Hong Kong English

Abstract

The status, functions, and features of the English language in Hong Kong have been shaped by a number of historically determined sociopolitical and sociolinguistic factors over the past 200 years or so. These include the period of British colonialism which stretched from 1842 until 1997, which resulted in patterns of language contact, multilingualism, and language hierarchy very different from that of mainland China. This chapter discusses the official status of the English language in contemporary Hong Kong. It moves on to discuss the functions of English across a number of key domains including the government, civil service, law courts, education, employment, and in usage of the media. It attempts to provide a useful summary of a number of the most distinctive features of Hong Kong English, with reference to a range of research on this topic. This survey of research includes reference to studies of the Hong Kong English accent, vocabulary, and grammatical features.