English in Hong Kong Cantopop: language choice, code‐switching and genre

Abstract

Code-switching research has focused on spontaneous conversation, and code-switching has often been seen as a consequence of bilinguals attending to and extending the "macro" status and functions of the two languages in society, attitudes towards these languages, and their cultural connotations, for instance, the "we-code" vs. "they-code" distinction. In the Hong Kong context, code-switching to English has been primarily considered as quoting "Western" concepts and ideas, conveying referential and connotative meanings absent in Cantonese. Investigating a corpus of planned discourse, namely, Cantonese popular songs (i.e. Cantopop) in Hong Kong, this paper finds that the status and functions of English in Cantopop are more variable and flexible, beyond a mere symbol of "Western" culture or identity. Nonetheless, these functions can be attributed to the properties of the pop song genre, namely, Cantopop as poetic text, media text, and a product of pop culture; in particular, code-switching fits into the rhyming scheme, marks text structure, indexes prior texts, and conveys alternative identities.

The Idea of English in Japan: Ideology and the Evolution of a Global Language

“…The second function of code ambiguation is that it connects Japanese lyrics to the roots of the J-Pop movement, which lies within Western pop and rock music. (p. 25) Chan (2009) identifies several functions served by English in Cantonese pop songs. For example, code-switching between English and Chinese fits into the rhyming scheme, marks text structure, indexes prior texts, and conveys alternative identities.…”

Hong Kong English: The Growing Pains of A New Variety

“…First, it is likely that most of this output was produced in Inner Circle contexts, particularly the United States, rather than in the SAR. Although there is a modest tradition of locally produced English songs, Hong Kong's highly commercial music industry is dominated by "Cantopop" (i.e., Cantonese pop) (Chan, 2009). It is therefore likely that the substantial percentage of respondents who apparently listened to English music "fairly" (37.9%) or "very" often (42.5%) were mainly exposed to overseas artists.…”

English in The Voice of China

“…Davies & Bentahila () survey the code‐switching phenomenon in bilingual popular songs and argue that code‐switching may be used as ‘affirmations of identity, as in‐group markers, as stylistic devices, as a means of opening up the lyrics to outsiders or of producing effects such as alienation and exclusion’ (Davies & Bentahila : 247). Chan () addresses the textual and discourse functions of English and code‐switching in a corpus of Cantonese pop songs, remarking that code‐switching primarily serves as a poetic device whereby English words fit into the rhyme scheme of Cantonese words. In addition, English is reported to be able to convey intertextuality, express desires and feelings – especially when those desires or feelings are stigmatized by taboo – or show a sense of humor and playfulness (Moody & Matsumoto ; Lee ; Kachru ; Wang ).…”