The structural features of Hong Kong English and English in Hong Kong: The status quo and future developments (original) (raw)

This chapter reviews the existing empirical research on the structural features of Hong Kong English (HKE). Among postcolonial varieties of English, HKE is an unusual case in that the territory's emancipation from the colonial power was not accompanied by self-rule, but by what is locally called the "handover" of Hong Kong to mainland China. Thus, a relative lack in institutional entrenchment as well as a continuing turnover in population raises questions as to whether HKE is a "real/"focussed" variety. In addition to influence on HKE from Cantonese, the chapter addresses the sociolinguistics of Hong Kong as a globalised city by discussing the influence of local varieties of English used by speakers of Mandarin Chinese, by the South Asian and SouthEast Asian communities and speakers of English as a Native Language from so-called Inner Circle countries such as the United States. Finally, the chapter considers possible scenarios for the linguistic future of Hong Kong, involving Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, as well as for the future of HKE: On the one hand, an exonormative development with increasing Americanisation, and, on the other hand, an endonormative development with increasing reliance on a local identity and local norms.

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