Language
 

I know that Cantonese is the main spoken language and English is also an official language. Although I am chinese, growing up in the US, English is my first language. I can't speak or understand Cantonese (unless is is spoken extremely slowly) but am able to make my way through a conversation in Mandarin. I also can't read chinese except for numbers and some of my favorite dishes.

When speaking to locals, should I try to speak in Mandarin? or am I better off just using English? I head read that Mandarin is not too common in HK (I don't know how it compares to English) and sometimes speaking Mandarin can be a negative.

Depends on your definition of "locals". There are plenty of Chinese and Chinese-looking people who live in or visit HK and don't speak Cantonese.

Mandarin is very common in HK nowadays, and most people should be able to understand it to soem extent even if they don't speak it too well. Anyway, visitors from mainland China tend to spend a lot of money so it is to retailers' advantage if they can communicate.

If you are speaking to someone who works in a customer-facing role in areas frequented by tourists, English should be fine. If you are worried about a negative reaction to speaking Mandarin, first of all this will not be overt, and probably your accent will give you away as being an overseas Chinese which will have different connotations. You can always start off in English and then explain (in Mandarin) that your Chinese is not so good; or you could start off by asking in Mandarin whether the person you are talking to speaks English,

I've been scolded for speaking Mandarin in Hong Kong - not often, but it has happened - but other times, in the less touristy parts of the city, it has come in handy.

I like studying languages though, so getting 1-10, excuse me and a few foods down pat in Cantonese has worked out well enough.

No it is not, it is very common only where the mainland Chinese shoppers go to shop, shops in Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Jordan, chain pharmacy like Watsons and Mannings, chain beauty shop like SaSa, jewelery shops, chain electronics store Broadway, some of the smaller pharmacy as well. (as mainlanders need to buy their baby formulas)

As a local, I can speak limited Mandarin, a lot more than I can actually understand what they said in Mandarin, not unless if they speak slow, but Mandarin speaking people generally speak really fast, so there is no way for me to understand what they said at all.

In the US, I actually speak English with the Mandarin speaking people, save the time to figure out how and what I should say in Mandarin, as using Cantonese to translate direct to Mandarin doesn't works at all, as we have a total separate spoken language, mostly full of slangs, Mandarin speaking people speaks what they write.

My DD and DS were both born in Canada and English is their "mother tongue". They are more proficient in French than Canto/Mando.

Neither had problem using English and whatever Canto slangs they picked up off youtube in HK. They got around to places to meet friends and back. They never had to go hungry or thirsty. They were not hanging around TST, MK nor Central.

You will be fine.

We are 外国人 (excuse simpl. spelling), but can speak some Mandarin. Most touristy places are fine with English, but sometimes some Chinese, even if Mandarin, has been handy....so it can be worthwhile to keep as an option.

tb

My ex-GF was Caucasian who had studied Mandarin and was fluent in it. She also studied Cantonese but was terrible at it, so I'd always tell her to try her Cantonese and if she felt flustered to fall back on English since as a lingua franca, it doesn't have any political overtones, unlike Mandarin.

As a prior poster has mentioned, it really depends on your situation both in terms of the type of place (Starbucks, electronics chain, local restaurant, a hotel, etc.) and the area in HK. I've been to some cha chaan teng in Mong Kok where the staff know enough Mandarin since that area is popular enough with Mainland tourists.

Without turning this into an OMNI post, I'd try English and fall back on Mandarin if English gets you nowhere. Learning some basic Cantonese phrases will probably put you in folks' good graces. YMMV.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll try english first then fall back on mandarin and try to learn some basic cantonese. I think English will be fine in most places. My main concern were hole in the wall restaurants/stalls and markets but pointing is pretty universal as well.

My friends from Taiwan who grew up in the US don't bother w/ Mandarin in HK. They all say they get further with English and people treat them better.

Mandarin is still considered the "communist" language in HK in some regards, even still in 2014. It just has to do with a lot that the older generation has gone through and relates to the history of HK.

Just see what works best for you, but from what my friends say they all use English first over Mandarin. Obviously Cantonese would be best though.

...and I've been admonished for speaking Mandarin in NY's Chinatown and Oporto. In fact, the guy in the latter place yelled at me to "speak in English or Portuguese, but not Chinese."

欢迎暗临, I guess.

But is that because you are Caucasian (I think)? What would happen if you try to speak Cantonese?

Did the Oporto guy speak Portuguese??

Mandarin is extremely common in business environments. More so than English nowadays. Just ride the elevators at the ICC, or IFC 1/2, and you'll see what I mean.

Many of those Mandarin-speaking people in "business" work for Chinese-funded mainland firms, which have not yet been internationalized so they are not representative of the international banks that have by far a much more significant influence in Hong Kong finance.

Otherwise, the primary language of business remains English for those working in the likes of ICC and IFC. Even the mainland banks have to switch modes to English when they deal with the outside world.

Really? I would say the boardroom and conference room is where the real business environment is and English is the defacto standard; no matter whether you are at ICC, IFC, 1 Garden Rd or 1 Jackson Sq.
Mandarin in business is limited to the casual conversation in the lifts and retailers.

Wow really? I always speak mandarin when I'm in NYC chinatown and haven't had anyone yell at me. I've had some rude service but I always assumed that was business as usual.

In areas where tourists go, you'll get Mandarin as the service language as default if it's not completely obvious that you're from Hong Kong.

You think? I work at a global firm's Hong Kong office, with clients all over the world. There are about 50 people in the office. Everybody speaks English, of course, from native to pretty proficient. I'd say there are maybe half dozen people in the office who don't speak any Mandarin at all, but the most prevalent native language spoken in our office is Mandarin.

I wouldn't dream of hiring a junior person who didn't speak Mandarin, and even for a senior hire not speaking Mandarin is always a meaningful demerit. And I should know, as I've done most of the hiring.

The times of the fat, ignorant, beer-drinking gweilo FILTH who could drop in from their colonial outposts and run the show are over. As much as I don't like the idea, Mandarin is a necessary evil in Hong Kong business these days.

I'm not sure if I have "the look". I was in Singapore last year for work and eating dinner at the airport with a group where I was the only "asian-looking" one. All the staff seemed to be speaking Cantonese to each other. One of the waiters walked directly to me and asked me a question in Mandarin. I had wondered why he assumed that I spoke Mandarin. I had been speaking English to my co-workers the entire time. I assumed because Mandarin is more prevalent over there.

English alone is perfectly sufficient in Hong Kong unless you visit some local small store ran by a single elderly owner and you cannot communicate what you need by pointing, then you may have to break out your Mandarin!

One time I was in a taxi and I thought I would make it easy for the driver and told him in Cantonese that I need to go to 港麗酒店. The guy thought for a second.. and then said in perfect English with the British Accent, "Conrad Hotel?"

address Cantonese speaker in Mandarin --> Cantonese speaker either replies in Cantonese or speaks Mandarin in a way that will be obvious to both parties that they should switch to Mandarin
address Mandarin speaker in Cantonese --> Mandarin speaker may, especially in a touristy area, wonder why the staff are not being more accommodating to tourists.

Actually, I think the majority of the older generation can speak English pretty well (at least the phrases needed to do business). English education isn't stressed as much in anticipation of and after the introduction of Mandarin in schools.

I can only speak for my own profession (corporate law), but I have consistently heard that you basically have to speak Mandarin to get a job in HK these days, unless you have a diamond-studded solid gold resume that sh*ts rainbows. Pretty much every job there involves a lot of mainland transactions, mainland clients, or both.

Yea, that's pretty much how it goes.

It is, in hk. Not to mention that those who speak putonghua(ordinary language, as opposed to mandarin, which is spoken in tw officially) either screws up the social benefit system or screws up the city economy. Hence being rightly mistreated.

Some things never change...

Can't you get someone to take that chip off your shoulder?

I'm a little late to this conversation but thoroughly enjoyed reading the wide variety of responses. I was born in HK but went stateside early so don't speak Cantonese. But I do speak Mandarin. In the 40 plus years of traveling back/forth -- either for pleasure or business, I've seen a transformation in the local environment.

Back in the late 70's/early 80's when Taiwan opened up travel to China via HK, many of the retail areas [especially the jewelry shops!] learned quickly to speak mandarin. Behind the tourists back, they'd snicker but happily count the cash rolling in. Elsewhere you had to rely on Cantonese and even English was not as wide-spread as it is now.

Post turn-over, once travel from China opened up, this dramatically changed. Now Mandarin is a must secondary language - almost on equal status to English. Some 30-40 million tourists visit last year, and 80% from China....

As an example, I have a son who has lived in HK the past 7 yrs and recently just got his "citizenship/passport". He speaks English, Mandarin and shame on him - not a word of Cantonese, except how to understand mini-bus driver directions/instructions ;)

If you're not Asian, any language skill is appreciated, whether in Cantonese or Mandarin. If you're Asian, they will always speak to you in Chinese. IMHO

It depends what field you're in. I'm in banking and there have been relatively few Mandarin speakers in the two global banks I've worked for in HK. The language of business is English unless dealing with the mainland (even with Taiwan, English is often used) and the lingua franca in the office is generally Cantonese. In my current office, we speak a mixture of French, English and Cantonese. No Mandarin at all. However, staff are offered lessons in Mandarin so it's clear that's the way things are going. I rarely hear Mandarin in a business context but there are plenty of mainland tourists in HK aggravating the locals and generally being unpopular. I'd suggest the OP sticks to English as Mandarin isn't particularly popular with many of the HKers due to what they view as the mainland "invasion". You'll get better service/help by speaking English.

Don't take it personally. How's the rugby? Nice downpour yesterday, eh?

I have the same experience whenever I visit the HK branch of my bank. Cantonese and English in the office. English with clients unless they're from China. Locals despise the mainlanders and their mood typically sours if you start conversing with them in mandarin. If you can't speak Cantonese, you're better off with English (unless you can pull off the rich mainlander look).

Though I said up-thread that I was admonished (yes, I'm Caucasian) for speaking Mandarin in other parts of the world, in Hong Kong, generally in the New Territories, I haven't always had a choice. However, the other party is usually more appreciative than any other adjective, and I at least thank him/her in Cantonese.