GEETA
Moved to Hong Kong in her twenties and living in Hong Kong for more 30 years, Geeta now works as a clerk in a local company, like many of the locals do. Being fluent in Hindi, the national language of India, and Gujarati, a dialect in the Indian language, she also practiced English, cantonese, as well as mandarin in the context of Hong Kong.
When it is asked to rank the language she frequently uses in Hong Kong, Geeta immediately thinks of english, as it is the universal language and commonly spoken language in Hong Kong. In her work as a clerk in a local company, speaking English can foster better communication with her colleagues and making work tasks better done. Sometimes she uses Cantonese as well, but her Cantonese is limited. She can listen and understand but not able to speak fluently with it. Although Geeta uses English most of the time in the context of Hong Kong, she never denies the usefulness of her mother tongue. She still practices Hindi when she is at home with her family and thinks that speaking Hindi is a way to preserve their identity and nationality. Therefore, when she is back to India, she will not be viewed as an outsider.
Geeta has a son and a daughter, both of whom studies in local school. To her kids, speaking English and Cantonese make up most of their time when they are speaking with friends and locals. They understand some of the Hindi, but not acquire full knowledge in it. When ask about Geeta of her attitude towards the mother tongue language to her kids, she said, " I will pass on some knowledge of Hindi to my kids, but the first thing they should acquire is english, since it is a universal language!" From the interview, we can see how Geeta position herself and the language she is using.
Moved to Hong Kong in her twenties and living in Hong Kong for more 30 years, Geeta now works as a clerk in a local company, like many of the locals do. Being fluent in Hindi, the national language of India, and Gujarati, a dialect in the Indian language, she also practiced English, cantonese, as well as mandarin in the context of Hong Kong.
When it is asked to rank the language she frequently uses in Hong Kong, Geeta immediately thinks of english, as it is the universal language and commonly spoken language in Hong Kong. In her work as a clerk in a local company, speaking English can foster better communication with her colleagues and making work tasks better done. Sometimes she uses Cantonese as well, but her Cantonese is limited. She can listen and understand but not able to speak fluently with it. Although Geeta uses English most of the time in the context of Hong Kong, she never denies the usefulness of her mother tongue. She still practices Hindi when she is at home with her family and thinks that speaking Hindi is a way to preserve their identity and nationality. Therefore, when she is back to India, she will not be viewed as an outsider.
Geeta has a son and a daughter, both of whom studies in local school. To her kids, speaking English and Cantonese make up most of their time when they are speaking with friends and locals. They understand some of the Hindi, but not acquire full knowledge in it. When ask about Geeta of her attitude towards the mother tongue language to her kids, she said, " I will pass on some knowledge of Hindi to my kids, but the first thing they should acquire is english, since it is a universal language!" From the interview, we can see how Geeta position herself and the language she is using.