Facemasks have almost completely vanished from New York and London, but a noticeable number of people on the streets of Hong Kong still wear them. It’s lingering evidence of the city’s excruciating lockdown, a persistent post-Covid stress syndrome. For all that — and the shadow of Beijing — the former British colony remains loud, vivacious and cheeky, even with mouths covered. That’s partly because of the language that dominates the streets: Cantonese, that flamboyant and blunt variety of Chinese.

I don’t speak it, but as I wandered around Queens Road Central, I sometimes picked up sounds that have the ring of Mandarin and Hokkien, two types of Chinese I grew up with. But that doesn’t make me brave enough to attempt Cantonese. I was very happy to stumble upon a Sunday gathering of Filipino domestic workers, who’d taken over the ground level of the iconic HSBC headquarters, turning it into a sprawling fiesta, part-market and part-karaoke. Tagalog, now that’s a language I can understand. A small clutch of tourists wandered by speaking Spanish, which I learned in school. I often feel like a tourist in every language I understand.

QOSHE - The Plight of the Tongue-Tied Polyglot - Howard Chua-Eoan
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The Plight of the Tongue-Tied Polyglot

37 0
10.05.2024

Facemasks have almost completely vanished from New York and London, but a noticeable number of people on the streets of Hong Kong still wear them. It’s lingering evidence of the city’s excruciating lockdown, a persistent post-Covid stress syndrome. For all that — and the shadow of........

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