Bridges towards the evolution of new contact varieties in the multilingual, multicultural knowledge economy

Abstract

Bridges towards the evolution of new contact varieties in the multilingual, multicultural knowledge economy What factors prompt the evolution and stabilisation of a new contact variety of English? It has been argued that, for a new variety of English to genuinely qualify as a variety, it has to be used widely and spontaneously in a society, for internally driven norms to emerge. In a context such as Hong Kong, which is essentially Cantonese-dominant, and where, for the majority of Hongkongers, English, despite its co-official status, is really only used in education, how is Hong Kong English (HKE) meant to develop? This paper argues for three factors characteristic of the global knowledge economy which act as catalysts which advance the evolution of linguistic practices in Hong Kong and the development of HKE. First, computer-mediated communication (CMC) favours the use of English, promotes code mixing and Cantonese-English calques, such as ‘add oil’ from Cantonese gayau ‘add oil = to work hard, persevere’, and prompts subsequent spread to other domains. Second, popular culture and the media assist in the spread of cultural concepts and their associated terms, such as hea ‘relaxed, lenient’ and bingsutt ‘Hong Kong coffeeshop’, and the consequent dissemination of innovations. And third, education (and human capital) brings about deep learning and transformation in the users themselves, such that any linguistic insecurity and self-censorship in the use and thus the spread and penetration of the New English – a common hurdle in such communities – are overcome. In a community which has English in their repertoire but is dominant in another language, what might be shortfalls in everyday spoken domains for the evolution of a local, norm-developing English – less-than-regular use of English, culturally bound concepts, linguistic insecurity – are bridged by the factors of CMC, popular culture and new media, and education, which together help drive the evolution of new contact varieties in the multilingual, multicultural knowledge economy.