English and Putonghua varieties in Hong Kong: language attitudes and identity

Abstract

With its growing global visibility and usage, Chinese has evolved into a regional and emerging global lingua franca, spoken by a significant population of L1/L2 speakers. This study expanded world Englishes/English as a lingua franca research to explore language attitudes and identity across diverse English and Chinese varieties. It compared educated stakeholders' (university students/professionals) (N = 1481) attitudes towards different L1/L2 varieties of English and Putonghua/Mandarin in Hong Kong, where both languages play an essential role under its ‘biliterate, trilingual' language policy. Findings derived from the verbal-guise technique suggest a hierarchy exists in the status of these language varieties, with L1 English at the top. A further evaluation of these varieties in the status/solidarity dimension indicates that Hongkongers' identity construction may involve proficient/L1-based English and a Putonghua variety, including Hong Kong Putonghua. Furthermore, the findings underscore the dynamic nature of language attitudes depending on contexts, pointing to a greater acceptance of L2 English and Putonghua/Mandarin varieties in less formal/more interactional L2-L2 communication. They also show a potential relationship between language attitudes and one's working experience/awareness. The paper argues that adopting a pluricentric framework to (re)conceptualise Chinese can provide valuable insights into its role in multilingual societies, identity construction, and Chinese language education.