“Cantonese became a core language of protest in the 2019 movement, a way for Hong Kongers to assert their identity as separate from that of the PRC and create a shared set of symbols, phrases, and songs that bonded Cantonese speakers together in the context of opposition to the PRC state. (2/4) 🧵
In the wake of the 2020 national security law, a sweeping law that nominally targets acts of secession and subversion but is being used liberally to squash dissent and protest, efforts to protect Hong Kong identity through the preservation of its language have extended around the world, with Cantonese-speaking groups in North America and Europe working to promote the language within the diaspora. (3/4) 🧵
The effect of the closure of the Hong Kong Language Learning Association is clear: Cantonese, and non-Mandarin languages in China writ large, have lost a strong advocate, and others who seek to promote language rights will become wary of doing so” (4/4) 🧵
@kerim that's definitely too bad! Regional dialects are so much to enrich people's lives and connect to their locale -- as I learned a lot while enjoying Britain's regional dialects too. No wonder the authorities don't want people to be "local".
Such a (potential) loss of vibes of this works out according to their plan.
Very glad that in #Taiwan the Taiwanese and Hakka dialects, aboriginal languages are going reasonably strong.
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