Chinglish Language Effect

Many people want to eliminate Chinglish because they think it’s a misinterpretation of language and can lead to the diminishment of Chinese culture. Yes, the combination or blend of two languages impacts a culture but it doesn’t massacre it. The impact is caused by the citizens itself. In an international hub like Hong Kong, with a multilingual environment where people converse in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and many more languages, isn’t it inevitable that languages merge to some extent? Especially people with a multilingual background, will be more prone to code-switching or using loanwords of one language to express their voices. It’s inexorable that people may forget certain words but remember it in a different language and use the languages interchangeably, particularly with friends or family who speak similar languages. The impact on the identity of the people with “Chinglish” knowledge is not that they will “forget how to English”, instead it will enhance their experiences communicating with a diversity of people. The culture has not died down from Chinglish but it has grown, evolved and adapted to an international society. Never in the history of humankind, have humans been this mobile and able to migrate with this much ease, enriching the world as cultures expand, diffuse and mingle into a vivid blur of acceptance.

I targeted the two learning outcomes by discussing the impacts of “Chinglish” in Hong Kong and how it has shaped the culture and identity of the people. The purpose of my written task was to inform young adults, especially in the U.S. where the amount of Chinese-speakers is rising, about the merge and effect of two languages in order to give them an insight, understanding and new perspective on the concept of language. I chose an opinion column because I wanted present my own voice about this topic in a clear and coherent way, that would stimulate interest in readers. I imagined myself to be a column writer for “Times Magazine” because they feature international content and I thought that the topic of Chinglish would appeal to their readers as China has an increasing significance in the world. I demonstrated the understanding of the text type by looking at “Times” magazines and formatting it similarly, with three columns, bold title, sub-heading, left-centered image and a square to signify the end of an article. I used linguistic terminology like “colloquialism” and “phonology” since “Times” readers have a broad lexicon in addition to metaphors, alliteration and rhetorical questions to appeal to the audience. I also used pathos by using