Hong Kong is a migrant/immigrant city. With the gathering of different people, comes the influx of languages. They are spoken and heard in everyday life; they become part of Hong Kong.

The official languages in Hong Kong are Chinese and English, which could be easily observed in MTR, street signs, and government documents.As a former British colonial with a predominant Chinese population （94% Han Chinese) , Hong Kong smartly chooses these two official languages.But that is not the end of the story.

Since the official languages do not specify on the kind of "Chinese" , there is another problem. There are a large number of Chinese dialects and Hong Kong specifically speaks Cantonese, brought by generations of Lingnan immigrants since Han Dynasty. While in the mainland, Mandarin(Putonghua,普通话）is the standard Chinese.After Hong Kong's return to China in 1997 and the continuous of increase in mainland tourists or even new citizens, the problem is imminent. Therefor,there is a very Hong Kong specific language policy, called "Biliterate and Trilingual", implies that Hong Kong promotes the speaking of English, Cantonese and Mandarin,in addition to the writing of Chinese and English, as Mandarin and Cantonese share a common rule in writing. According to Hu, Liyan, "bi-literacy and trilingualism language policies are by far more than purely linguistics issues; they are economy-related and political considerations. Hong Kong is fighting to be the commercial center of globalization, so considering its international, multilingual and multicultural role avails to keep the unique position of Hong Kong. Internationalized colonial English gains its competitive advantage on a global scale, while Putonghua continues to hold advantages in the East Asian region. Cantonese sustains its indigenous cultural identity and avoids the assimilation of globalization" (Hu,2007).Does this solve the problem entirely? No. Because mainland China writes in simplified Chinese, while Hong Kong writes in traditional Chinese.The authorities have not enforced any rules, so the choice is left to the people. Walking around Hong Kong, we can see traditional Chinese characters much more often, in local Cha Chaan Teng, advertisements,and so on. But, in government websites,tourism center and business targeting mainland tourists, an additional version of guidebooks and such in simplified Chinese is always presented.The influence of the 1997 transfer of sovereignty could be viewed in everyday life.

Besides Cantonese and Mandarin, there are other Chinese dialects still in use in Hong Kong, brought by people from other parts of China.They are not as prevalent,but also tell a history of migration to Hong Kong.In Hong Kong Museum of History,the folk culture in Hong Kong in Hong Kong Story exhibition shows the heterogeneous makeup Hong Kong population.The four major ethnic groups (Boat Dwellers, Hoklo, local and Hakka) have their own customs and dialects, adding diversity to the languages in Hong Kong. While most speakers of such dialect originally lived in New Territories, their descendants spread throughout Hong Kong and assimilate into the local culture, picking up Cantonese and speaking the native tongues only at home. Therefore, it is hard to track the exact distribution of the dialects in current days, but in every possible corner of Hong Kong. 

From what we consider as usual as "Chinese", we already experience the perplexing nature of Hong Kong languages.

What about English? The "foreign language" has already immersed into the daily Hong Kong life.The status of English as "high language" back in colonial days renders proficiency in English a symbol of prestige and even power. After 1997, English transformed from colonial language to international language while Hong Kong relies on English as its advantage to compete with other commercial centres in Asia like Taipei and Shanghai(Hu, 2007).In the era of globalization, English as the common language is still exerting its influence in post-colonial Hong Kong. Universities in Hong Kong use English as the instruction languages while there are a large number of "English Secondary Schools";Hong Kong slangs occasionally mix English with Cantonese;TVB has its own English channels; South China Morning Post could be easily grabbed from newspaper stands...English is everywhere. When I previously talk about the "people with multilingual abilities"as a level of multilingualism in Hong Kong, most of them speak English. 

But English could be nowhere. Most Hong Kong people can speak fluent English,but it never replaces the mother tongue.Politically, after 1997, the HKSAR government raises the status of Chinese while removing English as the only language of authority.It could be viewed as a process of decolonization of Hong Kong in the political transition(Hu,2007). However,it is more evident in daily life: We see schoolkids coming out of their "EMI"s chatting in Cantonese;customers order food in Cha Chaan Teng in Cantonese; young local businessmen still converse in Cantonese among themselves...Yes, it is the official and popular language, influencing the local tongues in every possible way, but it is not the most natural language from heart. Maybe it is due to the Chinese majority,maybe it is associated with the official end of British colonialism after 1997, maybe I am Chinese so I see everything in Chinese, but we cannot negate the fact that Chinese people will always have a link to their ancestors and to the heritage. English is economy, English is politics, English is even culture, but Cantonese is life.