We have conducted case studies with eight Filipinos in Hong Kong. Coming from different parts of the Philippines, they earned their living and settled in Hong Kong as either domestic workers or bar captains. Among our interviewees, it is not difficult to find a multi-lingual. Such multilingualism is not only intragroup (between-group) but also intergroup (within-group). Some speaks even up to 5 or 6 languages! Can you believe it? Because of the colonial background and working experience, one of our interviewees even speaks Japanese and Spanish!

 

In his article, “Who Speaks What Language to Whom and When?” published in 1965, Joshua A. Fishman told us that the habitual language choice is far from being a random matter of momentary inclination. One of the first controlling factors behind such choice is GROUP MEMBERSHIP. This factor should not be only viewed in terms of objective sociological or psychological criteria (e.g. age, sex, occupation, religion, race etc.), but also in a “subjective socio-psychological sense” of REFERENCE GROUP MEMBERSHIP.

Get lost with this linguistic jargon? Consider the following example from our interviewee, Louie.

From a “purportedly objective sense”, he speaks Tagalog as a Filippino and we speak Cantonese as a Hongkonger. The linguistic boundary is drawn across the line of race.

From a “subjective socio-psychological sense”, when he is at work, as a co-worker with his Filipino colleagues, he speaks Tagalog; as a bartender, he speaks English with his customers (mainly expatriates from the mid-levels). When he bumps into a hot Hong Kong girl, he will shift his channel and use his minimal Cantonese. He starts flirting with the girl by saying “ Leng Nui靚女( Pretty!)” ; “ Nei Ho! 你好!(What’s up!). While he is at home, he speaks Tagalog and Illocano with his parents. However, when there are any in-group conversations with his brother, they talk in Bolinao, a language which only he and his brother know. (That’s the privilege of knowing a minority language!) In each instance, he identifies himself with a different group to which he belongs, wants to belong, and from which he seeks acceptance.

 

Our study does not stop at the between-group (intragroup) multilingualism of the local Filipinos. We further move on to have an in-depth analysis on the reason behind such language shift and preference. Go on reading and discover more!