"Should We Speak Mandarin or English?" - A Confusion of Self-Identity
For a Chinese visitor to the supposedly Cantonese-only territories of Macau and Hong Kong, which of their supposed "second language" to use, as the author has been figuring out firsthand, a matter of trial and error, coupled with self-reflection on the identity of both the speaker and the audience. For most people, the answer to the question raised in the title is more than obvious: if you don't speak Cantonese, just speak whichever one that you are able to, and can make the local Hong Konger or Macanese understand. Simple enough.
But then, there are always a little group of us out there who are searching in the depth of their own conflicted identities to make the question a rather existential one, a philosophical one that may very much define who they are, precisely because of the duality in their own identities. Interestingly, as they quickly come to find out during their linguistic search for self-identity, it seems that the city and its locals are somehow also searching their identities with you, as you attempt to approach them with a different language each time.
Beyond the towering glass skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island's northern coast, which countless English-speaking expatriates and their English-speaking Filipino maids congregate in expensive housing, the supposedly global metropolis continue to remain very much a gritty working class town of old concrete blocks interspersed with local community shops and tea houses. Surviving in the distant shadows of the city's finance-powered modernity, the local neighborhoods remain a labyrinth of small lanes hosting century institutions untouched by the city's international residents.
There are no English signs, and the use of English, so natural in the malls, convenience stores, and even hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the crowded downtown area, only draw blank stares from the elderly grandmas manning the storefronts. Mandarin has wasted no time in filling in the second-language role. Even with strong Cantonese accents, the locals warmly greeted in the visitor in the language, smilingly and full of excitement. Cynics would say they just want the visitor's money, but the author would speculate genuineness in the reaction to what can be considered refreshingly new.
It was a moment of realization. A breed of domineering mainlanders, flashing with wealth, has came into town and stayed on. They belittled the local language as a symbol of narrow-minded segregation, while their own as that of a richer, more integrated future. The Macanese, with little alternatives in visitors and fuels to continue driving its gambling-centered growth, succumbed to the Mandarin dominance, sending English to the dustbins in exchange for kowtowing to the moneyed mainland elite. But the show of confidence was exactly what would drive opposition in the long term.
That was clear in Hong Kong. A second language can only be willingly accepted when it is introduced on a friendly, nonthreatening terms to locals that took it up not because of fear. The hatred for Mandarin has been on the rise due to hatred for mainlanders who seemed to forgot the need to respect the different character of Hong Kong based on its differing history. The mainlanders want to transform Hong Kong into their own image (just as what they are doing to Macau now), forcing the locals to fight back, most ostentatiously by opposing Mandarin that is without a doubt useful in a way.
Yet people are so quick to forget the locals have been fighting the same battle with English for much much longer than they have with Mandarin. After all, after more than a century of British colonialism, with employment and education dedicated to the colonial language, why hasn't English become the first language for the locals? It is more than just the fact that locals speak Cantonese as a native tongue. Instead, it is precisely because London never gave up on the condescending idea of treating Hong Kongers as colonial subjects, forcing locals to keep their own identity through language.
As for the bilingual travelers still figuring out the city's "second tongue"? The key was never linguistic proficiency, but attitude. There is no reason that both English and Mandarin can be second language to some degree, their usefulness always been present, varying from industry to industry and region to region. But speaking the second language like you own the place will never enhance that language's status. But with humbleness and friendliness, and of course, always respecting the unchanging status of Cantonese as the first language, the second language will win more fluent speakers in a town that even the most stubborn locals call "Asia's global city."
But then, there are always a little group of us out there who are searching in the depth of their own conflicted identities to make the question a rather existential one, a philosophical one that may very much define who they are, precisely because of the duality in their own identities. Interestingly, as they quickly come to find out during their linguistic search for self-identity, it seems that the city and its locals are somehow also searching their identities with you, as you attempt to approach them with a different language each time.
Beyond the towering glass skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island's northern coast, which countless English-speaking expatriates and their English-speaking Filipino maids congregate in expensive housing, the supposedly global metropolis continue to remain very much a gritty working class town of old concrete blocks interspersed with local community shops and tea houses. Surviving in the distant shadows of the city's finance-powered modernity, the local neighborhoods remain a labyrinth of small lanes hosting century institutions untouched by the city's international residents.
There are no English signs, and the use of English, so natural in the malls, convenience stores, and even hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the crowded downtown area, only draw blank stares from the elderly grandmas manning the storefronts. Mandarin has wasted no time in filling in the second-language role. Even with strong Cantonese accents, the locals warmly greeted in the visitor in the language, smilingly and full of excitement. Cynics would say they just want the visitor's money, but the author would speculate genuineness in the reaction to what can be considered refreshingly new.
It was a moment of realization. A breed of domineering mainlanders, flashing with wealth, has came into town and stayed on. They belittled the local language as a symbol of narrow-minded segregation, while their own as that of a richer, more integrated future. The Macanese, with little alternatives in visitors and fuels to continue driving its gambling-centered growth, succumbed to the Mandarin dominance, sending English to the dustbins in exchange for kowtowing to the moneyed mainland elite. But the show of confidence was exactly what would drive opposition in the long term.
That was clear in Hong Kong. A second language can only be willingly accepted when it is introduced on a friendly, nonthreatening terms to locals that took it up not because of fear. The hatred for Mandarin has been on the rise due to hatred for mainlanders who seemed to forgot the need to respect the different character of Hong Kong based on its differing history. The mainlanders want to transform Hong Kong into their own image (just as what they are doing to Macau now), forcing the locals to fight back, most ostentatiously by opposing Mandarin that is without a doubt useful in a way.
Yet people are so quick to forget the locals have been fighting the same battle with English for much much longer than they have with Mandarin. After all, after more than a century of British colonialism, with employment and education dedicated to the colonial language, why hasn't English become the first language for the locals? It is more than just the fact that locals speak Cantonese as a native tongue. Instead, it is precisely because London never gave up on the condescending idea of treating Hong Kongers as colonial subjects, forcing locals to keep their own identity through language.
As for the bilingual travelers still figuring out the city's "second tongue"? The key was never linguistic proficiency, but attitude. There is no reason that both English and Mandarin can be second language to some degree, their usefulness always been present, varying from industry to industry and region to region. But speaking the second language like you own the place will never enhance that language's status. But with humbleness and friendliness, and of course, always respecting the unchanging status of Cantonese as the first language, the second language will win more fluent speakers in a town that even the most stubborn locals call "Asia's global city."
People
ReplyDeleteGreat article. When I was in HK, English seemed dominant over Mandarin to me. But then again, I probably didn't have time to roll in the local communities you did. Well done.
ReplyDeleteyeah, if you are in the well-touristed areas where most foreigners visit/live/work, the dominance of English is pretty clear cut. There are just so much opportunities of using it that it makes no sense if people cant speak it.
ReplyDeleteBut for the same reason, the local community is seeing a dominant shift from English to Mandarin. English is no longer taught as much in schools as in the British days, and mainland migrants are settling in large numbers away from the main downtown areas. Only non-Chinese you would see in these neighborhoods are Filipino maids.
普通话好像没有英语受欢迎。部分香港人把内地人视为“蝗虫”。我跟父母去香港旅游三次了。我本人不太会讲粤语，但母亲会。虽说我母亲是潮州人而且是在越南生长的华侨，但香港人听她讲粤语好像听不出口音来。我父亲是客家人但不会讲中文，所以我跟他讲越南语。每次去香港，我跟我爸讲越南语的时候都会自然而然地降低音量，总是害怕别人听见。听朋友说，香港人鄙视越南人。当然了，这也是有原因的（上世纪七十年代的越南船民到香港加入很多帮派，造成不良影响）。因为我讲得一口北方口音的普通话，香港人又把我当成内地来的。我们经常跟一些亲戚朋友说，去香港要么就讲粤语，要么就讲英文。依我个人经验而言，讲英语跟讲普通话享受的待遇可谓是天壤之别。当然了，我不认为所有香港人都厌恶大陆人，崇洋媚外，都是势利眼。他们毕竟生活在一个生活节奏快的环境，而且对内地实在是有太多的误会。
ReplyDeleteThe fundamental problem is not what HKers think of mainlanders, but how mainlanders behave in HK. The more mainlanders think they "own" HK and they have some sort of divine right to control HK economically or culturally, whether it be through more tourist dollars or spread of Mandarin, the more HKers will resent mainlanders. This is an issue of preserving HK identity. If the instigators were other foreigners rather than mainlanders, the HKers will and should have exactly the same kind of reactions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view on how some (again, not a large proportion) Mainlanders act. I can tell you that most Mainland Chinese tourists in Hong Kong are polite and behave properly in public. Even they are sometimes looked down upon. The minority, which I also have seen before, who don't behave properly are to blame. As for the "owning Hong Kong" mentality, I believe that is also not representative of all Mainlanders. HKers with strong anti-Mainland sentiments often cite the misconception that the Mainlanders often use "Listen to us or we're going to cut the water from Guangdong" excuse for their arrogance. Perhaps it is the number of mainland tourists in Hong Kong and number of mainlanders buying daily accessories in Hong Kong that seems to drive the fear.
ReplyDeleteexactly, it is the belief that Mainlanders are taking over livelihood resources of HKers in HK that is creating a fear that Mainlanders are taking over HK. This creates a self-insulating sort of mentality among the HKers for, well, self-protection of some sort.
ReplyDelete