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- Volume 18, Issue, 1997
English World-Wide - Volume 18, Issue 2, 1997
Volume 18, Issue 2, 1997
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Language Attitudes at the Handover: Communication and Identity in 1997 Hong Kong
Author(s): Ken Hylandpp.: 191–210 (20)More LessBritain's 150 year colonial administration of Hong Kong came to an end in June 1997 when the territory reverted to Chinese sovereignty. Because the fate of languages is closely related to the power of different groups in a society, this constitutional transition raises important issues of language and identity. At present English continues to play an important role in business and administration while Cantonese is the lingua franca of a highly cohesive and independent community. However, the extent to which the colonial language is a component of the Territory's identity, and the prospect of it retaining an influential role, remains to be seen. Reunification is likely to have a considerable impact on language attitudes and use with Putonghua, the official language of mainland China, emerging to challenge English and Cantonese as a high status language in public domains. This paper builds on previous studies by Pierson et al. (1980) and Pennington & Yue (1994) to examine the changing language attitudes brought about by the handover. A questionnaire was administered to 900 Hong Kong undergraduates to discover students' perspectives on language and cultural identity, social, affective and instrumental attitudes and general predictions for language use with a view towards the political transition.
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A Dialect Survey of the Lexicon of Australian English
Author(s): Pauline Bryantpp.: 211–241 (31)More LessThe first dialect study of regional variation in the lexicon of Australian English (AusE), which has generally been thought to be regionally uniform, has found two classes of regional words, obligatory and elective, which give rise to two regional distribution patterns. Mapping the distribution of regional names for 67 items has identified four major dialect regions, two of which have sub-regions, as well as two minor sub-regions, and several local regions identified by only one or two words. A comparison with other English-speaking countries found several characteristics of regional variation unique to Australia, but also strong similarities to other previously colonised countries. The nature of regional variation in AusE has obscured the existence of previously unnoticed regional diversity within the well-known uniformity of the language.
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The Phonetics of Fish and Chips in New Zealand: Marking National and Ethnic Identities
Author(s): Allan Bellpp.: 243–270 (28)More LessCentralization of the short /I/ vowel (as in KIT) is regarded by both linguists and lay observers as a defining feature of New Zealand English and even of national identity, especially when contrasted with the close front Australian realization. Variation in the KIT vowel is studied in the conversation of a sociolinguistic sample of 60 speakers of NZE, structured by gender, ethnicity (Maori and Pakeha [Anglo]) and age. KIT realizations are scattered from close front through to rather low backed positions, although some phonetic environments favour fronter variants. All Pakeha and most Maori informants use centralized realizations most of the time, but some older Maori speakers use more close front variants. This group is apparently influenced by the realization of short /I/ in the Maori language, as these are also the only fluent speakers of Maori in the sample. Close front realizations of KIT thus serve as a marker of Maori ethnicity, while centralization marks general New Zealand identity. Centralized /I/ appears to have been established in NZE by the early 20th century
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Cape English and its Future [1890-91]
Author(s): J.P. Leggpp.: 271–274 (4)More LessThe short article here reprinted from the Cape Illustrated Magazine 1 (1890-91), 94-96, draws our attention to an early stage of language contact in South Africa. Well before the Boer War, and with Pettman's scathing remarks on the English spoken in the country still to come, the author of the article points out with some concern that the local English is likely to drift away from BrE, an attitude which was of course common in British colonies of the time — when normativity and the belief in correct English (including RP pronunciation) were at a peak in Britain.
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English in Hong Kong: Functions and status
Author(s): K.K. Luke and Jack C. Richards
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