Such language!

Hong Kong prides itself on being a world city, but the general standard of English in government, schools, as well as public and private organizations, threatens to erode that image. What has gone wrong and who's responsible? Are we going to allow future generations to grow up with gibberish, incomprehensible 'Chinglish'? SL Luo reports.

Learning or mastering any language or dialect is much more than an art. It requires flair and instinct, plus the will and determination to make the grade.

Linguistics experts and academics concur.

I've learned English the hard way. I can remember when I was in primary school in my home country, my English-class teacher - a burly, no-nonsense Texan - would come around each morning armed with a metal ruler and deliver a ruthless strike on the back of my palm every time I made an inexcusable grammatical error.

I would scream in excruciating pain from the punishment exacted for my incorrect usage of the words, "comprising" and "including." There were no laws or rules governing what's deemed to be "justified cruelty" to pupils, nor were there any channels or avenues for complaint at the time. I just had to endure it!

As we were under the British before we won independence, the medium of instruction then, in government, educational institutions and public and private establishments, was English. The language was of prime importance.

In Hong Kong, Cantonese remained the dominant dialect until some two decades ago, when greater emphasis was placed on English, as the city geared itself up to play a pivotal role in global affairs, business and commerce.

The general standard of English in Hong Kong today, however, is still mired in acrimonious debate, with linguistics experts and critics being almost unanimous in their concurrence that the standard has fallen back, while the authorities are on the other side of the fence, adamant that it has improved substantially overall, over the years.

Former Chief Executive, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, led the defense in 2011, saying both English and Chinese were of equal status and enjoyed "equality of use" in communications between the government and the public.

"Thus, we cannot blame what we may perceive as declining English standards in Hong Kong on a lack of a clear English policy," he argued.

Language experts state their grounds, for what they call the "sorry state of affairs" in Hong Kong, with regard to the use of English either in official or private usage.

Who is right and who is wrong? What are the root causes of the problem and why? Are those people in charge being careless, nave, irresponsible or totally incompetent? Are the critics justified in their verbal onslaught?

Some of the answers, perhaps, can be found among the web of rather ambiguous traffic signboards and notices put up across the city (and also in the region) by government concerns or private organizations.

Reading them can be amusing and entertaining, but trying to comprehend them could be a headache. Just to name a few - "Disabled Toilet," "Waiting Vehicles To Be Prosecuted Without Warning," "Please Forgive The Inconvenience," "No Stagnation and Obstruct," "Sloppy Dress, Not Received," "Obligation Lifesaving" and "Wild Seafood Restaurant."

Listening to the broadcasts while taking a train ride from Hung Hom to Lo Wu, or the other way round, is equally entertaining. "If you are carrying luggage on the MTR, please ensure it's within the permitted ......," says one regular announcement. The last word in the broadcast, read in petty roadside "Chinglish," is hardly audible - it sounds like "measurements" or "nationalists" at the same time.

Another announcement flashed on the carriages' electronic panels smacks of kindergarten language. "This train is going to Hung Hom" instead of simply saying in succinct, grammatical English: "This train, or service, terminates at Hung Hom."

We took the courtesy of alerting the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) two days before the publication of this article, and promised that any response would be welcome and incorporated into the story.

They responded with an eleventh-hour email, received by China Daily just hours before press time. The reply, signed by the MTRC's Media Relations Manager, rallied to the company's defense. "The English is aimed to be accurate, simple, clear and concise so that it is easily understood by both native and non-native users of English. Notices are designed so that their messages can be easily grasped by people walking by them. All the language and terminology used in passenger information are drafted by an in-house native Engish speaker who makes reference to English terms used in the international travel industry," it said.

China Daily asked linguistics experts and academics for their views and suggestions on how to remedy the situation and what they thought is really impeding Hong Kong people from lifting their standard of written and spoken English.