Opinion | To stop the unrest, should Hong Kong protect Cantonese and Hongkongers’ identities first?

Cantonese is a key piece of Hongkongers’ identities. Within Hong Kong’s diverse communities, Cantonese is the prominent Chinese dialect spoken by 88 per cent of the residents and written in traditional Chinese characters. On the mainland, Mandarin is the official dialect, written in simplified Chinese characters.

Although the number of Cantonese speakers has only declined from 90 per cent in 2011, the future of the dialect is uncertain since many Hong Kong schools are now teaching the Chinese language in Mandarin, instead of Cantonese. This is understandable in the context of Hong Kong’s increasing economic connections with the mainland.

Moreover, Cantonese is losing ground. Long gone is the golden era of Cantonese pop music, television dramas and movies, which once commanded huge followings across Asia. In recent years, many home-grown talents who made it big have left Hong Kong and Cantonese behind for greener pastures up north. Even when content is produced in Hong Kong, it is usually a cross-border collaboration that has diluted its Cantonese flavour to cater to a wider audience.

As linguist Robert Bauer has observed, Cantonese is “one highly visible symbol of all the things that make Hong Kong special and unique in relation to the mainland – and there are many people who hate that and intend to do something about it”.