Yes, incorportaing English words into Cantonese speech is a middle class
marker in Hong Kong, but this form of speaking can be seen as "showing
off", or "baahn-yeh", meaning "acting" among working class people
(here, I find Bourdieu's "impostor" notion rather useful).
The children are 12-14, they are from working
class families and communities who speak Cantonese only. I find that
they do not see using English as "prestigious"... they avoid it the best
they can because of peer norms against the use of it... Paul Willis'
description of working class children's identity and doing resistance seems
to be relevant here... but I've been trying to work out something more subtle...
Thanks very much for sharing with me your thoughts! It has been helpful
talking my stuff out and getting your responses!
Angel
On Wed, 6 Dec 1995, Phillip Allen White wrote:
>
> Angel, I am wondering if the children's playing with the two
> languages isn't a form of language internalization - as well as a way
> to create an 'English speaker identity'. I wondered what age these
> children are, also. And, how their bantering reflects their own
> group-specific social hierarchies... and how that relates to
> hierarchies related to academic success.
>
> I have wondered if some of the speech patterns aren't precursors
> to code-switching (something I have noted in the Hispanic community in
> which I live, as well as the Latvian emigre community I sometimes find
> myself involved with).
>
> Also, even though English is privileged over Cantonese, I am
> assuming that these children you speak of are actually in position of
> privilege compared to other Cantonese speakers. Having watched the
> Taiwanese film "Eat man, drink woman" (I hope that title is correct.) I
> was interested in the use of English words the way I have noted English
> speakers to incorporate French vocabulary, as a way of establishing
> social prestige.
>
> When I was in Latvia two years ago, friends there complained
> about the sudden growth of English words. For my first week there, I saw
> very little evidence of English, because I was looking about for English
> words, in English. The next week I noted that within Latvian texts there
> was a lot of English embedded - in order to give the text social
> prestige and a certain 'au courant' elegance.
>
> Anyway, just a thought.
>
> Phillip White
> Cotton Creek Elementary
> Westminster, CO
>
>