And so the mandarisation of HK begins

[ansj64]

Language is a living evolving thing. Locals can still speak Cantonese without it being diluted by Putonghua. Up to the locals to keep it alive. Pushing Putonghua in a chinese city is par for the course.

I speak Hookien as a chuld and learned it from family and I still speak it today when I visit the home town. Meanwhile I use Putonghua for business. Only those who have an issue wirh China make a big stink about it.

Point is Cantonese can be preserve even if not used in schools. I guess monolingual speaking folks will never get it

[newhkpr]

Only those who have an issue wirh China make a big stink about it.

I absolutely love the good patriots we have on this forum nowadays

[Skyhook]

Language is a living evolving thing. Locals can still speak Cantonese without it being diluted by Putonghua. Up to the locals to keep it alive. Pushing Putonghua in a chinese city is par for the course.

I speak Hookien as a chuld and learned it from family and I still speak it today when I visit the home town. Meanwhile I use Putonghua for business. Only those who have an issue wirh China make a big stink about it.

Point is Cantonese can be preserve even if not used in schools. I guess monolingual speaking folks will never get it

It's like when my HK born wife, who is ancestrally, Shanghainese, understands Shanghainese, when we visited Shanghai as they still speak it, along side, Putonghua.

Hong Kong, will always retain Cantonese, but more people will also speak Putonghua, than previously.

I still don't have a problem with it as my family is multi lingual, and my children are fluent, so can still have careers in Hong Kong of the near future. So, all going to my expected plan of how I thought things were going to turn out.

All good from our perspective

[ansj64]

I absolutely love the good patriots we have on this forum nowadays

Wven Taiwan speaks Putonghua but nobody has an issue wirh that so is it not obvious that the OP its all about anti China bias

[Skyhook]

I absolutely love the good patriots we have on this forum nowadays

Yeah but, what part of, Hong Kong was handed back to its mother China back in 1997, doesn't a certain sub group, not accept?

I've always accepted it and find it quite delusional that there is a small % of folks who in fact, are actually surprised, by what's happening transitionally, right now.

I'll give ya the mail, Hong Kong, is only going to become, more and more, Chinese. Enjoy

[Gatts]

Only those who have an issue wirh China make a big stink about it.

Oh yes the people in Guangzhou have an issue with China and that's why they make a big stink about it. Please inform yourself first next time. If you have your own mother tongue institutionally banned from schools, official media, etc. is it not natural for people to protest this, no matter where they are?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...tect-cantonese

Point is Cantonese can be preserve even if not used in schools. I guess monolingual speaking folks will never get it

If you look at how Cantonese is dwindling in places like Guangzhou over the years, it's clear this is not the case. It's also clear that maybe it's uninformed people that don't get it, as people from Guangzhou or Hong Kong are multilingual.

[ansj64]

For me rhe point is: HK has always been part of China. And therefore it makes sense that the chinese standard language is propagated if only because you need also to communicate with your countrymen.

Every subgroup also has its own set of culture other than the overall culture of thr country. Where I grew up there are customs and traditions which even in China is not practiced anymore. But does it mean the government erased it or is it simply because the younger folks realy dont peactice them anymore?

Whybis it that incertain westen countries it is alright to teach english as a medium of communication as a country but if its Putonghua it is a problem? Why is it assumed to be forced when its Putonghua but when it is english it isnt? Wasnt english also forced down the locals’ throats when the Brirish took over? Its wrong then?

Am not even trying to be a patriot per se but it is about logic

[hullexile]

Language is a living evolving thing. Locals can still speak Cantonese without it being diluted by Putonghua. Up to the locals to keep it alive. Pushing Putonghua in a chinese city is par for the course.

I speak Hookien as a chuld and learned it from family and I still speak it today when I visit the home town. Meanwhile I use Putonghua for business. Only those who have an issue wirh China make a big stink about it.

Point is Cantonese can be preserve even if not used in schools. I guess monolingual speaking folks will never get it

I just love the way you assume people are monolingual. It might surprise you but most expats will be at least bilingual.

My kids speak three languages fluently, not in Hong Kong, and the local language is spoken by around 3 million people. That does not stop it being declared an endangered language by the UN as it is not spoken or taught in schools, no media outlets use it, no government departments use it. You don't think Cantonese could similarly become endangered and would you care?

[ansj64]

So it begs the question: why is it dwindling? Is it whokly the government’s fault or is it also the parents who are to blame ? I have seen the same situation in ither cultures whwre the parents dont speak with their children in their original tongue while young and then lament later on why their kids dont speak their language

[AsianXpat0]

Only those who have an issue wirh China make a big stink about it.

Being adaptable is a good thing, but assuming everyone is either like you or necessarily has a negative motivation is a mistake.

If in Inner Mongolia and other regions of China, there is unhappiness with language policies, does it mean they have an issue with China, or do they have an issue with the language policy? Again, you can be fine with the standardisation of language, personally I think that’s a rational position (and laudable for your own personal capabilities), but attributing problematic things to those that don’t share your views is highly disingenuous.

As to your example of Taiwan, why people don’t care is because it’s not Taiwan imposing its language policies on HK (and I suspect they have their own discussion on native dialects there)?

Meanwhile, to begin with, does your viewpoint about being flexible about speaking multiple languages/dialects really make sense when instead of the migrant talent adopting an additional language/dialect like you seem to support, it sounds like you expect locals with varying levels of capabilities to take on the burden of non-native language/dialect instruction?

Seems to me that if the migrant talent thing is a real issue, a non-partisan method could simply be setting up their own Mandarin medium of instruction schools. Plenty of locals wanting to assimilate would also presumably seize the opportunity to join.

Problem solved, unless the real problem is “the use of Cantonese and English in secondary schools” being the mainstream. Then the red herring arguments about expanding language capabilities (but not of international talent!) might be exposed, especially where I suspect there is already some level of Mandarin instruction in schools.