On English Thursday, October 01, 2009

Imagine if courses in SMU were taught in Mandrin / Pu Tong Hua.

That’s how it is for Hong Kong students studying in universities. (It’s even worse for those in my generation, more on that later)

But-but-but Hong Kong was also once a colonized country like Singapore. There should not be such a drastic difference right?

Armed with only a fabulous vocabulary of vulgarities in each major language, I am sure most Singaporeans can interact with each other just fine without using English.

Not.

Comparing Durians and Ang Moh Liu Lian’s(Avorgardos)
In Singapore, “Singlish is the minimum standard to be able to communicate. It is not proper English per say, but at least there is English components in it. And since young, Singaporeans are forced to learn it; else they wouldn’t even be able to play soccer together.

In Hong Kong, English is just a second language you would never expect to even use in your daily life. Unless forced to.

And forced they were. During the colonial rule period, I recall everything everywhere had an English translation to it. Schools tried their best to force feed the language to their students. English spoken during press conferences were more than just “for the sake who don’t understand Cantonese”.

去读U (Studying in a University)
Well, not all professors speak very fluent English. I think that’s fine, accents and slangs are commonly seen everywhere. What strikes me is when they still have to converse back in Cantonese during the breaks to explain the concept back to the locals.
This could mean two things:
1) Academia is getting too complex for their own good. Inventing terminology that no one understands just to sound educated and wise.

2) English in Hong Kong has degraded into a very redundant language, starting since 1997. People don’t usually even use it, let alone study with it. This is like studying the bible in Latin, extremely difficult since the information has to always go through an language filter.

Street Language
What is usually heard on the street from the locals is either Cantonese, and in some cases PERFECT American/British English. The latter attributed by Hong Kong’s open policy to international schools, even locals can attend international schools.

This open policy, however, seems to breed a “More-Englishy-than-thou” mentality in Hong Kong.

Everyone knows English is important. Some people with a better command of English even think that they are much better off than “the rest”. English, to them, is a sign of their social status.

To the rest, English is just an option when one wants to sound profound, or hip. Cantonese is THE language that Hong Kong people speak. Not the ones that the "invaders" spoke.

Hong Kong teens, youths, and 潮人 do have their own Hong Kong-Lish as well. English words are used sometimes to add importance and status, sometimes cynically, other times sarcastically.

I just bought a book that teaches such new-fangled phrases. I might do some shots of unboxing later on my blog. (Yes it comes in a box) I might pick a few that raises good thinking points each week.

China will be prosperous!
Back to English, one might whether there is a need to learn it at all. Since doing business with mainland China is so much more important.

There have been reported outflows of university graduates from Hong Kong to China, seeking jobs. Some of them shocked that their English is not even up to standard with the Chinese.

And the mainland Chinese have already taken a huge leap. I recall a quote from "Mad About English". A English-camp teacher once spoke to his students that they are learning English not because they(the Chinese) are inferior, but that they pity for foreigners for not knowing Mandrin.

Hey, whatever works right?

And in a news report, mainland students studying journalism in Hong Kong were interviewed. Most of them had education overseas, or already possess a very strong fundamental in English. When asked what their reasons in coming to Hong Kong were, the interviewee replied that the main attraction about Hong Kong is the international exposure. English standards were not mentioned in any part of the interview.

Imagine Chinese mainland graduates filling jobs that requires good English in Hong Kong.

Ok, now pick up your jaw from the floor.

To get into a government post in Hong Kong today, you most probably need to prove that you can write reports in English through unofficial tests during the interviews. Makes you wonder why they can’t just read off the results off school transcripts or ELTS. (more on that further on)

Summing up
I believe that this is the same situation in Singapore. Especially with those that only “eat potatoes”, and those that are “cheena”.

BRANDishing your wealth. Monday, September 14, 2009

“Artistic, wise, and enjoys a good life.”

That was the market segment my marketing professor asked to create 2 print ads for Abosolut Vodka.

Putting it simply, creating an Abosolut ad for “Apple-users”.
Just create an ad for the people who always brandish their Macbook’s in campus, posting their “Iphone-taken” photos on Facebook. Simple.

My local teammates stared at me with goo-goo eyes; “Who are Apple-users” is written all over their face. No locals in CityU campus carry Macbooks in campus. No Iphone’s, no Ipods. Mindblown.

Hong Kong teens, however, do know their stuff. I saw a couple at Stanley beach, wearing Silly Thing caps, Mastermind X Japan T-shirts, sporting Y-3 sneakers. If you still have doubts, go here: http://www.style-tips.com/hunting/.

Purchasing branded street-wear feels like pasting money on to your clothes. And it is.

Not everyone can afford to cough out $4000HKD per month to spend on clothes and accessories. A large portion of “normal” teens get their fix in Mong Kok or in Tsim Sha Tsui, getting unbranded items that look just as good.

“No $ lah,” my friend told me through MSN. The locals I talked to were very open to confess when something is too expensive to them. Be it food, fashion, or even opting out to buy textbooks.

Going frugal, however, does not mean appearing in lecture halls wearing pyjamas (like a certain Singaporean university). Stepping into City U alone feels like stepping into a Hip-hop dance performance. Hong Kong people tend to be very picky in how they are dressed.

The attractiveness of street-fashion is that it is easy to pick up. You can pick up cheaper alternatives, and how you look relies greatly on your own fashion sense. Not how fashion designer Mr. X in Milan deciding how you should look. And it is also easy to “top-up” with branded T-shirts and accessories.

Some say it is the availability of the boutiques in Hong Kong. Others say it is the close proximity to South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan: the “top hip areas” of Asia. Some even might attribute it to the “rebel” factor that Hong Kong teens have in their blood.

A definite factor would be the established street-fashion publications in Hong Kong. “Milk” is the one of the top magazines for anything hip in Hong Kong. It showcases the latest street wear, the most “IN” events, electronic products, and even toys. Most HK teens grew up reading these, wanting to be dressed like the next most hip thing. Advertorials done right.

Is this truly the impact of the media? Or could it just be the coincidence of taste and brand presence?

Diudiudiu~Diudiudiu! Monday, September 07, 2009

Tell this to SMU students: “Diu” is a word for “F#$k” in Cantonese.

Tell this to Hong Kong students: “Diu diu diu” is a ice-breaker game played at orientation camps. Students will shout “Diudiudiu!” and point at each other, like transmitting a signal.

Same words. Different meaning. The funny thing is that both sides are most probably equally shocked.

First week in City University of HK. And it has been a very big change in environment for me. I start to see things that I don’t usually see in Singapore, realize things that I have not thought of in Singapore.Yeah, it’s damn weird that a Hong-Kee is going back to HK for exchange. But having grown up in Singapore for almost 19 years, I think I can almost be a full-blooded 波仔 (Bo-Zai). Yeah, that’s what they call us now. Sing-gee was too mild for their revenge.

First thing you realize when you step into Hong Kong is that there are a lot of people. There is quite a lot of land occupied by the hills, so the actual urban area is very small. Think Singapore: having a huge mountain that spans across Clementi to Bedok, Yishun to Orchard. Then push all those HDB’s and malls to the edges of the island. That’s how dense it is.

In fact, like my Singaporean friends pointed out: Mong Kok on a normal WEEKDAY feels like Orchard road during Christmas. Imagine Mong Kok on Christmas. Hohoho…the crowd gets so bad that they shut off some of the MTR exits just to divert traffic, you need to be in the “traffic jam” in the MTR station at least 5 minutes before breathing slightly better air.

On air, I took a whiff of actual healthy air during my trip to The Peak with my Singaporean friends. We then regrettably took the tram down back to Central, not sure when we would breathe with such ease again. HK is a place where metro-PSI ranges 110-140 on average. In Singapore, at least the haze is burnt wood, dust, and some carbon. In Hong Kong, it is pure pollutants, fresh from the factories in Shen Zhen.

Talking about China. This a wierd fact we found in Hong Kong. Speaking English in Hong Kong earns you better respect and service, then if you were to converse in Chinese/Mandrin/Putonghua. The staff might not get a single word you speak in English, but if you provide further explanation using Mandrin, you will still get better service than if you were to start the conversation with Mandrin. It seems that you have to “declare” that you are not a Mainlander before given better customer service. My guess is that they had many nasty experiences ever since the floodgates opened to Mainland tourists, marching down during the Golden Week.

Walking is like a prerequisite course you need to take before going to Hong Kong. Everywhere you go, a good portion of your time is spent walking. Buses are charged flat rate, and taxis are a killer. My Hong Kong blood in me gave me the strength to endure a food-trail across Central. I can’t say the same for my Singaporean friends.

Food portions in Hong Kong are HUGE: plenty of rice or plenty of “carbo’s”. Girls might get squeamish at the first thought of eating such huge portions, but after a day of walking around Hong Kong, they submit to it.