular words and phrases which spring up usually
to express key features of the physical and social
environment and which are regarded as peculiar to
that variety.
History A sense that this variety of English is the way it is
because of the history of the language community.
Literary A literature written without apology in that variety of
creativity English.
Reference Dictionaries and style guides which show that people
works in that language community look to themselves, not
to some outside authority, to decide what is right and
wrong in terms of how they speak and write their
English.
Hong Kong English
HKE accent
Hung (2000) does not think that
“there is any dispute about the existence of an
identifiable HKE accent, which is just as easily
recognisable as Indian, Singaporean or Australian
English”
[Link]
Family members’ English
ability
100%
90%
80%
70% Very well
60%
Fairly well
50%
40% Not very well
30% Not at all
20%
10%
0%
er
r
r
r
r
r
he
he
he
he
he
h
ot
ot
t
t
t
ot
fa
fa
Fa
m
m
M
r' s
r' s
r' s
r' s
he
he
he
he
t
ot
Fa
t
ot
Fa
M
M
HKE Vocabulary: Coinage
Analogical constructions from classmate:
Hallmate
Floormate
Groupmate
Batchmate
Toiletmate
HKE Vocabulary: Coinage
Clippings and abbreviations:
Aircon
O’camp
Bio
SAR
BNO
AO
HKE Vocabulary: Coinage
Total innovations and new compounds:
Cantopop
Chinglish
Typhoon shelter
Foodstall
HKE Vocabulary: Coinage
Prefixed compounds using Chinese, China,
dragon, mandarin:
Chinese banquet, Chinese cabbage
China hand, China doll
Dragon dance, dragon boat
Mandarin collar, mandarin hat
HKE Vocabulary: Coinage
Hybrid (mixed) compounds:
Laisee packet
Tan tan noodles
Tin Hau Festival
Yunnan ham
Chim stick
Hoisin sauce
HKE Vocabulary: Borrowing
Loanwords from Chinese:
Bo lei
Cha siu bau
Cheongsam
Choi sum
Tong fai
Fung shui
Tai tai
HKE Vocabulary: Borrowing
Loanwords from other Asian languages:
Catty Malay
Nullah Hindi
Shroff Arabic
Tael Malay
Chop Hindi
Godown Malay
Congee Tamil
HKE Vocabulary: Borrowing
Loan translations:
Black hand
Big brother
Basic Law
Big circle
Blue lantern
Beggar’s chicken
Tea money
HKE Vocabulary: Modified
semantic reference
Words extend or narrow their meaning:
Cheeky
Harsh
Uncle
Aggressive
HKE Vocabulary: Modified
grammatical form
Mass nouns treated as count nouns:
Alphabets
Staffs
Equipments
Informations
Furnitures
