Class: ELC1012 S14 Sem003
Assessment number:2
Word Count: 825
Topic area: Language Policies in Hong Kong
Narrowed topic: “Hong Kong should put Putonghua as the first language.” With reference to Hong Kong, to what extent do you agree with this view?
After the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, whether the first language should be ged from Cantonese to Mandarin has been thoroughly debated. Since Mandarin (also known as Putonghua), is “the national spoken standard variety on the Chinese mainland” (Gao, Leung, & Trent, 2010), some citizens support Putonghua replace Cantonese as the mother tongue in Hong Kong, while some do not.
This paper will discuss both sides of the argument.
The reason for ging mother tongue from Cantonese to Putonghua is that the latter is the official language of China. After 1997, the frequency of using Putonghua has rising because of many business cooperation between Hong Kong and China. The connection of two regions will be closer in the future.
Putonghua class is advocated since it is playing an important role in the medium of communication between Hong Kong and China (Gao et al., 2010). Locals try to accept Putonghua and encourage their children to learn it for the possible conversations with Mainlanders in the future.
The attitude toward Putonghua is positive (M. L. Lai, 2010). To link up with China, Putonghua can be considered being the first language.
Additionally, Putonghua is regarded as the dialect which can help the written Chinese while Cantonese cannot. Lau (as cited in Yau, 2014) believes that the people who are weak in Chinese can be improved by learning Mandarin due to the high similarity of written Chinese and spoken Putonghua.
If the mother tongue ges, students and citizens will speak Mandarin in their daily life. It can help them to write Chinese more easily in the formal situation such as writing notices and emails. Also, it is more efficient that people can spend less time to learn the pronunciation and grammar of Putonghua.
The reason for supporting Cantonese as the mother tongue in Hong Kong is that it is used by dominant local people. According to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (2016), Cantonese is spoken by the 88.1% of the Hong Kong population, while Mandarin is spoken by 3.9%.
In other words, Cantonese is the major language in Hong Kong. People are used to communicating with others in it. Lai (2001) points out that locals are not likely to ge their mother tongue to Putonghua if they have superiority of being a Hong Kong people. Due to the superiority, local people are unwil to speak Putonghua in their daily life.
Therefore, if the Hong Kong Government try to ge the official language, it would be difficult to replace Cantonese by Mandarin.
Cantonese is not only a common language in Hong Kong but also a sign representing Hong Kong. A great deal of resources proved that language contributes part of one’s identity. Jaspal (2009) states that language is kind of symbol to express the specific characters of a group of people.
Some Cantonese expression can reflect the recent incidents and trend in Hong Kong. People can distinguish Hongkongers and Mainlanders by using different dialects. This is the unique culture of Hong Kong.
There are both supporting and opposing reasons for ging the first language. One the one hand, the widespread of using Putonghua can help build the connection between Hong Kong people and mainland Chinese. It helps improve the ability of written in Chinese too.
On the other hand, there are around 90% of locals are used to speaking in Cantonese. It is difficult for the citizens to ge their mother tongue in a short time. To Hong Kong people, Cantonese is a unique feature representing them. The culture identity is built up and the dialect should be preserved.
Variety vocabulary, the correct grammar and the rhetoric can be learnt through different books. Due to the close relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China, Putonghua has been the second language in Hong Kong. Most of the locals who are Cantonese speakers know how to communicate with mainlanders and Taiwanese by speaking Mandarin.
The need of ging the mother tongue is limited. However, learning Putonghua is essential for Hongkongers. Hong Kong is an international city. The opportunity of speaking in Putonghua will increase on the ground of rising cooperation with mainlanders. I suppose the current language policy in Hong Kong is necessary for society.
If more opportunities of practicing Putonghua, such as culture tour in the mainland, can be provided, it can also connect the locals and mainlanders together.
Gao, X., Leung, P. P., & Trent, J. (2010). Chinese Teachers’ Views on the Increasing Use of Putonghua as a Medium of Instruction in Hong Kong Schools. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(8). doi:
Jaspal, R. (2009). Language and social identity: a psychosocial approach. Psych- Talk, 64, 17-20. Retrieved from
Lai, M.-L. (2001). Hong Kong Students' Attitudes Towards Cantonese, Putonghua and English After the ge of Sovereignty. Journal of Multiual and Multicultural Development, 22(2), 112-133. doi:10.1080/01434630108666428
Lai, M. L. (2010). Social Class and Language Attitudes in Hong Kong. International Multiual Research Journal, 4(2), 83-106. doi:10.1080/19313150903500945
Lai, M. L. (2011). Cultural identity and language attitudes – into the second decade of postcolonial Hong Kong. Journal of Multiual and Multicultural Development, 32(3), 249-264. doi:10.1080/01434632.2010.539692
Yau, E. (2014). Cantonese or Putonghua in schools? Hongkongers fear culture and identity 'waning'. SCMP. Retrieved from
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