Hong Kong Basic Law declares Chinese and English as
the official languages of Hong Kong. In Colonial Hong Kong,
English was primary language for more than 130 years. However, post
March 1987, the Official Languages Ordinance made all new legislation to
be enacted in both English and Chinese. Cantonese, a dialect of Chinese,
has been acknowledged as the de facto official spoken variety of Chinese
in Hong Kong. Standard Mandarin has been also accepted.
Cantonese and Mandarin
Cantonese is a Chinese spoken variant originating from Guangdong
province. Majority of people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese due to
historic reasons. In Mainland China, Mandarin has been used as the de
facto language in government, education, and the media. However, in Hong
Kong, Cantonese is more popular.
Assortment of Languages
On Hong Kong roads, most signs are written in both English and Chinese,
making it easier for foreigners to move around Hong Kong. Most of the
people in Hong Kong are of Chinese origin and Chinese dialects come
naturally to them. The place has lived with British administration for a
long period, and thanks to it, the Hong Kongers have become comfortable
with English. Several other languages are also spoken in Hong Kong in
small groups. Small population groups include expatriates from countries
such as India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Diversity
in population is co-related with assortment of languages spoken.
Chinese Language
Chinese language has six categories of characters: pictographs,
self-explanatory, associative compounds, pictophonetic, phonetic loan,
and mutually explanatory. Chinese words are monosyllabic. Most Chinese
characters are composed of an ideogramatic element together with a
phonetic element.
