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Hong Kong English, but not as we know it: Kongish and language in late modernity
Author(s) -
Sewell Andrew,
Chan Jason
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of applied linguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.712
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1473-4192
pISSN - 0802-6106
DOI - 10.1111/ijal.12163
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , mediation , modernity , phenomenon , linguistics , sociology , english language , identity (music) , social science , political science , computer science , epistemology , aesthetics , artificial intelligence , art , law , philosophy
In 2015 a new term appeared in public discourse regarding English in Hong Kong: Kongish, which refers to a hybrid form of English and Cantonese used in online communication. This article outlines some of the features of Kongish and assesses its status in Hong Kong, comparing and contrasting it with previous conceptualisations of ‘Hong Kong English’ as a local variety. We argue that the Kongish phenomenon is interesting for two main reasons: first it reveals certain aspects of language use under conditions of late modernity, including computer mediation, the relationship between language and identity, and the presence of a dynamic multilingual language ecology. Second, comparing Kongish and Hong Kong English reveals some of the uses and limitations of the variety concept in studies of language.