EXPLAINER: IS CHINGLISH AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO IDENTIFY "REAL" HONGKONGERS?

Reported by Clara Ip

Edited by Brison

Nei gi ng gi ngo up gun mud? Yu guo kui taai ng ming, jou gi kui hai yun ding gwai la! (Do you understand what I mean? If a person doesn’t understand the meaning, then you’ll know she is a spy!) No, these are not typos.

Apart from using Chinglish, there were also some memos written in Chinese to imitate the pronunciation of the phrase “No China Extradition” in English. (Photo: Clara Ip)

To identify for “Real Hongkongers” in the protest, Hong Kong netizens have developed a creative way by typing their messages in Chinglish. The method is questioned for its effectiveness.

What is Chinglish?

Chinglish, which is also known as the Chinese Pidgin English, is a combination of the phonics of written English and phonology of spoken Cantonese. It was first between the British and Cantonese-speaking counterparts in business in the 18th century.

Numerous of memo stickers were posted on the Lennon Wall, yet many were torn down by pro-government supporters. (Photo: Clara Ip)

How can Chinglish be used in this protest?

After the protesters found some police were under-covered as protesters on August 11, netizens started to use Chinglish to communicate on social media. It aims eliminate spies arranged by the Hong Kong government and police within the protestors. Many netizens responded positively as Chinglish is used for communication in the protest.

“At first, I thought people who use Chinglish are lame, but then I did that after it had been used in the protest. I realized how precious Chinglish is since it could represent our culture” said Eman Chan, one of the political activists.

Memo written in Chinglish, with the phrase August 31, be there be square, were posted across the Lennon Wall. (Photo: Clara Ip)

Since protesters were arrested in a peaceful rally on August 18 it can be considered that using Chinglish to communicate is a good tactic. Because it confused spies and online trolls as well as helped distinguish those who pretended to be protesters.

The increasing use of instant messaging applications promoted the popularity among the young have lead Chinglish raised its popularity among youngsters in 2010, especially for those who are not familiar with traditional Chinese input methodslike Cangjie and Sucheng.

The phrase “Be Water” has become a big hit among the protesters as they are trying to imitate Bruce Lee and use the guerrilla tactic for the protest. (Photo: Clara Ip)

The idea of using Chinglish to identify spies on the Internet appeared on account of the belief that most people who support the government cannot understand Chinglish. Considering that Cantonese is seldom used by the Mainlanders and Chinglish is often used by young people, protester believed that it could be an effective way to tell Hongkongers from “real” and “fake”.

Is Chinglish an effective way to identify spies?

It might not be an effective way to communicate.

“[Writing messages in Chinglish] is not practical to identify who are ‘Real Hongkongers’”, said Raymond, a local secondary school student, “Many Hong Kong people, including me, don’t know how to read Chinglish. Does it mean thatI am not a Hongkonger just because I can’t understand their messages?”

The iconic slogan of the protest (Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our time) was printed on these mini lanterns which were hanged across the tunnel in Tai Po Market Station. (Photo: Clara Ip)

Due to lots of Hong Kong people who have difficulties in understanding Chinglish, in order to avoid misunderstanding of the messages, protesters have no choice but to abandon this strategy. It is hard to say Chinglish is a Morse Code among Hong Kong people because some Mainlanders, especially those who are studying in Hong Kong, do recognise and understand Chinglish.

Paintings from foreign countries were left on the Lennon Wall to show support to the promoters. (Photo: Clara Ip)

Ivan Fan, a Mainlander who has been studying in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for two years, said that he learned Cantonese by talking with his friends in Hong Kong as well as attending elementary Cantonese classes offered by the university.

“I can read and understand Chinglish because it results from Cantonese to some extent”, said Ivan, “The Cantonese classes in my university taught me the phonological system of Cantonese, which enables me to understand these Chinglish messages and that’s one of the reasons why I understand these Chinglish messages.”

So, what’s more other than using Chinglish?

In addition to the use of Chinglish, protestors have come up with various slogans as well as massive propaganda on several social media platforms. Slogans and slangs are spread across the internet and can been seen on the Lennon everywhere in Hong Kong, which have effectively boost protestors’ morale.

Protesters have put forward five major demands as well as their disappointment and anger towards the Hong Kong Government and Police Force. From simple memo stickers to paintings, passersby can rage of the protesters.

The Lennon Wall in Tai Po is the most famous one amongst all, and was renamed as “Tai Po Lennon Tunnel” due to the majestic view of memo stickers. (Photo: Clara Ip)

“Many things were needed to sustain a movement to run, and apparently Chinglish is considered as one for this movement,” said Professor Yuen Wai Hei Samson, Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science in Lingnan University, “In my view, it merely carries a symbolic meaning rather than an effective way to make a distinction people from Hong Kong and Mainland China.”

With protesters and supporters from foreign countries reposting slogans on social media, these slangs and slogans have gradually inculcated into most, if not all, Hongkongers. And shouting out the following sentence of the slogan has seemed to become a reflex of the protesters and supporters.

“Ng Dai Sou Kau!” “Kyut Yat Bat Hor!” (5 Demands, Not One Less!)