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Copyright of Journal of Sociolinguistics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT: While Asian Englishes such as Indian English, Malaysian English, Philippine English, and Singapore English have gained wide acceptance in the past two decades, relatively little notice has been taken of 'Hong Kong English'. This paper surveys the sociolinguistic background to the recognition of Hong Kong English, and considers the arguments in favour of a 'paradigm shift' in approaches to this issue. The paper begins by reviewing the history of English in Hong Kong and language planning and language policies in the late colonial period. It then goes on to discuss the ideological background to English in Hong Kong, noting the persistence of the 'monolingual myth' and the 'invisibility myth' in a number of recent sociolinguistic discourses. In the later sections of the paper, the case is made not only for a recognition of Hong Kong English in terms of distinctive linguistic features at the levels of accent and vocabulary, but also with reference to the creativity of the variety, in literary as well as less formal contexts. Ultimately, it is suggested, the notion of a distinct variety rests not only on the recognition of features of language, but also on the acceptance of a new space, or spaces, for the discourses of Hong Kong English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: The paper is divided into three sections, and traces my evolution as a 'Hong Kong writer' in English through questions of identity, language and creativity. In 'Ethnicity and culture,' I discuss how both factors constrain and heighten my creative process. Despite my Hong Kong origins, I am questionably 'local' because of my ethnicity and personal history. The city itself embraces a schizophrenic identity, neither Chinese nor Western, and lacks a 'national culture'. This offers rich material for fiction but is also confusing. 'Language as stumbling block' delves into being jammed between two national Englishes, British and American, in trying to give voice to Hong Kong's socio-political situation. The other linguistic issue, Chinese, is addressed by studying Mandarin in the US, so that my English is ultimately enriched by Chinese. Finally, 'Beyond the denial of self ' focuses on my most recently completed novel The Unwalled City. In writing it, I come to grips with many of the issues raised in the first two sections of this paper. Not denying reality as I know it is central to the process. The novel becomes my Hong Kong statement of a city and its people whose curious reality cannot be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: The ideal description of a variety of English is one that is constructed within the terms of the variety itself. This paper discusses a number of issues involved in such a description in relation to the distinctive vocabulary of Hong Kong English. Attention to semantic and pragmatic relationships internal to the variety and the sociocultural context in which it operates is urged. These are illustrated with examples related to underlying definition, taxonomies, semantic opposition and the productivity of localised words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: In this paper the authors discuss the themes of autonomy and creativity as they have been expressed in this special issue. At a linguistic level, the emergence of Hong Kong English has been clouded by a cluster of language ideologies within a localised complaint tradition. This has included discourses relating to 'monolingualism', the 'invisibility' of Hong Kong English, and 'falling standards'. Parallel discourses have also constrained creative writing in Hong Kong, but the appearance of new Hong Kong writers points the way to a fresh and energetic future for literary creativity. One example of this is the new journal Yuan Yang, largely written and edited by creative writing students at The University of Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Sociolinguistics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)