WHAT is this all about?

International Mother Language Day, launched by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 1999, has been observed on the 21st of February yearly since February 2000, with an aim to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism, and to celebrate the world's 6,000 languages as intangible cultural heritage.
http://www.un.org/en/events/motherlanguageday/

The Language and Communication Programme of HKU's School of English marks International Mother Language Day, on 21 February, with projects by students of the course LCOM3001 Cultural Dimensions of Language and Communication on the language situations of various minority communities in Hong Kong.

HOW is this relevant to Hong Kong?

While Hong Kong may usually be perceived as a homogeneous, largely monolingual context, there are in fact myriad other communities whose everyday existence in Hong Kong involves a tension between maintaining their mother tongues or traditional languages and acquiring or using languages more dominant in the local setting, such as English, Putonghua or Cantonese. These may be Hongkongers in different circumstances, such as multilingual families or emigrant returnees (海歸派 hoi2 gwai1 paai3). They may be minority groups in Hong Kong, which include not only traditional minorities such as Tanka, but also new immigrants such as communities from South Asia or Africa, or domestic helpers such as Filipinas and Indonesians. They may also be communities facing language challenges found in multilingual workplaces or in new media communication.

WHY are we doing this?

One of the aims of this project is to remind ourselves and others of the various less-thought-about multilingual communities in Hong Kong, who face challenges in their communicative practices which involve their mother tongue(s) as positioned alongside other languages of global and local significance.

A broader aim is to raise awareness amongst the university community and wider society of UNESCO's International Mother Language Day (21 February) and the significance of linguistic and cultural diversity, and to invite commitments for next year's IMLD.

WHO are the subjects of our attention?

Projects in 2011/12

What makes a person living in Hong Kong ‘local’? A Chinese face? Fluent Cantonese? According to the 2011 Census, almost 50,000 Indians and Pakistanis now reside in Hong Kong. However, in many ways the social practices and policies in Hong Kong are not well-catered for such minority groups and often their needs are overlooked. Delving into the fundamental issue of language, we asked questions like: Is the language that a South Asian uses with his parents the same as the one he uses with his grandparents, siblings, and friends? What factors affect their choice of language? What attitudes do they hold towards Cantonese and their heritage language? Are there differences across generations? How does this affect their integration into Hong Kong society? Through interviews with four multigenerational South Asian families, we get a closer look at the impact language has on each of their lives. Read more at http://www.wix.com/walk_tha_walk/southasiansinhk. By Amanda Leanne Chan, Yolanda Chan Sze Ting, Emily Tang Wing Man, and Sophia To Chi Yin.

Here's a brief history of Hong Kong Hokkiens. Due to political instability in China during 1930s and 1940s, a lot of Chinese immigrants came from the mainland to Hong Kong. Among them were the Hokkiens. Time flies and their grandchildren have been mostly born and raised in Hong Kong. Apparently, the community has been assimilated into the Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong family. How do they identify themselves? Do they still speak Hokkien? Interviewing two Hokkien families, we are going to investigate into the language maintenance, shift and attitude of Hokkien in Hong Kong across three generations. Read more at http://hokkien-in-hk.blogspot.com/ By Mandy Lo Man Yan, Vicky Yuen Ching Man, and Yuffie Yu Suet Mei.

The Weitou dialect (圍頭話), a Cantonese dialect spoken in the south-eastern part of Guangdong province, is spoken by communities in Hong Kong’s New Territories’ walled villages – a type of large traditional multi-family communal living structure whose inhabitants are typically extended families or clans sharing the same surname. The Weitou dialect in fact is usually used in Hong Kong TV dramas and movies to characterise characters who come from these walled villages. Are inhabitants of the Weitou community striving to preserve their own language and identity, and prevent language shift and death? Is their local culture now mixed with outsiders, in the sense that villages are occupied by non-local people instead of local ones? Read more at www.codestudio.hk/weitou-community By Dora Au Yeung Wing Hang, Ivy Ho Wing Shan, and Joe Tsang Ka Ming.

One of the issues of greatest concern today in Hong Kong is how to prevent pregnant Chinese Mainlanders from rushing to Hong Kong for delivery. Obviously, this intensifies the tension and dilemma between Hong Kongers and Mainlanders. However, it also reminds us that Hong Kong is so attractive to Mainlanders that they would bear the risk of Dystocia and imprisonment. To understand why Mainlanders come to Hong Kong, particularly Hakka immigrants to Hong Kong, and how they make their language choices in such a multilingual and globalising context, a project “Mainland Hakka Immigrants in Hong Kong” is being conducted. Read more at https://sites.google.com/site/mlhkimmigrants/. By Candy Ip Hong Ting, Charles Fok Wai Chung, Kirsten Hennes and Warren Wong Tik Hung.

 

Projects in 2009/10

The Tanka community (蜑家 daan6gaa1), also known as the community of fisherfolk or boat dwellers, is a traditional minority in Hong Kong. The community is now facing language challenges with regard to its mother tongue, such as language shift and possibly language death. By examining the reasons for the threats to their language, as well as the attitude of the Tanka community towards such a phenomenon, we strive to draw people's attention to this linguistic minority and consequently to the importance of cultural diversity. Read more at http://tanka-community.blogspot.com/ By Vienna Ho Wing Lun, Carrie Lam Ka Yee, Jerome Ng Tik Lun, Phyllis Wong Wing Sui.
　

Hong Kong, as a multi-cultural city, is currently seeing a growing phenomenon in these decades dominated by the immigrant craze - mixed marriage, where the non-HKers tend to face various languages challenges in different cultural dimensions. As the minority community, what language(s) do they use in daily life? What role(s) does their own mother tongue play in their parent-child communication? What position and role does Cantonese hold for them? How do they find themselves perceived by the majority? How do they deal with language shift? Read more at http://imld-mixed-marriage.xanga.com/ By Cathy Cheung Ho Long, Joanna Law Ting Yan, Dennis Li Ka Ho, Isabel Wu Sin Yee.
　

In today's globalized context, an increasing number of students study overseas. Amongst the various challenges faced by non-local students in HK, what are their difficulties in daily communication in a non-mother tongue language environment? How do they solve the associated problems? What are their attitudes towards learning a second/ foreign language like Mandarin/ Cantonese? By Samantha Cheung Ka Man, Eva Choi Yee Wa, Wendy Choi Suet Fan, Carmen Chow Ka Men.
　

Ahmad: "I've nothing, I'm helpless. Nobody supports me to rent another flat." Ahmad's son: "我會同老師講我無屋企, 但好想返學 (ngo5 wui5tung4 lou5si1 gong2 ngo5 mou4 uk1kei2, daan6 hou2soeng2 faan1hok6)". They are both Pakistanis, victims in the recent To Kwa Wan building collapse. But - why did they respond to reporters in different languages? South Asians are amongst the ethnic minority communities in Hong Kong, multilingual, but with limited proficiency in spoken and written Chinese, the dominant languages of the city. What are the factors determining their language choice? What are their attitudes towards Cantonese and their mother tongue? By Vicky Chiu Pui Wai, Carson Fung Ka Sing, Jessica Kung Shui Man.

WHERE can you view the projects?

 

Follow the groups as they conduct their fieldwork, and blog about their observations, with images and audio, by clicking on the individual links above.

Contact: Dr Lisa Lim lisalim@hku.hk, Coordinator, Language and Communication Programme