English as a foreign language in Hong Kong

English has been taught as a language and used as a medium at some schools and also used at work, mostly formally written, in Hong Kong, despite the handover of Hong Kong to China from the UK some 21 years back. English, in local terms, is a foreign language unless one entirely works or lives in a mono-English-speaking setting where the use of English as a first language comes completely naturally.

儘管香港在大約21年前從英國移交給中國，但英語作為一門語言一直被教授，並在一些學校作為媒介使用，並在大多數正式書面中使用。在香港，英語是一種外語，除非你是完全工作或生活在單純使用英語作為第一語言的單語環境中|

 
Mastering English as a foreign language in Hong Kong probably has two implications for most local learners and their families. It may indicate that one is at the top of corporate pinnacle at which English is an essential ritual while working with English-speaking expatriates. It may also suggest that one is educated and successful.

在香港，掌握英語為外語可能會對大多數本地學習者及其家庭產生兩種寓意。這可能表明，這人在高層次環境與英語為母語的外籍人士一起工作。這也可能表明，這人是受過教育和成功的。

 

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A stereotype around Standard Received Pronunciation (RP)

It is not uncommon for some locals to gauge English levels of fellow countrymen with an indicator measuring if one speaks with a proper English accent. A local stereotype is that one can speak with a proper accent are probably educated, ahead of the game, or probably come from a prestigious background.

一些用一些指標來衡量別人的英語水平。當地的觀念是，有亮麗的英語口音的人可能受過教育，與別不同，或者可能來自有聲望的背景。

 
Locals may have been fascinated with Standard Received Pronunciation (RP); the fascination may probably have been driven by the not-much-left British colonial influence still in Hong Kong or a 'posh' image of Standard Received Pronunciation (RP) (BBC anchors or The Royal Family are two quintessentially British things known to most locals).

本地人可能對標準接收發音（RP）著迷;這種迷戀可能是由於仍然在香港的英國殖民地影響，或者是標準接收發音（RP）的“豪華”形象（英國廣播公司的主播或皇室成員是大多數當地人所熟知的兩種典型的英國事物）。

 
Some local private language institutions or tutors have exploited the stereotype and have turned that into their advantage; while some of them even, in public, jeered at other English accents, not to mention local Hong Kong accent. When the stereotype of equating English to self-percevied success or self-esteem has been so widespread; not surprisingly, doing the Standard Received Pronunciation (RP) seems to have been a 'posh' thing to do. Many locals seem to have had huge enthusiasm and have spent much money on the 'speaking-RP-like-I-am-from-the-upper-curst' thing.

一些當地的私人語言機構或導師利用了這種觀念，並將其轉化為他們的優勢。當將英語等同於成功或自尊的如此廣泛時，毫不奇怪，有RP口音似乎是一件'時髦'的事情。許多當地人似乎都有很大的熱情，並且花費了大量的金錢在學的英語口音。

 

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It does not have to be Standard Received Pronunciation (RP)

I am not saying forging or mimic Standard Received Pronunciation (RP) is a sin or laughing stock. What Milroy (1992) said is still true; a language model, be it an accent or a grammatical structure, is a great way for foreign learners to start with and then move along; Standard Received Pronunciation (RP), being rather a role model of British English, is one of the models.

我不是說模仿標準收音發音（RP）是一種罪惡或笑柄。有一種語言學習骨架，無論是口音還是語法結構，對於外國學習者來說都是一個很好的開始。RP是英國英語的榜樣，是骨架之一。

 
What I doubt and disagree about is that some locals seem to have looked down on own Hong Kong accent or anything other than what have been perceived as acceptable by their standards. Ironically enough, some of them may feel amazed at and enthusiastically praise how foreigners speak Cantonese or Chinese, even with a foreign accent. That said, courtesy and generosity do not seem to have been extended to fellow countrymen speaking English as a foreign language.

我懷疑和不同意的是，一些本地人似乎對自己的香港口音或其他任何其他不能被他們接受。具有諷刺意味的是，他們中的一些人可能會感到驚訝和熱烈讚美外國人如何說粵語，即使帶有有外國口音。然而，這禮貌和慷慨似乎沒有擴展到當同胞在講英語的時候。

 
Hong Kong accent definitely is not posh as Standard Received Pronunciation (RP). Hong Kong accent is barely a regional accent. In language terms, the local Hong Kong accent represents the local culture shaped by different east and west cultures. If a regional accent is something a person feels guilty of, my deduction (from my wild guess and shallow experiences) is that all residents or citizens of the UK must do Standard Received Pronunciation (RP)?

香港口音絕對不是RP。香港口音僅僅是本地口音。在語言來說，本地口音代表了當地文化。如果本地口音是一個人感到內疚的東西，我的推論（從我的猜測和淺層次的經歷）是，所有英國居民或公民都必須說RP？

 

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Success =/= accent

I was expelled from Hong Kong by my beloved parents. On and off, I have been in the UK since the early 1990s but have not seen a regular person there so deseprate for a dramatic accent change; unless one is trying hard to be a political elite in London or lick the a** of the well-off in power.

我被驅逐出香港。從九十年代初開始，我一直在英國，但沒有見過一個正常的人，會急劇改變了口音;除非有人正在努力成為倫敦的政治精英，或舔**。

 
People around me in the UK have been comfortable with their regional accents. Measurable success in corporate or financial terms (yes, about self-esteem) does not seem to have equated to a proper English accent. It has been a bit of an over-the-top drama in Hong Kong where a proper accent seems to have turned in to a marketable hype deliberately used to have inflated self-esteem of some locals and have generated money for institutions or tutors in the language trade.

在我身邊的英國人對他們的地區口音都沒有甚麼特別想法。在企業或財務方面取得可衡量的成功上（是的，關於自尊），似乎並不等同於個人別英語口音。在香港，這是一種過度的戲劇，一個亮麗的口音似乎已經變成了一種有意炒作的炒作，這種炒作誇大了一些當地人的自尊心，並為語言機構或導師帶來了收益。

 

Conclusion

A language itself is a means but not an end. For a foreign English speaker, expressing what you are thinking real-time with appropriate wording and phrases is essential to mastering the language; this is far more important than a proper accent. Speak in confidence, never mind the accent, and do not think little of your local accent! It is fine to forge a standard accent as RP, but I do not see why personal success has to be pegged with how one speaks English. A marketable hype by some local institutions and tutors? To me, it always is.

語言本身是一種方法，但不是目的。對於一位英語人為非第一語言的人來說，用適當的措辭和語句實時的表達你的想法是必不可少的; 這比亮麗的重音要重要得多。自信地說英語，不用擔心口音，並且不要認為少本地口音！我不明白為什麼個人成功要與人們說英語的方式來掛鉤。一些機構和導師的市場炒作？對我來說，它永遠是。

 
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