In defence of Chinglish: a cultural glue in Hong Kong and as valuable as English to the city

William Pang says the version of Cantonese-laced English unique to Hong Kong is an inseparable part of everyday communication here, used by CEOs and street vendors alike. It should not be sacrificed in the name of learning proper English

Reading Time:3 minutes

English-language novels on sale at the Hong Kong Book Fair last year. Over the years, there has been no lack of commentary on the falling standards of English in Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 2:11pm, 27 Mar 2018Updated: 6:51pm, 27 Mar 2018

I recently succumbed to one of my biggest pet peeves. Once the sanctimonious grammar police from whom friends expected a scolding when phrases such as “I go eat la” or “go or no go” were thrown around, I have finally embraced Chinglish – that is, the version of English interlaced with Cantonese and often devoid of standard grammatical structure.

When did I stop my crusade against Chinglish? Probably after receiving countless eye rolls when I lectured friends to cut out the “la’s” and “ah’s”, or the audible groans when I shamed them into repeating the same sentence – using the proper conditional clause the second time. That’s when I decided it was time to bite my tongue and re-examine my grievances.

In my defence, mixing Cantonese and English is strictly forbidden in my family – the mere addition of “la” after a sentence would upset my dad. His point was simple: using Chinglish makes it harder to learn proper English. Proof can be found without even squinting – simply look at the public signs, he would say. Indeed, a report published in November 2015 by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority found that students were using Chinglish in their exam responses, prompting concerns from lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king.

Students attending the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination in April last year. Some students have been using Chinglish in exam papers. Photo: Dickson Lee

Ten English signs Hong Kong got wrong

For as long as I can remember, there have been articles documenting our deteriorating English standards. A quick glance at the EF English Proficiency Index shows Hong Kong trailing behind its favourite match-up, Singapore, by 24 spots.

Interestingly, the Singaporean government has put considerable effort over the years into ridding itself of Singlish. The late Lee Kuan Yew famously said that “Singlish is a handicap we must not wish on Singaporeans”.