Reply #938 SEAJ's post
I agree. Because of the general decline of English fluency in HK, anyone with decent fluency will not be working at a small start-up like Petay_1283 as that person knows he/she can get much higher salary working at a well-known branded company.
I found that most HK locals (uni educated or high school educated) who at least 45 yo are the only ones who can speak English fluently. Like you said, English proficiency was necessary to rise up the social ladder. They would prefer to listen to Western pop songs, watch Western movies, and read English novels/books. I have met old taxi drivers/old waiters who speak English better than many of the young HK professionals. As the years go by, I see more and more misspellings on signs and advertising that it seems so sad and amusing at the same time.
Used to be before Handover, Mandarin speakers were looked down upon and English speakers praised. I knew Taiwanese who cannot stand HK back then because of the bad attitudes they got from retail staff, etc as locals thought they were from the mainland. Now it has turned 180 deg, Mandarin is preferred, even though most locals still look down on mainlanders, they suck it up so they can make money off the mainlanders.
[ Last edited by doghead at 2-3-2011 23:58 ] | |
