Why does he sound like a Hongkonger? Hong Kong English phonology
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Sampson explores the unique characteristics of Hong Kong English, a tonal dialect influenced by Cantonese. He delves into the historical background of English in Hong Kong, its use in education, and the absence of a standard accent. Key linguistic features discussed include tone patterns, rhyme substitution, L vocalization, and the pronunciation of 'th' sounds. Sampson emphasizes the importance of communication over accent perfection, encouraging viewers to embrace their unique English accents as a means to connect with others.
Takeaways
- 🗣️ The video discusses the unique characteristics of Hong Kong English, a dialect influenced by Cantonese and the region's history as a British colony.
- 🏴 Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, which led to English being an administrative and higher education language alongside Cantonese.
- 👥 English and Chinese are the official languages of Hong Kong, with Cantonese being the native language for nearly 90% of the population and around 50% proficiency in English.
- 🏫 English education in Hong Kong starts from kindergarten, with a focus on English as a main subject, and continues through primary and secondary schools.
- 🏛️ There are two types of secondary schools in Hong Kong: EMI (English as a medium of instruction) and CMI (Chinese as a medium of instruction).
- 🎓 At the university level, English becomes the dominant teaching language due to the presence of international professors and students.
- 🗣️ Hong Kong English is primarily used in educational settings and is often spoken as a second language, with usage limited outside of school and work.
- 🎶 A distinctive feature of Hong Kong English is its tonal pattern, adapted from Cantonese, making it potentially the only tonal dialect of English.
- 🔊 Rhyme substitution is another feature where Hong Kong English speakers adjust English word endings to better fit Cantonese phonology.
- 🔤 'L vocalization' is pronounced as a vowel when it is a final consonant in Hong Kong English, influenced by the following vowel sound.
- 🗣️ The 'th' sounds in English are pronounced as 'f' for voiceless and 'd' for voiced in Hong Kong English, a feature also found in other English dialects like Cockney.
- 🌐 The video concludes with a reflection on the importance of accent in language learning, emphasizing communication over adherence to a 'standard' accent.
Q & A
What is the historical background of the Hong Kong English accent?
-Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, and English has been the administrative language and the language of higher education. After 1997, according to the Hong Kong Basic Law, Chinese and English are the official languages of Hong Kong.
Why does the Hong Kong English accent sound distinct?
-The Hong Kong English accent is influenced by the Cantonese language, which is the native language of the majority of Hong Kong residents. This has led to the adaptation of English intonation and lexical tones, making it a tonal dialect of English.
What is the role of English in Hong Kong's education system?
-English is a main subject from kindergarten, and it is used as a medium of instruction in some schools and universities. It is also the dominant teaching language in universities due to the presence of international professors and students.
How does the Cantonese language influence the pronunciation of Hong Kong English?
-Cantonese, being a tonal language, has influenced the intonation of Hong Kong English. Additionally, final consonant deletion and vowel changes occur in Hong Kong English to conform better to Cantonese phonology.
What are the three main tones in Hong Kong English and how do they correspond to Cantonese tones?
-The three main tones in Hong Kong English are high, mid, and low, which correspond to the first, sixth, and fourth tones in Cantonese, respectively.
How does the stress pattern affect the tone assignment in Hong Kong English?
-In words with more than one syllable, the stressed syllable is assigned a high tone, syllables before it take a mid tone, and syllables after it take a low tone. For words with secondary stress, all syllables between the two stresses take a high tone.
What is 'rhyme substitution' in Hong Kong English, and how does it relate to Cantonese phonology?
-Rhyme substitution in Hong Kong English involves changing the rhyme of English words to better conform to Cantonese phonology. This includes final consonant deletion and changes in vowel quality in words with diphthongs and final consonants.
How does the pronunciation of 'L' as a final consonant in Hong Kong English differ from standard English?
-In Hong Kong English, the 'L' sound is pronounced as a vowel when it is a final consonant, and its exact pronunciation varies according to the vowel it follows.
What is 'th-fronting' and how does it affect the pronunciation of the 'th' sounds in Hong Kong English?
-Th-fronting is the pronunciation of the voiceless 'th' sound as 'f' and the voiced 'th' sound as 'd' in Hong Kong English. This results in homophones such as 'three' and 'free' being pronounced the same.
What is the speaker's opinion on the importance of accent in language learning?
-The speaker believes that the most important aspect of language learning is communication, and accent should not be a concern. Language is a tool for connecting people, and different accents should be embraced as part of the diversity in communication.
Outlines
🗣️ Introduction to Hong Kong English
The speaker, Sampson, introduces the topic of Hong Kong English, emphasizing its unique characteristics that can be identified through accent. He outlines his approach to discussing the background, linguistic features, and personal opinions on the accent. Hong Kong's history as a British colony until 1997 and the current bilingual environment are highlighted, with English being an administrative language and a medium of higher education. The video aims to explore how these factors have shaped the distinct features of Hong Kong English.
🎓 Education and Usage of Hong Kong English
This paragraph delves into the educational system in Hong Kong, where English is taught from a young age alongside Cantonese. It explains the two types of secondary schools: EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) and CMI (Chinese as a Medium of Instruction), with the former emphasizing English for most subjects. The paragraph also notes that Hong Kong English is primarily used in educational and official settings rather than as a daily communication language, leading to its use as a second language with limited exposure.
🌐 Accent Variations and Tonal Patterns
The speaker discusses the variations in Hong Kong English accents, noting that while they may differ, they adhere to certain standards that make them recognizable. The unique tonal pattern of Hong Kong English is explored, with Cantonese's influence on English intonation being a key feature. The explanation includes the assignment of high, mid, and low tones to syllables in words, affecting the pronunciation of multi-syllable words and how stress patterns influence tone assignment.
📚 Rhyme Substitution and Phonological Adaptations
This section examines the phonological adaptations in Hong Kong English, particularly the rhyme substitution influenced by Cantonese phonology. The speaker explains how final consonants are often deleted in words that have multiple, which is a feature not present in Cantonese. Examples are given to illustrate how certain consonants are dropped or altered, and how diphthongs and final consonants are adjusted to fit Cantonese syllable structures, leading to unique pronunciations of English words.
👥 Social Perceptions and the Value of Language
The final paragraph addresses social attitudes towards the Hong Kong English accent, mentioning a commercial featuring a local celebrity that sparked debate. Sampson reflects on the importance of language as a tool for communication rather than a measure of education or cultural affinity. He encourages embracing one's accent and using language to connect with others, dismissing the notion that adhering to a 'standard' accent is necessary for effective communication.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Hong Kong English
💡Accent
💡Tonal Language
💡Bilingual Environment
💡English as a Second Language (ESL)
💡Rhyme Substitution
💡L Vocalization
💡Th Fronting
💡Homophones
💡Language as a Tool for Communication
Highlights
Introduction to Hong Kong English and its unique accent.
Hong Kong's history as a British colony until 1997 and the influence on its English accent.
Chinese and English as official languages in Hong Kong, with Cantonese being the dominant native language.
Bilingual education in Hong Kong, with English taught from kindergarten.
Differences between EMI and CMI schools in Hong Kong's education system.
The limited use of Hong Kong English as a second language in daily communication.
The tonal nature of Hong Kong English, influenced by Cantonese's tonal language.
Rules for assigning high, mid, and low tones to syllables in Hong Kong English.
Examples of tonal pronunciation in words like 'introduction' and 'communication'.
Pronunciation of single-syllable words in Hong Kong English with high or mid tones.
Rhyme substitution in Hong Kong English to conform to Cantonese phonology.
Final consonant deletion in words like 'lamp' and 'tasks' when spoken in Hong Kong English.
Vowel reduction and coda change in words ending in T or D in Hong Kong English.
L vocalization, where the L sound is pronounced as a vowel in final positions.
Pronunciation of the 'th' sounds in Hong Kong English, with 'th' fronting to an 'f' sound.
Personal opinion on the value of accent in language learning and communication.
Encouragement to embrace one's accent and focus on the communicative purpose of language.
Transcripts
hi this is Sampson today I'm gonna talk
about Hong Kong English so I will start
this video by speaking a bit of Hong
Kong English very often you can tell the
place of origin of someone by listening
to his English accent Hong Kong is no
exception so right now I'm speaking a
Hong Kong accident so I should sound
like your friends from Hong Kong but
what is a Hong Kong accent actually and
why it sounds like a Hong Kong accent
today I will answer these questions so
first I will introduce the background of
Hong Kong accent and then I will analyze
its linguistic features and finally I
will share some personal opinion about
Hong Kong accent let's have some
background information first hong kong
had been a british colony until 1997
while most of the people communicated in
Cantonese English have been the
administrative language and also the
language of higher education nowadays
according to the Hong Kong Basic Law
Chinese and English are the official
languages of Hong Kong however it
doesn't specify which spoken variety of
Chinese Mandarin or Cantonese is
official statistical data shows that
nearly 90% of the people in Hong Kong
speak Cantonese as their native language
and nearly 50% of the people are
proficient in English this bilingual
environment led to the emergence of Hong
Kong English English education begins
from kindergarten in Hong Kong most
kindergarten teach most subjects in
Cantonese but they also have English as
a main subject this is also true for
primary schools for secondary schools
there are two types of them depending on
their teaching language one of them is
called EMI schools which stands for
English as a medium of instruction in
EMI schools most subjects are taught in
English except a few such as the Chinese
language and the Chinese history the
other type is C M
my schools it stands for Chinese as a
medium of instruction as its name
suggests most subjects are taught in
Chinese language except for
english-language subject however again
it doesn't specify which variety of
Chinese Cantonese or Mandarin it is so
for me I studied in an EMI school so I
remembered the chemical elements in
English rather than Cantonese the
university's English becomes the
dominant teaching language it is because
there are many international professors
and students so for me I also worked in
an international company in Hong Kong so
I used to speak English at work too as I
just mentioned you may already notice
that Hong Kong English is mostly used as
schools and yes you're right so one
fundamental difference between Hong Kong
English and other English varieties such
as Indian English or a singaporean
english is that we don't speak Hong Kong
English as a daily way of communication
therefore most people speak it as a
Second Language and its usage is limited
so while most people write English for
their homework and official documents
you almost never see a film in Hong Kong
English usually people favor the British
or the American accent when they further
their English studies and as a result
there is no standard accent for Hong
Kong English when I worked in Hong Kong
I heard my colleagues speaking Hong Kong
English but when I carefully analyze
their accent I felt that all their
accents are different but they still
conform to a certain standard so it
sounds like Hong Kong English so in this
video I will introduce the features of
Hong Kong English some features are more
common meaning that if one demonstrates
this set of features is probably a Hong
Kong English speaker but some of the
features are less common even if one
doesn't show this feature he can still
be a Hong Kong English speaker in this
video I will only talk about
t-shirts that are exclusively found in
Hong Kong English but not in other
English varieties and I will talk about
them in the order of importance now
let's start looking at the features the
first feature is the mid high low tone
pattern since Cantonese is a tonal
language speakers adapted English
intonation zazz lexical tones
this makes Hong Kong English special
because it might be the only tonal
dialect of English I think this is the
most interesting feature of Hong Kong
English so I will spend more time
talking about it there are three main
toes high mid and low tones in Hong Kong
English they are pronounced like the
first sixth and the fourth tones in
Cantonese respectively now we take for
as an example syllable these three tones
are pronounced as fall fall fall
respectively the general rule is for
words with more than one syllable the
stressed syllable is assigned a high
tone syllables before it take a mid tone
and syllables after it take a low tone
for words with the second ray stress all
syllables between the two stresses take
a high tone let's listen to these words
in isolation introduction the syllable
top is stressed so it takes the high
tone the syllables intro is before that
so they have the mid tone the syllable
tion comes after the stressed syllable
so it takes the low tone communication
we have a secondary stress at the
syllable mute and the primary stress at
K therefore syllables between them have
a high tone the other syllables follow
the general rule
when the word is not the last word of an
utterance the loto syllables are changed
to the high tome so we have introduction
with the last syllable shun in the low
tone but introduction to English with
the same syllable in the high tone
single syllable words are trickier
usually nouns adjectives verbs and
question words take a high tone
prepositions connectives and auxiliary
verbs take a mid tone personal pronouns
such as I and you may take a high tone
or a mid tone depending on the situation
let's have some examples kit which is a
noun with a high tone but which is an
adjective with a high tone goal which is
a verb with a high tone fault which is a
numeral with a high tone but we have
fall which is a preposition with the mid
tone and which is a connective with the
mid tone we auxiliary verb with the mid
tone you may have noticed that the
number four and the preposition fall
have different tones these words are
homophone in many varieties of English
however for Hong Kong English speakers a
difference in terms means a difference
in pronunciation so they consider them
as words to be pronounced differently if
someone says the preposition fall in a
high tone it would be considered wrong
in other words it's correct to say fall
but if you say fall it will sound like
the number some other homophone is
distinguished by tones in Hong Kong
English are by as in to buy something
and buy as in by the way they are as in
there is a pop and they are as in their
computer
and finally we have the word when this
word has multiple meanings depending on
the situation and in Hong Kong English
we pronounce them differently depending
on their meaning so we have when as a
question word as in when is your
birthday and when as a connective
meaning at such time as in when I am
happy now let's look at this ambiguous
English sentence tell me when you go
home there are two ways to pronounce the
word when in Hong Kong English and they
result into two different meanings
the first is tell me when you go home
here when is in the heighth home so it
is a question word therefore the
sentence means tell me the time that you
go home you can expect the answer to be
9 o'clock
the second is tell me when you go home
notice that when is in the mid tone so
it is a connective the whole sentence
means tell me at the moment you go home
then the other person will likely answer
with yes I will tell you
now we have shown that Hong Kong English
is a tonal language it can even
distinguish mobile phones in
international English and even ambiguous
sentences the second feature requires
more technical knowledge to explain I
would call it rhyme substitution in
general Hong Kong English speakers often
change the rhyme of English words so
that it conforms better to the Cantonese
phonology all right
I know it still sounds very vague right
now in order to make it clear I will
divide this feature into two types and
give examples for each of them type one
final consonant deletion in Cantonese
there can be at most one final consonant
in a syllable English words can contain
more final consonants as in the word
lamp in which you have M and P and the
word tasks in which you have s K s when
Hong Kong English speakers say these
words they delete some final consonants
for example passed with the final T
sound to lead it bang with the final
case alt delete it fact with the final T
sound
deleted however words like tense and
tacks are pronounced with all final
consonants so they will be pronounced as
pans and texts in Hong Kong English so
this rule doesn't always apply in fact
this rule only deletes plosive
consonants p t-- k b d and g that do not
immediately follow the vowel for example
in the word tax pronounced as text in
Hong Kong English the K sound is not
deleted because it mmediately follows
the vowel and the second type of this
feature is
the plus final consonant reduction or a
substitution a diphthong means a
sequence of two vowels for example I is
a diphthong because it is a sequence of
the simple vows R and E together they
are I there is a change of the quality
of vowel some words with diphthongs in
English our guy Mae and lo Cantonese has
diphthongs too as in the words guide may
know in English there are syllables that
contain a diphthong and final consonants
as in rain like and sound this syllable
structure doesn't exist in Cantonese so
Hong Kong English speakers use different
strategies to pronounce this type of
words let's see how they are pronounced
in Hong Kong English for worse ending in
T or D we have late as late light as
light height as high loud as Lao usually
the final consonant is simply deleted
however the same rule doesn't always
apply even for the same rhyme so we have
load pronounced as low with the D
deleted but we have code pronounced as
cope which has undergone vowel reduction
and coda change it changes the final
consonant from D to K so it has become
homophonous with the word cook as in
cooking load and code rhyme in most
english accents but not in the Hong Kong
accent also the word coat is pronounced
as coal which is quite different from
code as mentioned above now we take a
look at
words ending in K we have cake
pronounced as kick which is undergone
vowel reduction we have like pronounced
as light or light both are acceptable by
Hong Kong English speakers and in this
case the K is simply deleted
we have Koch pronounced as Koch which is
homophone s with the word cook as in
cooking and the word coat as mentioned
before as compared to T or D words of
this type tend to reduce the diphthong
into a single vowel rather than deleting
the final consonant here are words
having final nasal sounds so we start
with words having n as one of the final
consonants we have rain pronounced as
rain which is homophone as with the word
ring as in wedding rain and we have
sound pronounced as Sun lo pronounced as
long but the word fine is unchanged it's
pronounced as fine the word line can be
pronounced as line or light which is
summer phonus with lie as in to tell a
lie finally we have point pronounced as
pawn which is homophone as with never
mind forget about it the word time can
be pronounced as time or palm both are
acceptable and the word game usually
it's pronounced as game and home
pronounced as home as we've seen from
the examples even though the different
nasal cells can undergo very different
changes the nasal quality of the final
consonants is usually kept forwards and
the
fricative sounds like s and F this rule
never applies for example words like
bass and life are unaffected by the rule
there is an interesting consequence of
this feature we can see it in the words
right and right in standard English this
pair of words is distinguished by the
final consonants T and D however the
vowel in right is phonetically shorter
than that in right even though it
doesn't causes distinction to standard
English speakers say it many times and
you will realize that right right right
right right right
remember that in Hong Kong English
speakers delete the final TD sounds in
this case then how are the words right
and right pronounced they are right and
right respectively with different vowels
but the final consonants are lost so
here you see in standard English this
pair of words are distinguished by the
different final consonants but in Hong
Kong English they are distinguished by
the different vowels now let's move on
to the next feature the third feature is
called L vocalization specifically the L
sound is pronounced as a vowel when it
is a final consonant its exact
pronunciation varies according to the
vowel it follows let's hear some example
words in these words the L sound is
pronounced as ooh so we have tell
pronounced as tail till pronounced as
till girl pronounced as go
the final L is not pronounced when
following a back rounded vowel for
example we have tall as poor tool as to
which is home opponents with the number
two we have goal pronounced as goal
which is homophone us with the verb to
go and an extra syllable is added when
following a diphthong ending in e for
example tail is pronounced as pay o tile
is pronounced as pi o boil is pronounced
as boil the syllabic L sound has the
same pronunciation as in this case so we
have people pronounced as people I've
noticed that this feature also exists in
Portuguese so the spelling L is
sometimes pronounced as an O in the same
way but I don't know if it also exists
in the Portuguese accent of English if
you speak Portuguese please tell me
about that the fourth feature is the
pronunciations of the th cells there are
two different th cells in English namely
the voiceless th as in the word thing
and the voiced th as in the word this
in Hong Kong English the voiceless th
sound is pronounced as same as the
letter F this feature is called th
fronting and is found in many Seldon
English dialect such as the cockney
accent some homophone espares are
produced by this feature so we have
three and three both pronounced as free
in Hong Kong English
thin thin both pronounced as Fein Thor
for both pronounced as fall for the
voiced th selves it is pronounced as
same as the letter D so the words this
and father are pronounced as peace and
father respectively some homophone as
pairs produced by this feature are those
and those both are pronounced as both
they and they both as they they're
they're both as they are
if the voiced th sound is at the end of
the morpheme it is pronounced as the
letter F like the voiceless th sound as
mentioned above so we have breathe
pronounced as brief breathing pronounced
as breathing
of course there are many other features
of Hong Kong English but unfortunately
we don't have enough time to go through
all of them if you like Hong Kong
English I can make more videos to talk
about other features I'm gonna wrap up
this video by sharing some of my
personal opinions about Hong Kong
English recently there is a commercial
in which the Hong Kong celebrity William
Chan speaks English
so this commercial has received lots of
different comments and some people
criticized on his English accent I think
this is just one example to show the
attitude of people towards the Hong Kong
English accent in Hong Kong people tend
to think that the level of English
correlates to the level of education and
speaking of British or American accent
means better English so some people feel
ashamed of their English accent think
about why you learn a language did you
learn it just for passing the exam or
did you learn it for watching dramas
without subtitles after all it's about
communication it brings different people
together when you meet people from
different countries everyone speaks in a
different accent therefore the most
important thing is that you get to know
more about each other through speaking
English and accent is not what your
concern about of course different people
have different reasons to learn English
if one really likes the British culture
he can learn the RP accent and try to
perfect it but in most cases it is
definitely not a must to stick to the so
called British or American accents
language is a tool to connect different
people it is way more than just an exam
to show how educated you are so whenever
someone laughs at your accent
remember this message and don't get
discouraged that's the end of the video
hope you guys enjoy it and see you in
the next episode
Ver Más Videos Relacionados
How to Improve Your British Accent in 20 Minutes! (Standard English Accent)
How To Speak English Like Harry Styles
Basic Phonetics : Vowel Sounds
Language Transfer Complete Spanish Lesson 02 enhanced 50p
Singlish: The Singaporean English creole - interview
PERFECT YOUR RP ACCENT | Southern ENGLISH Accent Coach
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)