Towards a reconceptualisation of the Cantonese lexicon in contemporary Hong Kong: classificatory possibilities and their implications for the local Chinese-as-an-additional-language curriculum

ABSTRACT

This paper proposes a tripartite model describing the lexical categories across different registers and levels of formality in the Cantonese language in contemporary Hong Kong: (i) native Cantonese words, (ii) Sino-Cantonese words, and (iii) Anglo-Cantonese words. Examples of authentic Cantonese use were used to illustrate the histories and etymology of key lexical categories and sub-categories as found in the city’s linguistic landscape. As a sensitising device, the proposed classificatory model highlights the role of lexical borrowings in the constitution of contemporary Cantonese lexis, whilst decentring a primarily Mandarin-based approach to research and practice. Given the authenticity and omnipresence of Cantonese use across spoken and written modalities in contemporary Hong Kong, this paper argues that there is much scope for disambiguating and systematising the place of Cantonese lexis in the local Chinese language curriculum. In this regard, the case of Chinese language provision for ethnolinguistic minority learners with Chinese-as-an-Additional-Language (CAL) needs in post-handover Hong Kong is put forth to call attention to the utility of this descriptive model in mitigating against the learning and pedagogical issues associated with the disconnect between the curriculum and authentic language use, as well as linguistic disintegration.

KEYWORDS:

• Language contact
• language policy
• lexical interaction
• East Asian languages‌
• Sinograph
• visual ethnography
• translingual words

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The language(-in-education) policy of ‘biliteracy and trilingualism’ was introduced under the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR government, Mr. Chee Kwa Tung. Biliteracy refers to literacy in English and ‘Modern Standard Chinese’, whereas trilingualism refers to oracy in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin (or Poutungwaa).

2 It should be noted that the conventionalisation of common Cantonese lexis (including characters and words) and its pronunciation (i.e., the formalisation of a Cantonese romanisation system known as ‘Jyutping’) can also be attributed to the efforts of the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong, a charitable organisation comprised of local scholars across tertiary institutions in Hong Kong.

3 The hierarchy of ‘Chinese’ literacy is a complex phenomenon in Hong Kong. Classical Chinese (also known Literary Sinitic) was replaced by the Mandarin-based ‘standard Chinese’ for literacy education in colonial Hong Kong around 1960s. The subject name of Chinese language ‘the language of Han’ (Honman, 漢文) was accordingly changed to ‘the language of China’ (Zungman, 中文) in schools. Since then, it has been used across various domains such as public examination and governmental documents.

4 The term ‘bidialectal’ pays homage to existing dialectological (notably, works of Jerry Norman) and linguistic (e.g., Zhang 2005) scholarship, whilst describing the genealogically related yet distinct relationship between Mandarin and Cantonese regardless of status. This term also has the advantage of highlighting the ‘bidialectal’ (i.e., within Sinitic varieties) and ‘bilingual’ (i.e., English versus Chinese) dimensions in the post-1997 language-in-education policy ‘biliteracy and trilingualism’.

5 The traditional Cantonese pastry 蛋撻 daantaat 'egg tart' is a kind of baked dish filled with egg custard. It originated from Canton (nowadays Guangzhou) and can now be found in Hong Kong and other part of the Cantophone world. This hybrid Anglo-Cantonese word is formed through combining the native Cantonese word daan and the transliteration taat from the English word tart (see Kiaer 2020, 65).

6 Kapai (2015) estimated that attainments in these overseas alternative Chinese qualifications are roughly equivalent to Primary Three (i.e., Grade Three) in local schools, which means that Chinese language requirement has been significantly lowered for minority students for further education purposes.

7 This teaching material comes from a textbook for Form 4 students (aged 15–16). This textbook series is widely used in CAL lessons in Hong Kong.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hugo Wing-Yu Tam

Hugo Wing-Yu Tam is a Visiting Researcher at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. He currently serves as an International Examiner for GCSE/IGCSE (Chinese) in Pearson Edexcel. His research focuses on multilingualism in transnational contexts, heritage language education, classroom interaction, and East Asian pragmatics. His work appears in journals such as International Journal of Multilingualism and Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies. He has also worked on language proficiency test and textbook development projects in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Samuel C. S. Tsang

Samuel C. S. Tsang holds a DPhil in Education from the University of Oxford. His chief research interests include language education and policies for ethnolinguistic minority learners in multilingual urban contexts. His scholarly work has been in Current Issues in Language Planning and Language and Intercultural Communication, among others. He currently works at the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.