Hong Kong as a unique multilingual society
What is it about?
From classroom to society, the book offers a comprehensive review of the linguistic profile of, and language education policy in, Hong Kong. It not only redresses some of the prevailing, unfair accounts of Hongkongers' language standards, but also suggests long-term remedies for the upsetting linguistic situation. Professor Li's Multilingual Hong Kong: Languages, Literacies and Identities is recommended reading for researchers with an interest in the linguistic situation of Hong Kong, especially for those whose work is on multilingualism in post-colonial societies. Even so, the book seems to have not touched in greater detail on the identity issues facing Hongkongers (the exception here is Chapter 2), even though such issues are sure to interplay with the students' attitudes towards (learning) Cantonese, English, or Putonghua. Why do Hongkongers feel disdain for the Putonghua-speaking new arrivals, and why do Hongkongers consider English-speaking returnees pretentious? How do these attitudes (re-)construct their understanding of who they are and how they should act with regard to speaking the different languages? Additionally, the author has not examined the problems from a political macro-viewpoint. For example, xenophilia and capitalism, which are more or less considered core values of Hong Kong culture, must exert an influence on how adults and ruling communities perceive (learning) the three languages. Who determines the indicators of good English and good Putonghua? Why do such stakeholders have the power to do so? What external factors have upheld or subverted their power? Linguistic reasons aside, after all, it is the Hongkongers themselves who make the combined goal of biliteracy and trilingualism unrealistic and unachievable, at least for the time being.