Hong Kong Ethnicity and Influence of Cantonese As a First Language on English Language Acquisition A Literature Review

Abstract

This paper was originally written for Sylvia Cho, LING 190 course The Science of Speech. The assignment asked students to write a literature review on a topic of choice regarding diverse backgrounds that influence speech. The paper uses APA citation style.

This literature review complies the history and evolution of research on the influence of Cantonese as a first language on the language acquisition of English. Through examining previous studies, phonological processes causing transfer difficulties are contextualized to highlight the major differences between the two languages. The emergence and distinctions of Hong Kong English is summarized to embrace Cantonese speakers’ proliferation of their own form of English, contrasting the conception of their transfer difficulties as errors. Directions for future research are discussed.