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Article published In:
Language Problems and Language Planning
Vol. 41:2 (2017) ► pp.159–167

Linguistic capital

Language medium of instruction policy in Hong Kong

| University of Toronto
| University of Toronto

This article discusses the effects of Hong Kong’s language policy changes in education since China reclaimed the territory in 1997. It describes Hong Kongers’ perceptions of English and their mother tongue Cantonese, and considers the effects of the Cantonese medium of instruction (CMI) policy, which was introduced to promote biliteracy and trilingualism [1] 1 among Hong Kongers. The analysis shows that even though CMI results in deeper learning in Hong Kong students, the strength and status of English as the lingua franca in the territory remains strong, and access to the linguistic capital English brings remains restricted to those with financial capital to afford it.

Keywords: English, Cantonese, lingua franca, Hong Kong, language policy
Article outline
  • The promotion of trilingualism
  • Policy politics
    • A divided system
    • Linguistic capital and the lingua franca
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 27 October 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.41.2.05har
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