- Zhang Haang-yui fell in love with the language while living in Shenzhen and regularly takes part in speech competitions
- University of Hong Kong student volunteered to help new immigrants during the pandemic, helping them adjust to life in the city
Zhang Haang-yui won last year’s SOTY Linguist (Putonghua) first runner-up award. Photo: HandoutBorn and raised in Hong Kong, Zhang Haang-yui briefly lived in Shenzhen during primary school, which he considered pivotal for learning Putonghua and Cantonese.
Haang-yui, now a University of Hong Kong student, is already making strides in promoting Putonghua and Chinese culture.
His interest in Putonghua was sparked by a competition he won in primary school.
“Winning that competition was a huge motivation,” Haang-yui recalled. “Since then, I’ve discovered my potential in Putonghua and started participating in various contests to hone my language skills.”
The 18-year-old’s language proficiency played a significant role in his school life, allowing him to participate in activities such as Putonghua ambassador programmes and interschool competitions.
Throughout his school years, Haang-yui’s commitment to language was exemplified by his participation in the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival.
“From 2012 to 2022, from Primary One to Secondary Six, I participated in the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival,” Haang-yui recounted.
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He entered around 33 speech contests, winning 15 awards in Putonghua and five in Cantonese. His journey through these contests served as a platform to develop his language skills and earned him widespread recognition.
Haang-yui was named the first runner-up in the Linguist (Putonghua) category at the prestigious Student of the Year Awards, organised by the South China Morning Post and solely sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Haang-yui embraced the challenge of volunteering as a teacher for non-Chinese speaking students in Hong Kong. He taught them Putonghua and Cantonese, from basic characters to longer sentences and paragraphs. “The biggest challenge was teaching in English, as some students were new immigrants and didn’t understand Chinese well,” he shared.
His community work extended beyond the classroom. During the pandemic, he visited new immigrants in Cheung Sha Wan, communicating with them in Putonghua and providing supplies and emotional support. “Speaking in Putonghua brought a sense of familiarity,” he noted.
Looking back on his journey, Haang-yui credits his success in Putonghua to the continuous support he received. “I am truly grateful to my teachers. They were instrumental in helping me find opportunities to compete and explore my abilities,” he acknowledged.
Haang-yui believes in Putonghua’s growing importance, seeing it as a future global lingua franca. “Putonghua will become increasingly important. Many foreign scholars are studying Chinese, so as a native speaker, I feel a responsibility to promote it,” he stated.