User:Serendipitysss/Code-switching in Hong Kong

Lead
Code-Switching In The Hong Kong Legislative Council

Article body
1. Some councilors had limited proficiency in English.

2. Government officials use English as the conventional code, while some councilors use Cantonese.

3. councilors who got used to speaking Cantonese chose code-switching as an act of accommodation and to establish rapport with the President.

4. Using code-switching as a way of clarification when the simultaneous interpreter's translation of a question was not understood by an official.

Phonetics/phonology[edit]
Further information: Hong Kong English

Different segments of English words undergo phonological changes when mixed into Cantonese, affecting vowels, single initial and final consonants, initial and final consonant clusters. Stress of original codes is also subject to shift in some cases.

Syntax[edit]
The English elements engaged in the code-switching process are mostly of one or two words in length, and are usually content words that can fit into the surrounding Cantonese phrase fairly easily, like nouns, verbs, adjectives, and occasionally, adverbs. Examples include:


 * 去canteen食飯 (heoi3 ken6-tin1 sik6 faan6, 'go to the canteen for lunch')
 * 好多嘢press你 (hou2 do1 je5 pet1 si4 nei5, 'A lot of things press you')
 * 我唔sure (ngo5 m4 su1-aa4, 'I'm not sure')
 * 幫我check一check啊 (bong1 ngo5 cek1 jat1 cek1 aa1, "Help me search/check for it")

Meanwhile, structure words like determiners, conjunctions and auxiliary verbs almost never appear alone in the predominantly Cantonese discourse, which explains the ungrammaticality of two節 (does not make sense, but literally means 'two parts'). English lexical items, on the other hand, are frequently assimilated into Cantonese grammar. For instance,


 * 兩part (loeng5 paat1, 'two parts'), "part" would lose its plural morpheme "s" as do its counterpart in Cantonese.
 * equip 咗 (ji6 kwip1 zo2, 'equipped'), "equip" is followed by a Cantonese perfective aspect marker. A more evident case of the syntactic assimilation would be where a negation marker is inserted into an English compound adjective or verb to form yes–no questions in Cantonese.
 * 佢可唔可愛呀？ (keoi5 ho2 m4 ho2 oi3 aa3, 'Is she/he lovely?') is pure Cantonese while a sentence like 佢cu唔cute啊？(keoi5 kiu1 m4 cute aa3, 'Is he/she cute?') is a typical example of the assimilation.

For English elements consisting of two words or more, they generally retain English grammar internally without disrupting the surrounding Cantonese grammar. For example,


 * 唔使再搵part-time job啦 (m5 sai2 zoi3 wan2 paat1 taam1 zop1 laa3, 'You don't need to look for a part-time job again')

(Examples are taken from the same source).

Intro:
'''The emergence of directly elected members and the upcoming transfer of sovereignty in 1997 gave rise to a situation of instability in power dynamics within the Legislative Council. This transitional phase prompted a reevaluation of language norms and code preferences, with the decline of former authorities and the ascent of new ones. The observed code-switching by councillors and officials was a notable aspect of the negotiation process aimed at establishing a fresh code-norm that mirrored the evolving power dynamics. '''

Time to use code-switching in council:

 * Some councilors had limited proficiency in English.
 * Government officials use English as the conventional code, while some councilors use Cantonese.
 * Councilors who got used to speaking Cantonese chose code-switching as an act of accommodation and to establish rapport with the President.
 * Using code-switching as a way of clarification when the simultaneous interpreter's translation of a question was not understood by an official. 

'''Speakers adjust their speech to align with the preferences of their addressees, was evident in the code-switching behaviors observed in the Legislative Council. Code-switching, whether for procedural matters or personal interactions, is served as a method of navigating the power relationships within the Council. '''

Cultural identity:
'''Hong Kong is a city with a rich cultural treasure, influenced by its historical connection to both Chinese and British traditions. As a result, people in Hong kong may be proficient in both Cantonese and English, and may use code-switching as a strategic tool to express their identity. '''