THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN RETROSPECT:
THE CASE OF HONG KONG IN A GLOBALIZING ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION
Hong Kong (HK) is said to be the 11th largest trading economy, the 6th largest foreign exchange market, and the 13th largest banking center in the world, and the 2nd biggest stock market in Asia; and HK is home to over 800 international corporations (2006). This fact generates the evidence of HK’s active interaction with the global economy. HK is no longer driving towards but already is one of the key actors of globalization. What could be the very instrument to carry out this globalization project than language, i.e. English, but of course! In the words of Director of the London School of Economics, “The concept of globalization reflects the sense of an immense enlargement of world communication, as well as of the horizon of a world market… ( 2003)”.
In today’s time and space, a human being, regardless of national or cultural identity, is left out if he or she cannot communicate in English, being the hegemonic language. That the people of HK are having difficulties of using the English language is a fact. According to (2003), while English is a required school subject in HK, English proficiency remains to be extremely inconsistent in this Cantonese-speaking population (p. 7). This report is going to resolve the English language problem of HK in the light of globalization. The discussion is organized into two. The first section inquires on the impact of globalization in terms of language in the context of HK and simultaneously explicates the pros and cons of various possible scenarios. The last section provides a recommendation on an appropriate language policy that is deemed desirable in HK. In doing so, the report is going to make use of Professor five dimensions of global cultural flows.
THE GLOBALIZATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
“
- (2003, )
Globalization is to be generally or simply conceived of as a “movement towards greater interdependence and integration” (2003,). By interdependence and integration, these are to be construed as an act of interaction between or among entities – nation or state. It is the concept that defines every human endeavor across societies or cultures and in every aspect – economic, political, and technological, thereby making it a global catchword today. It is the very reason at the back of the growing intricacy of the world these days. It seems that, an object that bears the description “globalized” connotes a high degree of competitive value. Actually, it is not exclusive to objects merely, but also a matter of language and even values. Considering alone the notion of interdependence and integration in a global level, naturally, participants in this endeavor ought to understand each other by way of speaking a common language – English.
It would be noteworthy to trace, in just a few words, the roots of the globalization of the English language to suit the purpose of a holistic comprehension. In the scholarly published reference authored by (2003), there are twofold explanations on why and/or how English came to be the global language. One side of the coin is the British colonialism that propagated until the late 19th century; and, on the other side is the egression of the United States of America (USA) as the world’s superpower in every aspect, which continues up to this age . While the former is believed to have fortified the base of this global language phenomenon, the latter is just its continuation yet the most significant in the current tides of the times. To illustrate this point, observe the international institutions of today. In a claim asserted by (2000), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is influenced predominantly by the political interests of the USA. Naturally, American individuals behind speak their language – English in influencing the IMF. Another good observation (through the television powered by cable) is that the officials of the United Nations communicate among each other largely in English. Even within the European Union, (2006) reports that English has become the predominant formal medium of communication, while displacing the French language. Almost every international talks, whether conducted in HK, Argentina, or any predominantly non-English speaking country, are carried out in the English language.
The above paragraphs have set a strong base that English is indeed, the universal language. It is a must to speak it if one does not want to end in a state of demise in this point of time. The subsequent section is about to unfurl the impacts of globalization vis-à-vis language simultaneously with its positive and negative consequences.
An Ongoing Western Colonization…
According to (2003), the impact of globalization in terms of language is that it has placed some languages in an either advantaged or disadvantaged position (p. 82). In the case of HK, the Cantonese language is on the verge of standing in a disadvantaged position whilst the English language on the opposite. (2003) provides a direct answer as he states that in most cases, the native languages are being superseded because of English Thus, the most common impact of globalization in terms of the English language is the displacement of the native language. Nevertheless, it appears contrasting that the people of HK, who were once colonized by the British, still communicate in the Cantonese language, and even have a difficulty in speaking the English language.
There is still an ongoing Western colonization across the civilizations in this planet, though in an “invisible” or indirect manner. It is believed that English itself is instrumental in “colonizing” almost every existing society today. Why? One may be thinking that speaking English serves as simply a means to understand others (major or multinational companies, foreign political actors and actresses, etc.) to acquire a better knowledge of political and economic activities and in the end, assert one’s interests to benefit from these political and economic activities. In reality, as the citizens of HK cast efforts to be proficient in English, they are tasked not only to learn but also to utilize the “foreign” language on a daily basis.
This scenario definitely implies a negative impact of the globalization of the English language, with reference to HK. What becomes meaningful is English, and not Cantonese any longer. Or perhaps, what will become a more meaningful experience among the people of HK is going to be associated with the English over the Cantonese language. This speaks as to why (2003) and (2003) have presented the idea as mentioned above that the native language is being superseded by the English language.
What good could be derived from this scenario though? Given that Cantonese remained to be the mother tongue of the people of HK, this serves as a manifestation of their strong inclination to their Chinese identity considering that they have once been a British colony. It is believed that the ongoing process of an “invisible” Western colonization is going to challenge them in sticking to their Chinese identity. Good thing there is this philosophy of the yin and the yang, which would aid them in doing so.
Trade in English
The English language has been the very language used in economics, science and technology in the international arena (1997). This is a very tangible conception. In every international engagement that pertains to the international economy or market, e.g. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, World Trade Organization and European Union, the leaders or representatives of specific countries converse among each other largely in English. Seeing this from the viewpoint of economics, English takes part in shaping the corporate and business scene within the international trade.
Furthermore, with the dawn of the information technology, information (be it news, scholarly or scientific articles or publications, personal journals or blogs) can be easily accessed online. Everyone gets to open their eyes and minds to the current events in the entire planet. Therefore, more and more non-native English speaking countries are implementing different language policies to power up their population to the English language so as to get more opportunities for upgrading their economic status in the world.
Provided that there is more than one and a half billion population speaking English, this implies that it has turned out to be the international language all over the world. And provided too the status or role of HK in the international economy, it is a must for the Chinese businesspeople in this autonomous region of China to speak in English in order to advance the economic and political interests of HK. The case is true not only in the field of economics, but coequally with international politics or relations.
An English Formal Learning
“If you can’t speak English, it’s like you’re deaf and dumb.”
(-2006)
Generally speaking, the impact of globalization of the English language is that the educational institution has placed a premium on its usage as part of the curriculum. There has been a change in the nature of the learning process. It has shifted from the objective – to acquire knowledge of what, how, and why of every human activities and processes – to be knowledgeable and express the knowledge in English.
With regard to education, there are many notable consequences with globalization in terms of language at the backdrop. First, to study abroad where English is the primary language is perceived as the best solution in learning and eventually speaking fluently the language. The good side of this is that, apart from higher chances of learning and speaking fluently the English language, students are likewise able to get a better exposure to Western culture, thereby making them more competitive as they go back home (HK). The bad side of which is that, of course, the enhancement of learning the mother tongue among the students reduces their chance to learn and use the English language in a wider range of subjects. It is not being used in the English class.
Secondly, it has lead to a demand for native English speakers. Most institutions are offering attractive salaries and compensations among native English speakers from the USA or in United Kingdom for them to teach the English language in HK. The negative impact of which is that the inavailability of native English speakers-teachers and lack of oral English usage at the same time lead to “Hong Kong English”. It is often regarded as a low standard English among the local populace due to its heavy Hong Kong accent. Another negative impact of which is that, the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers serves as a pressure among English teachers who do not have English language undergraduate degrees.
Westernization
Take Popular Culture in HK as an example. According to (2003), , which is a rock music genre though spoken in Cantonese and sometimes interjected with a few English words or phrases, has permeated among the HK listeners What could be the better means for reinforcement but to have a daily dose of “English” products, e.g. movies and music? The whole process does not stop there. As they learn the language as mediated by the movies and music, they learn too the underlying meanings as well as values. The tendency of which is for them to adopt the Western values. (1997) states,
“…However, one does not use a language innocently. Every language carries a freight of values, of sensibilities, of approaches to reality, all of which insinuate themselves into the consciousness of those who speak it. It makes sense to assume that the attractiveness of English, especially in its American form, is due at least in part to its capacity to express the sensibilities of a dynamic, pluralistic, and rationally innovative world…In doing so, they may get more than they bargained for…
There is even a time when the youngsters in urban China are featured in international print news magazines exposing their consumption behavior. They consume Western products, and adopt the Western way of living. They wear jerseys. They go to nightclubs and party all night. Even in their ear of music, they have resorted to listen to what is popular in the West. In other words, their kind of popular culture is that of the Western pop culture. Now where have all the traditional values gone?
Corollary to that, another consequence of the globalization of the English language is that it has caused or is causing a conflict in the portrayal of identity. Other than the displacement of language is the displacement of the identity of being the Cantonese-speaking Chinese. Because of the assertion of a Cantonese identity, Cantonese words are frequently incorporated not only in everyday and ordinary conversations but also in formal occasions, thereby causing a difficulty in the usage of the English language.
Flourishing of the English Dialects
SIL International (1996) defines a dialect as “a regional variant of a language distinguished by minimal lexical, grammatical, or phonological (pronunciation) differences from variants of the same language”. In other words, this means that there are different versions of the same language. It is interesting to note that in the event of the English language’s crossing of national borders in this worldwide process of interaction, it has generated a variety of a nation’s distinct English. There has been a flourishing of the English dialect across the globe.
perceives translation in a manner that it is a disturbing “political and cultural crisis”. Individuals who belong from different cultural groups result in the act of creating “a new speech” (2004). In the view of (2006), those who are learning the English language are actually shaping it. “Chinglish” is the term that refers to Cantonese peppered with English. In Singapore, they refer to Mandarin peppered with English as “Singlish”. As for the Japanese, “Japlish” refers to the Japanese language peppered with English. For Filipinos, Tagalog (Filipino) peppered with English is “Taglish”. Among the Hindus, it is called “Hinglish”, Hindu plus English. These point to the idea that the flourishing of English dialect is a manifestation of clinging to one’s identity while speaking English as well for certain reasons.
COPING WITH GLOBALIZATION:
ENGLISH LANGUAGE POLICY FOR HONG KONG
While the previous section has provided a strong rationale behind the need for HK to be proficient in the English language usage (despite of some dangers lurking behind), the focus of this section is to take heed of the said need. What follows is a set of recommendations in coming up with a language policy in the context of HK. It is going to be based on Professor five dimensions of global cultural flows.
It would be apt to discuss briefly the concept of “language policy”. Without further complicating the complex concept of “language policy”, it has been learned from (2004) that either the government or certain institutions or both can implement a language policy, which looks at the natural state of the language itself and the attainment of the language itself . And this is exactly what the report foresees in coming up with a language policy for HK in coping with globalization. Having a language policy is deemed to attain the end-goal that the people of HK will be able to realign the English language to their context and acquire it, i.e. speak it, at the same time for their own advantages.
Brief Status of the English Language in HK
English is a required school subject in HK and the children normally learn it at the age of 4 or 5 (2003). Furthermore, according to the HK Department of Education (1990, 1990), English lessons increase over the primary grades ( 2003). Contradicting as it appears to be. Despite of the fact that more time is devoted for HK children to learn English, still there is a little indication of progress. According to (2003), although English is a required school subject in HK, English proficiency remains to be extremely inconsistent in this Cantonese-speaking population, simply because it is not being used on a daily basis, especially spoken English . It is not a matter of how much time is devoted for them to learn English in a formal setup, i.e. classroom, but of how much they use it in their daily living. In the article written by (2004), what usually happens in roughly every single one primary school in HK is that Cantonese is the medium of instruction, while students learn English from being one of their subjects . The conclusion that can be derived from these data is that the institution of Education is not enough in dealing with the lack of English proficiency. There has to be some other means to transmit the language among the people of HK.
In Contrast to Singapore
Singapore has adopted a bilingual educational system during the 1950s. The purpose of which is to instigate harmony among its ethnically diverse composition. Eventually, English has become the language in carrying out every aspect of its existence – politics, education, and the media (2003,2003,). In the speech of (2000), English is “widely” spoken, but there is still the problem of “quality”. Despite of the problem with “quality”, because of the need to harmonize the ethnically diverse citizens of Singapore, English has been incorporated in their daily living. Utilizing English in basic human activities is the formula for a successful acquisition of the language.
The Language Policy’s Guiding Theory
In the theory propagated by Prof. (2000), he has identified five dimensions in which the global culture flows Ethnoscape refers to the flow of people, e.g. tourists, immigrants, refugees, and business travelers. Technoscapes refers to the flow of technological devices and/or machines. Mediascapes refer to the flow of images through the various forms of media. Ideoscapes refer to the flow of ideas, values, beliefs, and ideologies. Finanscapes refers to the flow of money primarily because of stock exchanges, currencies, and commodity markets.
Language is the key to one’s culture; and this idea is common among social scientists. It is likened to a cart in which, it carries the culture of its speakers. Prof. is saying that people, images, media, technology, and money are the key areas by which the global culture is being transmitted. With the predominance of the English language, it plays a significant role as the medium in the domains of travel and leisure, internet, academics, and most especially the global market economy.
The reason behind why this report has opted to utilize this theory is because it fits the landscape of HK. The said dimensions are already flowing in HK but the problem lies in the people of HK, who are not aggressively responding to the flow by way of the English language. They still lag in uttering the hegemonic medium of expression. Although its young population is learning it in schools, they tend to take it for granted. It would be impossible either for the older ones to push themselves to learn or speak it through formal instruction, as it would cost them time and effort. As revealed in the article by (2004), the HK government has suffered from a strong contradiction when it forced its citizens to speak the language even in their homes
The Mass Media as the Driving Factor
At the back of this proposal is the primary objective – to make English as the language in operation among the people of HK, its beneficiaries. Note however from the title, the focus is going to be on the media. (1999) argues that the mass media, with particular reference to the television, possess a “strong reinforcing effect” on the shaping of identity and on preserving it, so long as it goes parallel with other outside factors; and the television and outside factors are directly proportional to each other Given the oppositions from the older citizens of HK themselves, in this language policy, all the forms of media are going to be utilized in order to push them, though in a seemingly subtle manner, to put English in operation.
The media is the primary vehicle of attraction. It actually “attracts the flow”. People are attracted because of the images and ideas or values they see on the media, thereby enabling them to spend their money. Other than the theory at hand, this report is likewise inspired by the guidebook on the use of standard English provided in Singapore. The conclusion-recommendation is that the HK government therefore should collaborate with the media institutions (and/or vice versa). The former plays a more significant role because of its legitimizing capacities, and it should really be the one to strongly initiate its governed entities to activate the use of English.
The suggestion will still be in line with the Bilingual Policy. There is a need to reformat the nature of programs and advertisements that the people of HK see and hear in every form of media – television, motion pictures, radio, print, internet, billboards, etc. Media audiences should be exposed more to the English language. Media companies should produce more long-running programs that reinforces the use of the English language, while at the same time retains their identities as the Chinese of HK. Speaking the language does not automatically equates with carrying the foreign values. English is just going to be the working language, but the thought and the ideas promulgated are in Chinese. Likewise, it is proposed herein that English alphabets and words are simultaneously made visible on every form of media – television, advertisements, motion pictures, etc. The audience is able to see and feel that English is at work.
Flow of people, money and technology is already a fact. The HK people are left to deal with these flows through a propagation of an image through the Mass Media that HK can powerfully manage global demands. Thus, this language policy encourages for HK Popular Culture to be tied with English. Films and albums are economic goods. Conversations within the film or television programs basically have to be injected with English usage. Individuals who have the musical passion or in the music industry are encouraged to produce songs in English. It is believed that there is more opportunities to be found in producing these goods in English. Because English is the global language, there is a high possibility to transmit these goods that bear the HK trademark on a global level.
HK is incontestably filled with economic opportunities, considering its economic status and/or role in the global environment. HK is a global tourist hub. If it wants to attract more flows of people in order for money to flow at the same time, then it has to do so by way of English advertisements. Chinese values are preserved only that it is translated in English for a wider consumption of these goods. Going back to (1999) idea above, this specific economic status of HK is the most important factor that is going to push its people to use the language, as it is essential in asserting their (global) economic interests and welfare.
The stance of the (2005) on which is going to be the medium of instruction is that increasing the abilities of students in English is not the primary aim of basic education, thus the need for them to grow in the Cantonese language. However, it has regurgitated that secondary schools, in particular, are supposed to “uphold mother-tongue teaching and enhance English proficiency concurrently” The Education Commission is propagating the need for the young population of HK to be equally progressive in both languages. Cantonese speaks for their identity while English speaks for their competitiveness in this globalized world. This report deems that the best way to learn English is not solely thru formal lessons with grammar and vocabulary. Students need more time to practice their oral skills and way of thinking so as to train up their guts and habits in English.
It would be noteworthy to cite this particular instance by (2020). She has found out that,
“At Hong Kong universities, bilingual students by and large choose Cantonese in their classroom discussions although the medium of instruction is stipulated to be English. Because the peer pressure in the dominant Cantonese language environment restricts the use of English-language communication, Hong Kong students do not have adequate opportunity to practice and improve their English communication skills ( 1999). Lacking interactive communication competence, most Hong Kong students do not feel confident enough to use English when Cantonese is an option and thus take much longer to process and understand English-language teaching materials
This goes to show that within the schools, what obstructs English usage has to deal with the social context by which these students are thriving at, though this posits another issue. In any ways, as a resolution, this report prescribes that school instructors have to make the students learn the language by merely what is, i.e. grammar rules and words. As (2002) has suggested, there has to be an interactive communication among the students. Instructors are therefore encouraged to instigate a harmonious interaction among their students. Pushing further this idea, instructors can make use of multimedia. They can make use of viewing films spoken in English, for instance, in honing the English skills of their students. What is more important is that they voice out their Chinese thoughts in the English language. Thus, their Chinese identity is retained.
CONCLUSION
Hong Kong is faced with a strong demand to respond to the global challenge, considering her active participation in the globalisation movement. This report has identified six impacts of globalisation vis-à-vis language. The English language has displaced the native language. The English language is the very means to carry out one’s economic, political, technological, social or cultural interests. Educational institutions these days are tasked to make students globally competitive, by way of being knowledgeable and proficient in English all at once. Learning English is learning the values of its founding speakers, i,e, Western culture, thereby challenging the preservation of one’s identity. Lastly, globalisation of English has amusingly led to its many dialects.
The language policy recommended herein, as bound by (2000), places a premium on the media, from which people, money, ideas and technology also flow in certain ways. Media institutions, with the aid of the government, are supposed to produce long-running programs spoken in English. English letters and words have to be equally visible in every form of media – print, electronic, advertisements, motion pictures, and television. Goods are likewise encouraged to manifest the English language. Advertisements play a significant role for attracting the flow of people, money, technology, ideas, and media. All of which serves as a strong reinforcement among every citizen of Hong Kong. Furthermore, it is being prescribed in schools, instructors are supposed to facilitate the learning experience of the students in the English language through an interactive communication process among the students on the one hand, and employing multimedia as a source of interaction among the students on the other. These things eventually are going to meet the objective of making English as the operational language in Hong Kong.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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