Cantonese and English are languages from different ends of the earth. They look different, sound different, and on the face of things have little in common. But in Hong Kong, they come together in our daily lives in some colourful and unexpected ways.

In a series of special features, Radio 3's June Ng and Hugh Chiverton will be finding out what lies between the two tongues. As they work, they'll be blogging some highlights and asking some questions.

They want you to help, because whether you're monolingual or multilingual, everyone here contributes to the fascinating pattern of language in Hong Kong.

Do you think there is a special kind of English in the Hong Kong? Is it really harder to learn English than Chinese? Does simultaneous translation make you go mad? Which language is better for swearing? Why do some Hong Kongers choose such extraordinary English names? What's the difference between Chinglish and Pidgin?

Follow their progress and contribute on this special page.
Dinkabilty Dinkabilty
16/10/2007 14:48
Some of the material we gathered for this series wouldn't fit any category, but it's great listening. For example, Hugh Baker is a connoisseur of the no-man's land in between...

Becoming Bilingual Becoming Bilingual
16/10/2007 12:39
How do you make your children bilingual? Is there any harm in bilingualism? Can a 'cat' be a 'dog'? Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews are linguists with a particular...

Gas, Dinosaur and Fanny Sit Gas, Dinosaur and Fanny Sit
02/10/2007 17:14
Many Hong Kongers have Western names. How do they get them and why do they keep them? Is it a colonial hangover or a celebration of creativity?...

Hong Kong English. Hong Kong English.
02/10/2007 17:02
We are used to hearing about 'American English', 'Jamaican English' or 'Singapore English'. What about us? Is there such a thing as Hong Kong English, and if so what does it look...

Machine Translation Machine Translation
02/10/2007 16:46
Could machines fix the Tower of Babel and get us all talking the same language? Doubtful. June Ng reports...

Learning Cantonese Learning Cantonese
24/09/2007 16:10
Cantonese has a repuation for being a hard language to learn. Is that fair? How does it compare to learning English? In this feature Hugh meets some students including the man...

SI SI
24/09/2007 16:02
Simultaneous translation is a clever trick. In this 'Same Same' feature, June talks to local translators who have to think in Chinese and English at the same time....

Cantonese and/or Cantonese and/or
24/09/2007 15:52
Code-switching is when a speaker moves between languages - sometimes in the same sentence. It's common in Hong Kong where many people speak two languages. But how do they decide...

#@$%! #@$%!
24/09/2007 15:48
'Swearing was invented as a compromise between running away and fighting.' ~Peter Finley Dunne, Mr. Dooley's Opinions, 1900 In this feature, June Ng walks carefully through...

Pidgin talk Pidgin talk
24/09/2007 15:12
Here's the finished feature on Pidgin English - the language spoken by traders on the South China Coast mostly in the nineteenth century. Small prize for anyone who can identify...

Bad language Bad language
21/09/2007 12:57
Ok, we all know that it¡¦s almost an accepted fact that HK people like to swear. But when I was making a feature about swearing in English and Chinese what surprised me was when...

Much Bisn Much Bisn
17/08/2007 15:45
To begin at the beginning. Professor David Clarke from the Fine Arts Department at HKU has brought to light what may be the earliest example of a Chinese person writing...

A Common Language? A Common Language?
16/08/2007 17:24
Someone quotable once said that Britain and America were two countries separated by a common language ¡V and nowadays we¡¦ve got used to the idea that despite globalisation there...

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