Can the staff at snack bars and restaurants in Hong Kong speak simple Mandarin?

48 Hong Kong residents: I can speak Mandarin

Around 1997, there was a popular saying in Hong Kong: As long as you can’t pass Luo Wu Bridge, you don’t need to learn Mandarin.

Nowadays, when you are in the crowded business district of Causeway Bay, you can hear the sounds of Mandarin: the salespersons in the shops are enthusiastically soliciting business in Mandarin; the Hong Kong citizens on the streets are patiently using Mandarin to give directions to mainland tourists. road.

In Hong Kong before the handover, Cantonese and English were the mainstream; in the past 15 years, as exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland have become more frequent in the fields of politics, economy and trade, social culture and education, Mandarin has become increasingly widely used in Hong Kong. The 2011 Hong Kong Census Report released by the Census and Statistics Department of the SAR Government in February this year showed that the popularity of Mandarin surpassed English for the first time and became the second most popular language in Hong Kong.

Mandarin has become a popular language in the workplace

Waters, a well-known precision instrument manufacturer, recently published an advertisement in Hong Kong to recruit the HR Manager of its Hong Kong branch. Among the language requirements Please note that applicants must be proficient in Mandarin. Mr. He, a human resources analyst at Waters Corporation, said that in the past 15 years, the company's mainland business has increased and now accounts for more than 50% of the total business volume. The Hong Kong department oversees the entire Asia-Pacific region. To communicate with mainland employees, they must speak Mandarin. .

In recent years, the status of Mandarin in Hong Kong’s workplace has continued to increase, and more and more companies hope that their employees can speak Mandarin. Data provided by JobsDB, a large Hong Kong job search website, at the end of May showed that 11 job advertisements in the past six months clearly required applicants to speak Mandarin.

If classified by job type, there is a huge demand for job seekers who can speak Mandarin in the banking and financial fields, accounting for 18.6 of the total recruitment advertisements for this job type; followed by government and public institutions, accounting for 17.1; real estate and real estate, accounting for 16.9; professional services accounting for 15.2; beauty and health accounting for 14.1.

Huang Jingting, human resources manager of Walter Walters, a professional recruitment company in Hong Kong, said that most of their clients are foreign-funded companies that have branches in Hong Kong to take care of mainland business. She revealed that 60 to 70 percent of customers prefer to hire employees who can speak Mandarin. "Before the handover, speaking English was a necessary condition, and now Mandarin has become a common requirement."

Chinese and Bilingualism at the Polytechnic University Liu Wencai, a lecturer in the department, said that she once saw two mainland tourists in a famous local tea restaurant thinking about the menu for a long time. Just when she was about to translate enthusiastically, the waiter opened his mouth to say hello in Mandarin. Simple communication and easy response.

"Basically, Hong Kong people know the importance of Mandarin. Mandarin is my country's standard language. This fact exists in our hearts, but at the same time, it is also driven by the real need to make a living." Liu Wencai said.

Popular Mandarin on campus

At the end of March this year, Hong Kong Baptist University held a Mandarin recitation competition, attracting more than 800 people to sign up, setting a record high. 19-year-old Hong Kong student Cao Keren won the championship in the poetry category with his song "A Blossoming Tree".

Cao Keren told reporters that due to her love for language, she taught herself Mandarin Pinyin at home at a very young age and began participating in recitation competitions in the first grade. When she grew up, she discovered that speaking Mandarin well was very helpful in studying, communication activities and getting job interviews. Cao Keren hopes to work in the advertising industry in the Mainland after graduating from college.

The census report released by the Census and Statistics Department of the SAR Government in February showed that at the end of June 2011, Hong Kong had a population of approximately 7.07 million, of which approximately 46.5% reported being able to speak Mandarin, a significant increase of approximately 13.2% from 2001. percentage points. In addition, about 1.4% of the population uses Mandarin as the most commonly used language, which is also higher than 0.9 in 2001.

Over the past 15 years, the popularity of Mandarin in Hong Kong has risen sharply, and the driving role of school education is indispensable.

Putonghua has become a core subject in primary schools in Hong Kong since 1998. Students enrolled in 1998 and later will learn Mandarin from the first grade of primary school to the third grade of junior high school, receiving nine years of Putonghua education.

Currently, all universities, colleges and community colleges in Hong Kong offer Mandarin courses.

Chan Ruituan, a member of the Hong Kong Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOL) and a professor of the Department of Chinese and Bilingualism at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said that 15 years ago there were very few students who could really speak Mandarin, but in recent years, Hong Kong students have become more proficient in Mandarin. The level has improved a lot. She went to watch some recitation competitions in the past two years and found that many local primary school students were as fluent in Mandarin as they were in Cantonese.

She also said that Chinese courses in many colleges and universities used to be taught in Cantonese, but in the past five or six years, with the increase in mainland students, teachers have been prompted to learn to teach in Mandarin. For example, the Bilingual Department of the Polytechnic University, 90% of postgraduate courses previously taught in Cantonese have been switched to Mandarin.

Lin Jianping, director of the Putonghua Education Research and Development Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that judging from the census report, the number of Hong Kong citizens who can speak Putonghua increased from more than 30% in 2001 to 40% in 2006, and then to 2011. Nearly 50% in 2017 shows that Mandarin is becoming more popular in Hong Kong step by step; and from the perspective of language teaching, what should be done after "popularization" is how to "improve" it.

More than 70,000 people took the Putonghua proficiency test in 2014

In Hong Kong today, there are major occasions related to government activities, various international conferences, forums and exhibitions, subway and bus reports The voice prompts on the website and customer service phone can all be heard in Mandarin.

Peng Qinghua, director of the Liaison Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Hong Kong, said recently that he had been here before Hong Kong's return to China. At that time, shopping mall salespeople and taxi drivers generally did not understand Mandarin, and it was very uncomfortable for mainlanders to visit and shop in Hong Kong. convenient.

He said that not only most salespersons and taxi drivers can speak Mandarin, but also many young people in the mainland can listen and speak Cantonese. This also reflects from the side that since the return of the motherland, personnel exchanges between the two places have become closer. , exchanges in all aspects are increasing day by day.

These are all due to the series of exchange and cooperation agreements signed between the Mainland and Hong Kong over the years, especially the "Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic and Trade Partnership Arrangement" launched in 2003 and the Hong Kong and Macao Individual Travel Policy.

Chen Ruiduan said that Mandarin is the synonymous language of our nation. Nowadays, the exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland are becoming more and more frequent and the level is getting deeper and deeper. As long as there is contact with the mainland, Hong Kong people have The need to use Mandarin.

The SCOLAR was established in 1996 as a semi-official organization to provide recommendations to the SAR government on Hong Kong's language education policy. According to reports, the organization has so far organized more than 90 activities to promote Mandarin, with approximately 280,000 Hong Kong citizens participating, and more than 3 million viewers watching related TV programs.

On the eve of the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the Institute of Language and Writing Applications of the Ministry of Education also signed a cooperation agreement with the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority in May this year to jointly develop, develop and deepen the relationship between the mainland and Hong Kong. Promote cooperation and exchanges.

Since 1996, the National Language Working Committee has signed agreements with 11 tertiary institutions in Hong Kong to establish "Putonghua Proficiency Test" centers. According to data from the State Language Commission, 141 people took the test in Hong Kong in 1996, and by the end of 2010, the number of tests had exceeded 70,000.

According to data provided by the Teaching and Research Center of CUHK, the Mandarin proficiency of Hong Kong people is relatively concentrated in the "Level 3A", that is, "qualified Mandarin", and there is no problem in daily communication; The compliance rate (i.e. "Second Class B") has been on the rise in recent years.

Lin Jianping said that in Hong Kong, “promoting popularization” in a broad sense seems to require “going out of China and facing the world”, such as cultivating excellent Mandarin teachers, promoting Mandarin overseas, and promoting Chinese culture.

■Xinhuanet

Promotion efforts from the official to the private sector

On the streets of Hong Kong, you can hear vernacular mixed with English. Fluent English can also be heard in less than standard Mandarin. The existence of "biliteracy and trilingualism" can be regarded as a unique scenery in the metropolis of Hong Kong.

Cantonese is the common language native to Hong Kong, English is also a language commonly used by citizens, and Mandarin is gradually becoming another common language in Hong Kong. According to the Hong Kong census report released in February this year, Hong Kong residents who claim to be able to speak Mandarin account for 48% of all Hong Kong residents, slightly exceeding the proportion of Hong Kong residents who can speak English (46). In the 2001 census, there were only 1 /3 of residents claim to be able to speak Mandarin. Just a dozen years later, Mandarin has surpassed English to become the second most widely used language among Hong Kong residents.

So, what exactly has Hong Kong done to promote Mandarin?

Hong Kong passed a bill to promote Mandarin in 2002

On January 23, 2002, at the Legislative Council, then-member Cai Suyu proposed a bill on "promoting Mandarin." She said: As China joins the World Trade Organization and the number of tourists from the mainland, Taiwan and Southeast Asia continues to rise, there is a need for Hong Kong's business community and people to be widely proficient in Putonghua in order to seize business opportunities, strengthen competitiveness and improve communication skills; to this end, legislation We will urge the government to formulate effective measures to solve the shortage of Putonghua teachers; increase the channels for broadcasting Putonghua programs and improve the reception quality of Radio Television Hong Kong’s Putonghua station, so that the public has more opportunities to be exposed to Putonghua; and encourage civil society organizations to organize more activities to promote Putonghua. , thereby creating a social atmosphere conducive to learning Mandarin.

Of the 21 members who spoke subsequently, 20 supported the motion with actions and set an example by speaking in Mandarin, thus promoting the culture of "dare to speak". In the end, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the bill, urging the government to formulate effective measures to improve citizens' ability to use Mandarin. Law Fan Chiu-fun, then Secretary for Education and Manpower of the Hong Kong SAR Government, said in a very standard Mandarin that the SAR government attaches great importance to the balanced development of "biliteracy and trilingualism" (i.e. Chinese, English, Cantonese, Mandarin and English) and will Committed to improving the Cantonese, Mandarin and English proficiency of Hong Kong people. Previously, the SAR government has taken various measures to improve the Putonghua learning environment for Hong Kong students, such as incorporating Putonghua teaching into the curriculum of primary and secondary schools, and increasing the number of Putonghua teachers in schools many times.

The passage of the bill will increase Hong Kong’s efforts to promote Mandarin and further improve the Mandarin learning environment for Hong Kong students.

Organizing "Putonghua Day" and "Putonghua Month" activities

In 2001, RTHK's Putonghua Station initiated the formation of the "Hong Kong Putonghua Promotion Alliance" by Hong Kong's Putonghua promotion groups, non-governmental organizations and schools. ", and held the first "Putonghua Day" in Hong Kong on September 13, 2001, which received response and participation from 135 organizations including the Official Language Services Department and the Civil Service Training and Training Institute.

In 2002, RTHK's Putonghua station continued its efforts and initiated the "Putonghua Month 2002" event from September 15 to October 13. The "Mandarin Month 2002" campaign uses the slogan "Speak Mandarin well and break into a new world" to encourage Hong Kong citizens to learn, use and speak Mandarin more. The event lasts until October 13th. These include a number of activities, such as: "Mandarin Shopping Discount Plan", "Students' Putonghua Leap Award", "Most Active Putonghua Teacher Award", "Putonghua DJ Training Class for Secondary School Students", "Hong Kong Mandarin Singing Competition", etc.

According to reports, citizens can use the "Putonghua Shopping Discount Program" coupons to patronize nearly 1,000 stores with "Putonghua Shopping Discount Program" stickers during the promotion period, including services, footwear, jewelry and gold accessories, You can get discounts and various offers by shopping in Mandarin at beauty, cosmetics, food, entertainment, department stores, books, stationery and other stores.

Tung Chee-hwa called on Hong Kong people to speak more Mandarin

In 2001, Tung Chee-hwa, the then Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, attended the first "Putonghua Day" event. He said that learning Mandarin is the duty of a Chinese citizen. He called on Hong Kong people to listen and speak more Mandarin.

Tung Chee-hwa said that since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, cooperation and contact with the mainland in various aspects of commerce, tourism, education, and culture have become increasingly frequent. Learning Mandarin can help Hong Kong further understand the culture of the motherland and strengthen their identity.

Learning Mandarin is also very important to Hong Kong’s economic development. The mainland's upcoming accession to the WTO will bring unlimited business opportunities to Hong Kong. Every Hong Kong person must learn Mandarin well and equip themselves so that they can seize these opportunities and play Hong Kong's role as a bridge between the mainland and the world.

Tung Chee-hwa believes that in addition to working hard on school education, we must also create an environment where Mandarin is spoken in daily life. He hoped that all sectors of society would actively support the movement to promote Mandarin.

The Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, referred to as SCOLAR, was established in 1996. Its responsibilities are to discuss general language education matters and the use of language funds. , make recommendations to the government. In recent years, SCOLAR has spared no effort to cultivate citizens' biliteracy and trilingualism, help improve citizens' language proficiency, create a good language learning environment for society, and has also made great efforts to promote Mandarin in Hong Kong.

Since 2002, SCOLAR has joined forces with various groups in Hong Kong society to hold a series of "Putonghua Festival" events every year, and developed learning for the public through dramas, debates, award schemes, and TV programs about Putonghua. The Mandarin platform expands and strengthens the reach and penetration of the Mandarin Festival, and spreads the message of "Speak Mandarin well and create a new world" to every corner of society. Moreover, every year the "Mandarin Festival" hires a well-known Hong Kong artist as a Mandarin promotion ambassador, and it has a clear theme. For example, the theme in 2002 is "Speak Mandarin Well, Create a New World", and the theme in 2009 is "Living Mandarin". Learn and use it.”

The Hong Kong Mandarin Learning Society, founded in 1976, is a tax-exempt non-profit private charity organization officially approved by the Hong Kong government. Its purpose is to promote Mandarin in Hong Kong through teaching, publishing, research, exchanges, etc. For more than 30 years, the Mandarin Learning Society has trained hundreds of thousands of people in Mandarin.

The study club has established many interest groups in addition to classes, such as lecture group, talk group, young crops group, chorus group, music group, reading group, etc., which not only provides learners with a permanent The Mandarin language environment makes learning Mandarin more interesting, thus attracting more friends to master Mandarin.

As a charitable organization, all proceeds from the Hong Kong Mandarin Learning Society are used for various activities to promote Mandarin. In addition to organizing various competitions, charity activities and publishing the "Putonghua Newspaper", the Learning Society also opened the "Hong Kong Mandarin Learning Society Science and Technology Creative Primary School" in September 2001. This primary school uses Mandarin as the school language. The Study Club also offers introductory classes for foreigners to learn Mandarin.

Mandarin broadcasts have been added to the subway

Starting from the end of September 2003, Mandarin broadcasts have been added to Hong Kong's subway stations and carriages, and Mandarin training for front-line employees has been strengthened. At the same time, "Tourist Information Service Counters" are also set up in subway stations, and one or two "Tourism Ambassadors" are arranged at each location to provide information to passengers. Hong Kong Metro Marketing and Development Manager Yang Meizhen said that the Hong Kong Metro Corporation has hired 20 "tourism ambassadors" who have been trained in Mandarin. From September 27 to October 16, one or two "Mandarin Ambassadors" will be deployed in 8 MTR stations including Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan, Mong Kok and Kowloon Tong stations to provide tourists with Shopping, food information, etc.

In addition to the original Cantonese and English broadcasts in subway stations and carriages, Mandarin broadcasts are also added to the basic recorded message broadcasts.

◎Extended reading

Celebrities learn Mandarin the most diligently

Due to geographical and historical reasons, most Hong Kong celebrities are not good at Mandarin and grew up abroad. Celebrities, Mandarin is even worse. As their exchanges with the mainland entertainment industry continue to deepen, they are all working hard to learn Mandarin. Comparatively speaking, entertainment stars are the group in Hong Kong who study Mandarin the most diligently and speak Mandarin best.

Sammi Cheng: "Xiaomi" sounds like "Sammi"

Sammi Cheng learned Mandarin relatively late, and she hired a teacher in Hong Kong who was fluent in Beijing movies. When she met someone who didn't understand, she would answer with a smile.

But sometimes interesting things happen. Several times when Sammi Cheng heard people calling her English name Sammi, she ran over and said yes, but people were confused. Only later did she realize that they meant "Xia Mi" and not her.

Aaron Kwok: Sharpening the sword before battle is not fun

Aaron Kwok has performed in mainland China and Taiwan with a Cantonese accent in Mandarin. However, unlike Sammi Cheng, Aaron Kwok can speak well as soon as he gets off the plane. Try to speak Mandarin. The first thing I did when I arrived at the hotel was to turn on the TV and read the newspaper article loudly. Practice it first to avoid making a fool of myself in front of the media.

Jacky Cheung: His Mandarin has improved a lot

In the past few years, Jacky Cheung also made a lot of jokes. The funniest one was when he said to Yu Chengqing: "Look, these 'gazi' It's so cute, and it's flying around." Yu Chengqing listened for a long time and didn't understand what Jacky Cheung was talking about. Later, when he looked in the direction he pointed, he realized that Jacky Cheung was talking about "pigeons." In the past two years, due to corrections from friends, Jacky Cheung's Mandarin has improved greatly, and he can now speak the correct pronunciation for Xu Zhian.

Mok Wenwei: Carry a Chinese dictionary with you

Mok Wenwei is an artist with great language talent. She is proficient in Italian and English. She carries a Chinese dictionary with her wherever she goes, and learns Wherever I go, I can speak Mandarin and make rapid progress. In addition, every morning, Mok Wenwei reads at least seven to ten newspapers, whether it is the current affairs section or the daily life section. She rarely reads the entertainment section because there is too much gossip. She said that reading this garbage is a waste of time. . Now Karen Mok can speak fluent Mandarin and knows a lot of Chinese characters.

Sun Xing: The child speaks Mandarin like French

Sun Xing is also from Hong Kong, but because he has been filming in Taiwan and the Mainland, he speaks Mandarin well and everyone can't recognize him at all He has a Cantonese accent. When he has time, Sun Xing returns to Hong Kong and tries his best to speak Mandarin with his children. It's just that his child can't speak Mandarin well and it sounds like French.

Wang Leehom: The lyrics in Chinese are more affectionate

When Wang Leehom first came to Taiwan from the United States, his Mandarin skills were very poor. He could not understand most of what others said, and no one spoke what he said. I can understand that nine and a half of the ten sentences are in English. He also started learning Mandarin by reading newspapers. At first, he was jumping out word by word like a primary school student who just went to school. People around him would read with him. Wang Leehom, who was already extremely talented in language, became able to speak Mandarin very well in just a few months. Now, when he writes songs, he often chooses to write lyrics in Chinese. Wang Leehom said: "Chinese has many ways of expression, and many words can highlight artistic conceptions that English cannot. Therefore, I think it is better to use Chinese for the lyrics of some soulful songs."

Xu Shaoyang: Practice listening to Chinese songs Mandarin

Xu Shaoyang, who also speaks ABC, the way he practices Mandarin is to listen to Chinese songs. When listening to songs, he must specifically select those with clear pronunciation. Songs by Fei Yuqing, Jacky Cheung and others must be his. First choice. Over time, Mandarin has really improved rapidly. He said this is his "exclusive secret recipe" for learning Mandarin and it works very well. ■Sina