Hongkonger here: Although Cantonese is pretty alive and well in Hong Kong, it’s pretty clear that the Government is being pressured by the mainland to promote Mandarin. It is commonly taught in schools and the Government promotes “trilingualism and biliteracy”. Cantonese and Mandarin are both written in the same script (Hanzi), and the third language/second script is English. It’s pretty clear that not all three languages get equal treatment though. English is not that heavily emphasized but most schoolchildren will learn it anyway because they want to watch American movies and enjoy American meme culture (this is not a joke). Parents also want their children to be trilingual and biliterate for economic reasons. Hong Kong is a city that revolves around money and it’s very common for business to be conducted internationally in English.
That doesn’t mean that Mandarin is doing well in HK though. Hongkongers have a very negative perception of mainlanders for being “uneducated” and Mandarin is associated with mainlanders. I can’t describe it as “racism” since everyone involved is the same race, but Hongkongers think mainlanders spit in the street, smoke in lavatories and don’t know how to sort recycling from rubbish. Doesn’t help that most of these stereotypes are to some extent, true.
Cantonese is also alive and well outside of China. Most Chinese immigrant communities in Europe and South East Asia speak Cantonese. The PRC will never be able to erase the Cantonese language.
We’re still pretty early, a decade now, with their efforts to eliminate the Hong Kong culture here. Might not be looking like it’s taking a foothold but we’re not even a generation into this and it does seem they’re really focusing on the next generation.
I mean HK is still losing people emigration, heck half my family has moved since the take over, and it seems that people are still leaving at a pretty good click and that exidous will only make things easier for them to get the language.
I don’t know, I’m still an outsider looking in but all the things I see and hear doesn’t point to a great conclusion, though I hope I’m wrong since it’s like to visit again someday and hear and speak Cantonese.
They are focusing on the next generation, you can see in the museum they rewrote the history and they bring all the school children there
Cantonese is already difficult to learn without being immersed so they are just so happy about the loss of language
Many people have left HK, so far the only people I know who are left there are people who have to stay because they work in business, everyone else emigrated to the UK or North America
Hongkonger here: Although Cantonese is pretty alive and well in Hong Kong, it’s pretty clear that the Government is being pressured by the mainland to promote Mandarin. It is commonly taught in schools and the Government promotes “trilingualism and biliteracy”. Cantonese and Mandarin are both written in the same script (Hanzi), and the third language/second script is English. It’s pretty clear that not all three languages get equal treatment though. English is not that heavily emphasized but most schoolchildren will learn it anyway because they want to watch American movies and enjoy American meme culture (this is not a joke). Parents also want their children to be trilingual and biliterate for economic reasons. Hong Kong is a city that revolves around money and it’s very common for business to be conducted internationally in English.
That doesn’t mean that Mandarin is doing well in HK though. Hongkongers have a very negative perception of mainlanders for being “uneducated” and Mandarin is associated with mainlanders. I can’t describe it as “racism” since everyone involved is the same race, but Hongkongers think mainlanders spit in the street, smoke in lavatories and don’t know how to sort recycling from rubbish. Doesn’t help that most of these stereotypes are to some extent, true.
Cantonese is also alive and well outside of China. Most Chinese immigrant communities in Europe and South East Asia speak Cantonese. The PRC will never be able to erase the Cantonese language.
Cool!
all of this, 100%
We’re still pretty early, a decade now, with their efforts to eliminate the Hong Kong culture here. Might not be looking like it’s taking a foothold but we’re not even a generation into this and it does seem they’re really focusing on the next generation.
I mean HK is still losing people emigration, heck half my family has moved since the take over, and it seems that people are still leaving at a pretty good click and that exidous will only make things easier for them to get the language.
I don’t know, I’m still an outsider looking in but all the things I see and hear doesn’t point to a great conclusion, though I hope I’m wrong since it’s like to visit again someday and hear and speak Cantonese.
They are focusing on the next generation, you can see in the museum they rewrote the history and they bring all the school children there
Cantonese is already difficult to learn without being immersed so they are just so happy about the loss of language
Many people have left HK, so far the only people I know who are left there are people who have to stay because they work in business, everyone else emigrated to the UK or North America
This doesn’t surprise me but I had a lot of American friends who were into manga and Japanese culture enough to learn some of the language.