LANGUAGE AND THE CURRICULUM IN HONG-KONG - DILEMMAS OF TRIGLOSSIA

As with colonial transition elsewhere, the language patterns in Hong K ong have changed with the return of sovereignty to China. Biglossia (w hereby Hong Kong Cantonese and English predominate) is shifting to tri glossia, as Putonghua, the official language of the People's Republic of China, has become increasingly important This paper focuses on the impact of colonial transition and in particular the emergence of Puton ghua and on the language subjects in the primary and secondary school curricula in Hong Kong. It argues that, whilst the rationale for promo ting Putonghua is logical, tensions are evident in the school curricul a, most notably in two areas. Firstly, the curricula were already heav ily biased in favour of language subjects and, secondly, the necessary teaching expertise for Putonghua is not readily available.