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This article analyses the language of anger used by the bilinguals in Hong Kong, and examines how the functions of L1 and L2 and users\u27 language proficiency may affect emotional expression. Thirty-three university students in Hong Kong participated in the research. Each was asked to write two stories about \u27an experience in which you were made angry\u27 and \u27an experience in which you made someone angry\u27, one in Chinese and the other in English. A total of 66 narrative texts were collected. The subjects also provided written comments on their feelings and language preferences in writing life stories. The narrative length, lexical and syntactic richness, and the use of metaphorical expressions in the Chinese and English texts were compared and triangulated with the subjects\u27 perceptions of bilinguality and emotionality. Both the linguistic data and the written comments suggest that to a very large extent language competence affects how emotionally expressive bilinguals can be. The ability to communicate and share one\u27s emotions is an integral part of one\u27s personal life but the language of emotions seems to be an under-developed area in second language education programmes. Measures are suggested to address this problem and help bilinguals to develop their competence in emotional expression

China resumed its sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997. Since then drastic changes in this former British colony have occurred. One of these changes is a shift in language policy, from bilingualism (Cantonese and English) to trilingualism (Cantonese, English and Putonghua). The present study is aimed at investigating tertiary students’ use of Cantonese, English and Putonghua on a daily basis, analysing the roles and functions of each language and discussing how these may impact on language policy and language education.Research instruments included 52 students’ language diaries and written analyses, 51 hours of audio-recordings of verbal exchanges, and focus group semi-structured interviews. Results show that the students’ speech repertoire mainly consists of two languages: Cantonese and English and their various mixes. Cantonese is used to ensure understanding, consolidate solidarity and maintain social cohesion. The English-Cantonese mix has become a more powerful identity marker for educated people in Hong Kong than pure Cantonese. English and its supplement with Cantonese are often used in the domain of education. The majority of students seldom use Putonghua in everyday life, but there is a strong instrumental motivation to learn it. Measures are suggested to facilitate a more successful move from bilingualism to trilingualism.