Pronunciation of Hong Kong

The pronunciation of Hong Kong varies depending upon the language of the native speaker, be it Cantonese or Standard Mandarin. The widespread usage of these languages has created many different ways to pronounce the Chinese characters 香港, which mean Hong Kong. The lack of a standard Cantonese romanisation standard has created different ways to romanise 香港 based upon the pronunciation in Cantonese.

Related Topics:
Cantonese - Standard Mandarin - Chinese character - Hong Kong - Romanisation

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Some linguists believe that the English name of the territory, Hong Kong, is an approximate transliteration of the Chinese name based upon its Cantonese pronunciation. However, "Hong Kong" only sounds somewhat similar to the Cantonese, and some believe that the term is derived for the Hakka name for the area, which is romanised as hiong1 gong3 (IPA: {{IPA|}}). This pronunciation is closer to the standard English version, and is spoken as the first language by the natives of many villages in the New Territories.

Related Topics:
English - Hakka - New Territories

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