ABSTRACT
The debate on the medium of instruction in Hong Kong schools has a long history. The most heated part of the debate has concerned the balance between English and Chinese; 1 but part of the debate has focused on the nature of Chinese, which has many spoken forms of which some are mutually unintelligible. Among those who argue that Chinese deserves a stronger place in the curriculum, there is still disagreement about which Chinese. One side in this argument supports Cantonese, which is the most widely spoken form of Chinese in Hong Kong. The other side favors Putonghua, the official language of the People’s Republic of China. Advocates of Putonghua highlight potential political, economic, and educational benefits from increased emphasis on the language, and note that Putonghua will become increasingly important during the period up to 1997 and after the reunification of Hong Kong with China.
