Chapter 7. Hong Kong English

The status of Hong Kong English (henceforth HKE) as a ‘variety’ is still open to question, between a ‘nascent’ variety of English and a fully-fledged one. The phonology of HKE exhibits a smaller set of vowel and consonant contrasts than native varieties and other notable features include: initial [l]~[n] alternation (as in no~low), reduction of diphthongs before a [+stop] (take, joke, town), etc. Suprasegmental features of HKE include syllable-timed rhythm, distinctive stress patterns and absence of vowel reduction. Lexically, HKE includes novel expressions and grammatical structures often influenced by Cantonese.