Let Me Try and Understand You.

I recently had a phone conversation with a young Hong Kong woman that illustrates one of Hong Kong’s problems - many of the young people do not understand English even if they are in jobs where they should. If you are visiting here, you might run into a similar situation.

My experience involved a phone call I received from our bottled water company. Usually I just tell them how many bottles I want but in this case I had a bottle that was defective and I wanted it replaced. After 5 or 10 minutes, we were able to sort out that I wanted two bottles with one as an exchange for the defective bottle. I then tried to determine if they wanted me to empty the bottle I was returning or did they want it as is. The water company representative kept responding to my question, which I kept rephrasing in hopes I could connect, by saying, “You want two bottles, correct?”

Finally, she put me on hold and transferred me to someone else. I, of course, had to start alll over again and still ran up against some kind of intellectual blockage on the full or empty return issue. Many exchanges later the new person finally understood my question and said, “We don’t want your water, just the empty bottle.”

All of this makes for good cocktail party conversation among expats but the real issue is that my original caller’s job was to phone expats to see if they wanted water delivered. Her prounciation was good, I’m sure she could read English, she just had trouble hearing and understanding what I was saying and kept responding to a question I wasn’t asking.

There has been much talk in Hong Kong about declining English language skills. There has even been government action to import native English speakers into the school system to help teach conversational English. The effort basically failed because by the time the bureauacracy responded to the thousands of applications, most of those that were offered postions had already accepted something somewhere else. Privately teaching English is a growth industry here.

Most English teachers in the local schools recently flunked an English Language Certification test that included oral as well as written English. Most of them did poorly on the oral section. The problem has been exacerbated by the decision to cut down on English instruction in favor of the Mother Tongue, Putonghua. This is understandable, after the 1997 handover, since the majority of Mainland Chinese speak it. The problem for the schools is that both English and Putonghua are second languages for the Cantonese speaking Hong Kongers.

This would not be a problem if Hong Kong didn’t want to continue its dominant position as the Financial Center of Southeast Asia. English, whether we like it or not, is the language of International business.

So what does this mean for the casual tourist as differentiated from the business visitor? First, do not assume you are being understood, even though the person in front of you speaks understandable English. Always, in as sensitive manner as possible, clarify that the person is hearing what you are intending. As with, native English speakers, jumping to conclusions is a very popular form of exercise, here. Whenever possible, avoid compound sentences, jargon and slang. State your case in simple sentences using simple language. Realize that just because the signs are in English does not mean that you will be understood.

Always be ready to print out what you are trying to say. Reading is easier than listening. Most taxi drivers do not understand English place names, beyond the major hotels and shopping malls so I always carry a map with the destination circled or a card with my destination in Chinese characters with me. Do not be embarrassed to point at an item or dish you want. Relax and communicate with your hands if necessary. Most people want to understand but may fear losing face if they say they don’t get it.

It’s not their problem that I don’t speak their language. On the other hand, Hong Kong wants badly to be seen as an International hub and poor English language skills won’t get it there.

I’ll close with a self deprecating story.

What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Answer: tri-lingual.

What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Answer: bi-lingual.

What do you call someone who speaks only one language? Answer: an American.