Both city and nation must preserve Cantonese language
Obligation to protect intangible cultural heritage applies to minorities and their languages
A recent controversy over the Education Bureau's mistaken claim that Cantonese is not a language has highlighted the continued use of Cantonese in the city.
Languages can easily be lost, especially if a government encourages the use of one language within a state. For example, the British government attempted to eliminate Irish Gaelic in 19th-century Ireland as part of its campaign to eradicate resistance to British rule. Schools could teach only in English.
As English was the language of commerce at that time, the campaign was aided by Irish parents realising their children's future prosperity required them to speak English, especially if they were trying to flee the hardship of post-famine Ireland and start new lives in America, or even England.
It was only towards the end of the 19th century that the Irish realised they risked losing such a valuable element of their cultural heritage and began a campaign to encourage the teaching of Gaelic in schools.
Although there is no determined campaign to eliminate Cantonese, Hong Kong gives little encouragement for children to study Cantonese when Putonghua is seen as one of the main languages of business today. The city's laws provide scant protection for Cantonese.
However, China's international commitments may be interpreted as obliging the protection of Cantonese and encouraging its study and dissemination. The country has been at the forefront of world recognition of the value of intangible cultural heritage - which may be thought of as ideas representing the manifestations of human achievement that should be passed on, such as folk songs, poetry, stories, rituals, festivals, skills and language.
In 2003, Unesco adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is intended to safeguard, ensure respect for, and raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage, which includes the "practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills … that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage". Specifically, this includes "oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage".