Like Tree185Likes

English is too hard so I'll just ignore the email

Closed Thread
Page 3 of 16 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 11 ... LastLast
  1. #21

    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    1,492
    Quote Originally Posted by joyojc:
    Oh, and also to respond to the "When in Rome" comment... would you consider long-time, traditional, and esteemed institutions like the Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental, the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation to not be local? Are they somehow separate from the Hong Kong that we all know and love? Just asking...
    I'm not sure where you are going with this... Hong Kong WAS a colony under British rule. This means that local had to grow up in a system that often favored the British and the businesses they brought. Hong Kong is no longer a colony and part of that is for the local population to try to regain ownership and pride in their culture which includes language. That's one of the reasons why some schools reverted to cantonese. HK people are for the most part pragmatic and they recognize the importance of speaking different languages in order to increase success and the elite usually do. While the British rule wasn't necessarily very oppressive, it was still a large population being ruled by a minority of foreigners. It should be no surprise that some locals would perhaps resent or not want to make an effort learning English(or Mandarin) as a way to regain a bit of the independence they never had and not bend over backwards to serve foreigner. While some may cherish institutions of the past, others may resent them as representations of a time that was not so cherished.

  2. #22

    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    2,260

    I've never had any problems with government departments or banks when emailing in English.

    Even when I've gone into banks, they've always asked if I prefer English because my Cantonese sounds foreign.

    Which banks or gvt departments did you try to contact?

    I can understand with smaller shops and local companies who may need to weigh costs of hiring English speaker vs profit from English speakers. But most government and banking jobs hire uni grads who should have good enough English to reply your emails or talk on the phone.

    I think most government departments also test English ability when applying for their jobs too.

    hin23leung likes this.

  3. #23

    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    319
    Quote Originally Posted by Golem:
    It should be no surprise that some locals would perhaps resent or not want to make an effort learning English(or Mandarin) as a way to regain a bit of the independence they never had and not bend over backwards to serve foreigner.
    These are not very smart people then. Learning a new language has a ton of practical applications and opens up job opportunities that would be closed off to people that don't speak it. There are a lot ways assert your culture independence, be it cooking, literature, culture exchange or political activism. Refusing to speak a language over resentment seems awfully shortsighted.

    A lot of foreign companies opened up shop here precisely because it's easy to find people here who speaks both Chinese and English. In the same sense that a lot of Japanese companies work with Taiwanese because you're more likely to find Japanese speakers there.

    I think if Hong Kong local don't beef up on the English proficiency level, in about two decades a lot here will be working with no one except for the hated mainlanders.

  4. #24

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Posts
    1,507

    "Chinese is too hard so I'll make a complaint thread on an unrelated forum instead of reflecting to the companies in question."

    HKCouch likes this.

  5. #25

    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    1,492
    Quote Originally Posted by sinespe:
    I think if Hong Kong local don't beef up on the English proficiency level, in about two decades a lot here will be working with no one except for the hated mainlanders.
    See that makes no sense because whether it's in 5-15 or 25 years, the local population's native language will remain cantonese and there needs to an in infrastructure to service the 95% that form that population. Of course people that want to be more successful will learn both English and Mandarin. International Schools thrive all over Asia because those with drive and money know that in order to be successful, you take every possible advantage. In any population though, the majority does not form the elite and there will always be a need for people working in lower level job and it's not realistic to think that the group of people who don't necessarily have intelligence, drive and/or discipline to be part of that elite will want to learn English just like the average canadian joe will not learn both French and English or the average American will not learn Spanish and so on...

    In the UK, 60% of the population is not likely to speak another language. If you factor in the immigrants, that leaves a relatively small minority that does. It's an advantage for anyone to speak a second language even more so in Europe but the UK is one the country where people are least likely to do it.
    Last edited by Golem; 02-03-2018 at 04:23 PM.
    hin23leung likes this.

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    3,772
    Quote Originally Posted by rickyross:
    "Chinese is too hard so I'll make a complaint thread on an unrelated forum instead of reflecting to the companies in question."
    "All foreigners are exactly the same and none make the effort to speak any Asian languages, if anyone says otherwise I ignore them" - Ricky Ross
    shri, mrgoodkat, TheBrit and 2 others like this.

  7. #27

    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    319

    That's regrettable then. I think what makes Hong Kong unique is that I can ask a random doorman for direction, and he can reply to me in English. Mind that I don't mean he starts waxing poetics back at me, but knows enough so we can at least get the gist of what each other is speaking.

    Not saying that it's wrong for Hong Kong to revert back to Cantonese, just lamenting that it's slowly losing it's advantage as, what is that HSBC slogan? "Asia's world city", and become just "Another Chinese City".

    I think cosmopolitanism is the true strength of Hong Kong.

    shri, MerMer, TheBrit and 3 others like this.

  8. #28

    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    1,492

    It's been more than 20 years since the handover and it hasn't happened yet. As I said, there are more international schools than ever in HK and they are filled with local kids of which many end up in universities abroad. The government's problem is to try to keep those kids from leaving HK permanently. Unless things change drastically in China, HK will remain an important hub for business simply by geography and tradition and it's not the level of English of the taxi driver, the doorman or the shopkeeper that will change that, it's the availability of top talent. That's still there but things like high property prices, pollution, politics and quality of living are driving many away.

    HK remains one of the easiest cities to live in Asia as long as you have the money, that hasn't changed much in 20 years and won't change anytime soon. I don't think the expat population will get any better at learning the local language and integrating nor will the average working joe become better mannered and increase their level of English. Basic human nature is to take the path of least resistance.

    hin23leung likes this.

  9. #29

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    1,674

    Just out of interest, how many on this thread speak a second language?


  10. #30

    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    457

    Golem, you keep acting like you speak for all HK people. And you keep trying to explain where HKers are coming from. You don't speak for all HKers. My "when in Rome" comment was trying to point this out - HK is a unique place with its unique background, you can't just erase history because of a date in a declaration. I am an HKer, of Chinese descent and born here with family here hailing back to the 1910s and maybe even earlier. I speak Cantonese. I have relatives who still run local businesses, and no they did not try to "regain independence and pride" and erase English from their business cards. We take pride in our unique heritage. I'm not going to let people like you redefine my identity just because of some inferiority complex.

    And to the guy who keeps chiming in with stupid little comments, joke's on you, I'm as yellow as they come, and I'm not trying to oppress my own people. I probably speak better Cantonese than you. If you're not able to take a look at and accept your own legit flaws, then god bless you.

    To the other poster asking about which government agency, it was WSD as I said, and the other one was the bank that's here for good, Standard Chartered.


Closed Thread
Page 3 of 16 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 11 ... LastLast