No abstract

The modal system of English in its development provides an ideal perspective on language variation and change. Since the sociocultural and socio-historical situation in specific postcolonial communities promotes diversity among New Englishes, it is likely to also affect their modal systems. In this paper, we seek to identify patterns in the use of modalising expressions in Hong Kong English in relation to topic, genre and the larger socio-historical context. Our diachronic study of the frequency and function of selected modal verbs in press news reports from the DC-HKE reveals a peak in the use of back-shifted will and deontic should between 1988–1992 that seems to be closely linked to developments of the genre and socio-political changes in Hong Kong.

To find empirical evidence for Schneider’s (2007) periodisation for the emergence of Hong Kong English, Evans (2014, 2015) scrutinised various historical documents, such as newspapers, council proceedings and jury lists. Taking the increasing use of the terms Hongkonger and Hongkong people during the 1980s as evidence for the emergence of a new Hong Kong identity, he argued that the Chinese population considered themselves part of the community. This paper systematises Evans’ (2014) approach by analysing terms denoting ingroup and outgroup members in English news discourse in Hong Kong from 1903 to 1999. By tracing changes in frequency, reference and discourse topics associated with the terms, periods of identity reconstructions are uncovered and Schneider’s and Evans’ periodisations reassessed. The study thus contributes to our understanding of the social dynamics in Hong Kong’s history, which are considered key to the emergence of Hong Kong English.