The attitudes of Hong Kong students towards Hong Kong English and Mandarin-accented English

English Today ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
Hong Kong Students ◽  
Accented English ◽  
Hong Kong English

The development of Hong Kong English (henceforth HKE) has triggered a number of concerns amongst the local population with respect to its status (Joseph, 1996; Luk, 1998; Bolton & Lim, 2000; Pang, 2003; Stibbard, 2004). However, despite the prominence of research into attitudes towards language variation within sociolinguistics, very few studies focus on Hong Kong English (Bolton & Kwok, 1990; Candler, 2001; S. Poon, 2007) or Mandarin-accented English (He & Li, 2009; Hu, 2004; F. Poon, 2006). The aim of this study is to uncover language attitudes towards HKE and Mandarin-accented English (henceforth ME) in the Hong Kong region through the application of the verbal-guise technique.

scholarly journals Intonation in Hong Kong English and Guangzhou Cantonese-accented English: A Phonetic Comparison

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 724
Author(s):  
Yunyun Ran ◽  
Jeroen Van De Weijer ◽  
Marjoleine Sloos
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Language Variety ◽  
Accented English ◽  
Hong Kong English

Hong Kong English is to a certain extent a standardized English variety spoken in a bilingual (English-Cantonese) context. In this article we compare this (native) variety with English as a foreign language spoken by other Cantonese speakers, viz. learners of English in Guangzhou (mainland China). We examine whether the notion of standardization is relevant for intonation in this case and thus whether Hong Kong English is different from Cantonese English in a wider perspective, or whether it is justified to treat Hong Kong English and Cantonese English as the same variety (as far as intonation is concerned). We present a comparison between intonational contours of different sentence types in the two varieties, and show that they are very similar. This shows that, in this respect, a learned foreign-language variety can resemble a native variety to a great extent.

Language variation in the West Midlands

English Today ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-60
Author(s):  
Natalie Braber
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
The West ◽  
Indian English ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
West Midlands ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Hong Kong English

West Midlands English: Birmingham and The Black Country forms part of the series Dialects of English which has so far included volumes on varieties such as: Urban North-Eastern English, Hong Kong English, Newfoundland and Labrador English, Irish English, Indian English, New Zealand English, Singapore English and Northern and Insular Scots. As such, it follows the general format of the series which covers the history and geography of a region, chapters on phonetics and phonology, grammar, lexis and a survey of previous works and bibliography. This contribution to the series follows this same general format and makes it applicable to the West Midlands region of the UK.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Feedback on a New Variety of English: The Case of Hong Kong English

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. p36
Author(s):  
Ka Long Roy Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Short Report ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
New Variety ◽  
Hong Kong Students ◽  
New Varieties ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Hong Kong English

The present short report reveals how teachers of English in Hong Kong (HKTEs) react to Hong Kong English (HKE). By employing a mixed method approach consisting of 100 survey responses and 28 interviews, types of feedback and activities teachers use when they encounter HKE in classroom were recorded and reported. The results showed that the two types of teachers of English – Native and Non-native English speakers – provided different kinds of responses because of the differences in attitude they held toward new varieties of English. The current study potentially sheds light on how different varieties of English could fit in traditional ESL curricula. Further research is warranted on how the feedback may affect English acquisition among Hong Kong students and whether the feedback brings positive or negative effects to the students.

Lexical traps in Hong Kong English

English Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Groves ◽  
Hei Tao Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Common Core ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Local Setting ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
Semantic Shift ◽  
Hong Kong English

Despite a large and growing literature on Hong Kong English (HKE), few studies have been conducted on its emerging language features, particularly its grammar or vocabulary. According to Gisborne (2009), studies on HKE to date have focused on language attitudes, code-switching, learner errors, and the local accent. A quick review of the research on vocabulary reveals that even those studies with a specific lexical focus have tended to be fairly limited in scope, focusing on borrowing, politicized expressions and localized vocabulary. Additionally, by their nature, these studies have tended to only cover vocabulary items that are unique and obviously have a different meaning in the local setting. In particular, there is a noticeable dearth of in-depth studies on semantic shift, in particular extensions or adaptations of meaning for simple words or phrases which are taken for granted as being at the common core of English varieties throughout the world. This kind of usage is more likely to cause comprehension difficulties than the more-often studied borrowings or coinages, simply because it might not be apparent to either a native speaker or a Hong Kong speaker that there is a difference in meaning when it comes to the Hong Kong terms used, and therefore there is a greater potential for misunderstanding.

Language attitudes modulate phonetic interactions between languages in bilingual speakers in diglossic settings

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wai Ling Law ◽  
Olga Dmitrieva ◽  
Alexander L. Francis
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Phonetic Similarity ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Language Attitude ◽  
Hong Kong English

AbstractBilinguals’ attitudes toward their languages can be a major source of linguistic variability. However, the effect of attitudes on crosslinguistic phonetic interactions in bilinguals remains largely unexplored. This study investigated the possibility of such effects in Cantonese-English bilinguals in Hong Kong (n = 26). Participants produced near-homophones in each language on separate days. Formant values of Cantonese [ɐ] and English [ʌ] and degrees of diphthongization of Cantonese [o] and [ai], and English [oʊ] and [ai], were analyzed as a function of language proficiency, use, and language attitude scores drawn from a background questionnaire. Participants’ attitudes toward Cantonese were predictive of the acoustic difference between similar Cantonese and Hong Kong English (HKE) vowels: More Cantonese-oriented speakers produced greater acoustic distance between crosslinguistically similar vowels. No effects of English attitudes, proficiency, or use were found. These results demonstrate that bilinguals’ attitude toward their native language can affect the degree of phonetic similarity between the two languages they speak.

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