The history of Hong Kong English can be traced back to the use of Chinese pidgin English, or ‘Canton English’ as it was called. This was a trading pidgin, that is, a simplified form of ‘business’ English mixed with Chinese, which was used as a lingua franca in the port of Guangzhou (Canton) in the late 18 th and early 19 th century.
The prevalence of English in Hong Kong is actually surprisingly low, even though it is a former British colony. Estimates suggest that between 46-53% of people in Hong Kong are able to speak English. Mandarin is the other official language, with around half the population speaking that as well, whilst Cantonese is the most widespread language
The name Hong Kong is actually a phonetic translation of the city’s Cantonese name 香港 ( heung gong ), which literally means “Fragrant Harbour”. Over the years, Hong Kong has been given a number of nicknames. It has tried to rebrand itself as Asia’s World City.
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