It is Hong Kong Sign Language!
(180316)
(180316)
When it comes to language itself, sometimes I can’t help but keep myself in a little loop. Sometimes the names matter to me. I recalled a conversation with my American hearing interpreter friend.
SHE: So you guys speak Hong Kongese and English in Hong Kong?
ME: We speak Cantonese and English.
SHE: Wait. People in Japan speaks Japanese. So, why don’t Hong Kong people speak Hong Kongese?
ME: Do you speak American instead of English?
SHE: (lightbulb!)
There are more than 6,000 spoken languages in the world. Geographic boundaries and nationalities do not explain which language we speak within a city. There are at least 200 sign languages documented in different cities and countries while the number keeps going up. It might be hard for some people to believe that sign language and spoken language being used in the same town/city/island/nation might not be typologically related to each other at all. In some countries, e.g., Vietnam and Indonesia, there are more than one sign language found within the national border. Certain sign languages, e.g., American Sign Language, are used across the border of two or more countries.
Here is a conversation I often had with hearing people--
HEARING: So these guys speak Cantonese Sign Language in Hong Kong?
ME: Their language is called Hong Kong Sign Language.
HEARING: No, they speak Cantonese Sign Language. You speak Cantonese.
ME: I speak Cantonese, English, and Hong Kong Sign Language. And they sign in Hong Kong Sign Language.
HEARING: No, their hands are speaking Cantonese.
ME: Hong Kong Sign Language has a different grammar from Cantonese. Word orders and other stuff are different. Linguistics studies have shown they are different natural languages.
HEARING: So, it is still Cantonese Sign Language.
ME: (Vomit in head.)
It bugs me every single time. I have been having these conversations with hundreds of people over more than a decade. Let’s continue to educate people about that-- It is Hong Kong Sign Language!