ABSTRACT
During Hong Kong’s transition away from British colonial rule to full Chinese sovereignty in 1997, a number of salient sociopolitical concerns remain unresolved. One such persistent issue is language and communication. 1 Hong Kong operates, at least superficially, as a multilingual society where English and Cantonese, currently functioning in separate domains, coexist with one another. However, with the imminent takeover of the territory by mainland China, it would appear that Putonghua (Mandarin), China’s official language, will emerge as a potentially strong rival to both Cantonese and English.
