MK = MULTIlingual & MULTIcultural?

Mong Kok = MULTIlingual & MULTIcultural? And WHY???

Supports and Doubts

Streets in Mong Kok are overflowing with billboard containing more than Chinese words. All the brands here are in different languages which shows the multilingualism of Mong Kok.

Support 1 --- Origin of shops (Seeing in MK)

@ Here in Mong Kok, you can find boutiques, restaurants and skin-care branches, you name it, originated from different countries. A majority of these brands retain its original name and hence, are named in its own language (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, etc.) and English.

Therefore, a myraid of languages ranging from Chinese, English, French, Spanish to Italian are displayed on the billboards in MK. This is the evidence of multilingualism in MK.
The shops of different languages also bring a multicultural environment to Hong Kong. E.g. Delifrance brings french food to Hong Kong, enriching its food variety.
Michel Rene brings Spanish high fashion to Hong Kong, providing more designs of clothing to Hong Kongers.

(Peter Backhaus, 2006, p. 61)Streets in MK are overflowing with billboards and commercial signs containing English words just like the situation in Tokyo. Most shops have its name in English. To our surprise, according to our observation, the billboards containing English words are even more than billboards containing only Chinese words.

Support 2 --- Source of tourists (Hearing in MK)

@ As HK’s promotional campaign in foreign countries is effective and HK is well-known as a stable international city, people from all over the world are attracted to visit HK. Some are here for business and some are for travelling.

MK is a landmark for tourists. It is very popular among tourists. Native speakers of different languages can be found here in MK. When you listen carefully in the Ladies’ market in MK, you can hear many languages.

Tourists in MK are usually not alone. When they chat with their friends or family members, they speak in their own first languages. Moreover, Bargain is a common practice among tourists and hawkers. After the hawkers offer a lower price, tourists will discuss with their partners in their own languages whether to but it. So, the Ladies' market is noisy and filled . with various languages.

Support 3 --- Common language --- English (Hearing in MK)

@ The language that connects people of different nationalities is the lingua franca – English. It is a very crucial communication tool ensuring tourists that they can communicate with local people and avoid conflicts.

Most hawkers, salespersons as well as shop keepers know basic English which facilitates communication with overseas clients. That’s because the competition is keen among shops. In order to survive the business and earn more, they strike and maintain good communication with clients. Having good English and able to communicate with tourists is one of the key to success. Strolling on the streets in MK, it is common to hear hawkers saying English with gestures.
E.g. Sorry! HK $1000 not accept.
Cheap cheap already.
Not OK!
No! No expensive.


Other than business-related people who know English, most people in Hong Kong have learnt English for 9 years. At least they acquire a fundamental level of English.

Support 4 --- Bilingual signs (Seeing in MK)

The signs here show street name and notices. All these are bilingual -- in both English and Chinese.

The street names are history reminders. Not only are they in bilingual, some of them are filled with British style as they are named during the colonial period. The streets are named in English originally. English native speakers have inmate feelings of the names as they are in their language rather than direct translation from Chinese to English.

Here are 3 street of reminders of British colonial period.


@ Bute Street (Wikipedia. 2008.)
The street was named after John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1762 and 1763.


@Nathan Road (Wikipedia. 2008.)
The road was originally named Robinson Road and was renamed to Nathan Road in 1909, after Sir Matthew Nathan, the 13th Governor who served between 1904 and 1907.


@Argyle Street (Wikipedia. 2008.)
The street was named after a British merchant ship called Argyle.

Besides, some shops have its name in Chinese and English. So, more people (both people know Chinese and English) can understand. In MK, residents are mainly Chinese, the Chinese name is made for them. And as MK is a tourist spot where a myriad of tourists are found, the brands also make an English name to be understood by tourists.

Here you can see the billboards of "Eat Together", "Shanghai Restaurant", "SASA" and China Unicom". With English names, the brand can be recognized and remembered by foreigners. It is good for the tourists as they at least know what type of shop they are going to. If they go to Shanghai Restaurant for instance, they know that Shanghai food can be ordered there.




Here is a stall in the Ladies' Market. The instructions are in 3 languages - Chinese, English and Japanese. That's another sign of multilingualism.

HOWEVER, there are doubts.

Doubt 1 --- Names of shops in Chinglish

# As Mong Kok is an international landscape, the shops and streets are named in English as well. But is that strong evidence of multilingualism simply by showing that almost all shops in MK are named in English? Definitely NOT! Some of the signs and shop names are in Chinglish or to be more exact, Hong Kong English. Take the boutique “In Fashion”, the canteen “EAT TOGETHER” and the Karaoke entertainment facility“Green Box” as examples, all the Englsihes are intelligible to most Hong Kongers but not native speakers and foreigners.



“In Fashion” --- “In” here means stylish which is widely known to everyone in Hong Kong. But it is not so common in European and English-speaking countries. More importantly, "in" cannot be used to describe "fashion". Here is an common usage of "in" : Miniskirts are in again.


“EAT TOGETHER” --- In the western culture, “eat” here means ‘having lunch or dinner”. English native speaker may still understand that this is for eating but Hong Kongers definitely have a better understanding of the name.



“Green Box” --- Foreigners can never know what the “Green Box” for. Though the brand has an English name, the nature of service provided is not shown in the billboard.

Peter Backhaus have analyzed a perfect reason for the "English name" of brands in Hong Kong. (Peter Backhaus, 2006, p. 63)

"Use of English on these signs can be interpreted as a symbolic expression to join English language community and to associate with the values that are typically attached to it."

The English names are made for the purpose of boosting sales. The English language community is able to understand the names and remember them. Take the canteen "Eat together" as an example, if it is in Chinese only, foreigners may not know what nature of service it is providing. With the English name, they at least know that it is a canteen and they may try the food there. Hence, source of customers is wider. Other than local people, foreigners are also their customers. Their businesses would be boosted.

English is a language of prestige. Another reason for having English name is to make the brand look more international and high-class. Shop owners believe that prestige is embedded into the English name. Therefore, they create an English name even though they do no know English. That's why there are usually grammatical mistakes or usage errors in the English names. This can be proved by the former examples. In this case, I do no think that the so call English names are evidence of multilingualism. I think it is more like a joke in the eyes of foreigners.

Other than English, European languages such as Italian and French are considered as prestigious languages. "Gordano" is Hong Kong brand but the word "Gordano" is actually Italian. The reason for this is to create an exotic, prestigious and high-class image for the brand. Then, foreign fashion and culture is not brought to Hong Kong. The multiculturalism in MK is questionable.

Doubt 2 --- Partial problematic communication

# Obviously, salesperson and shop-keepers in hot tourist spots such as Mong Kok and Causeway Bay speak good and understandable English. However, it is not the case in other places as employers are less trained to speak occupational English. They would be speechless when a foreigner came. One of our interviewee (the French lady) said that "nobody understands me in the non-tourist spots." Another interviewee (the Indian man) said that "Yes, people in the shops may know English. But it sames that nobody on the street understand English." After all, only limited number of people have a good command of English. So, common people on the street may not be able to communicate well with foreigners. Therefore, Hong Kong may not be the multilingual city under this circumstances.


Conclusion

Among the other Asian cities or countries such as Japan, Korea and Thailand , Hong Kongers in general have higher English standard. In Hong Kong, you may not find someone who knows English if you randomly pick a person on the street. But among 3-4 people, you can find one. The case is even worse in other Asian countries. You can hardly communicate with local people in those places with English as English is not a common and wide-spread language. I have been to Japan and Thailand once. The communication problem is even more serious. Without friends who know Japanese and the tour guide, it is not possible that I could stay there more than 1 day.

Though some tourists complained that they cannot find English speaking people on the street, the situation is improving. With a lower and lower illiteracy rate, the number of English speaking people is growing.
(R. Lord and B. K. T'sou, 1985, p. 8) Over the past few decades, English has changed from being a purely colonial language whose use was largely restricted to government circles, the law, high level business, and a few other sectors, to becoming an indispensable language of wider communication, for a growingly large range of people, all the way down from top brass to clerks, from taipans to secretaries.

English in HK and in the whole world is getting more and more important. It is an indispensable language. The government is trying hard to promote the importance of English. There was "Better English, More Opportunities" campaign years ago, for instance. And the continuous promotions and activities work. Most people, if not all, consider English as an indispensable language. The parents are trying hard to improve their children's English. In the near future, I believe that the tourists could ask their way at any place, not only the tourist spots in HK.


It's show time ! ! !
http://www.dvolver.com/live/movies-199218

Here is a short video created by us. Before watching it, please read the followings.


Here is 'Eat together' and 'Cafe de coral' . Their signs are very similar. No wonder the American went to the wrong place. @@ Enjoy it!

Reference:
Backhaus, P. (2006). Multilingualism in Tokyo: A Look into the Linguistic Landscape. Durk, Gorter (Ed.), Linguistic Language: A New Approach to Multilingualism (pp.2*61,63). Toronto: Multilingual Matters LTD.

R. Lord and B. K. T'sou. (1985.) English in Hong Kong: Needs and Norms. The Language Issue in Hong Kong : The Language Bomb. (pp.1*8) Longman Group (Fast East) Ltd

Wikipedia. (2008).The free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bute_Street

Wikipedia. (2008).The free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Road

Wikipedia. (2008).The free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argyle_Street,_Hong_Kong