[Thread]: How is Cantonese a language of protest?
I had a ton of fun sharing some of my thoughts on this panel tonight (very aptly, in Cantonese—my first time doing public speaking in Canto). For those who couldn't make it, here's a digest. 1/
I had a ton of fun sharing some of my thoughts on this panel tonight (very aptly, in Cantonese—my first time doing public speaking in Canto). For those who couldn't make it, here's a digest. 1/
When I studied & worked in the US from 2013-2017, I missed Hong Kong a lot. One of the best ways to stay connected with home from half a world away was through speaking Cantonese. Even better was *swearing* in Cantonese. It gave me more bang for my buck, so to speak. 2/
Moving home to Hong Kong in early 2018, I found that my affinity for Cantonese slang & swearing continued. My parents were a little shocked but much to their credit very open-minded, and went along with my newfound interest in Cantonese in all its shades. 3/
So when the current wave of anti-extradition kicked off on 9 June, I naturally paid close attention to protesters' use of Cantonese. Soon, I wrote about Cantonese as protesters' language of identity & resistance. 4/
Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that Cantonese is closely connected with the protests' spirit of reclaiming & restoring (光復). For example: 5/ 
Just as protesters want to reclaim HK, protest Cantonese is itself an act of reclaiming & restoring. By reappropriating insults thrown at them—like 記你老母 (journalist your mum) & 自由閪 (freedom cunt)—protesters reaffirm their identity & make haters eat their own words. 6/
Many critics—the HK & Chinese governments especially—criticise protesters as "radical," 激進. But radical ≠ fundamentalist or extreme. Its Latin root, radix, means roots, ie. go back to the roots/basics. Hence the focus on 本土意識, localist roots of HK identity. 7/
Protest Cantonese is similarly radical. Wordplay & puns strip the language down to its constituent parts (its basic tones), then reformulate them into a new language of protest. Protesters take ownership of the language & the message. They even create new composite characters. 8/
So Cantonese connects closely with three key elements of the spirit of the protest movement: reclaiming, restoration, and radicalism.
Now onto the versatility of Cantonese. 9/
Now onto the versatility of Cantonese. 9/
First, Cantonese is supremely effective in expressing the intensity of emotions. This curse-studded recording went viral, for example, in large part because the man was able to vent his anger by swearing profusely. 10/
Second, Cantonese is just a lot of fun. People need and want humour (both slapstick/無厘頭 & dark), and Cantonese makes that infinitely possible. For example: 11/
Third, Cantonese allows one to both quickly escalate and de-escalate a situation—much needed in these emotionally and politically charged protests. For example, to kick things up a notch, insult someone's mum. 12/
And to de-escalate a situation, use a cutesy phrase like 嬲嬲豬 "angry angry pig." As in "don't be so angry angry pig." 13/
Fourth, the rhythm and rhyme of Cantonese adds to its dramatic effect and makes for memorable slogans. Four-character phrases work particularly well, such as: "Strong like ice. Flow like water. Gather like dew. Disperse like fog." 14/
The poetic rhythm and rhyme also gives Cantonese vulgarities a veneer of respectability. For example, 上水居民居水上 長洲賓客賓洲長, a palindrome that refers to the length of some people's male genitalia. 15/
Fifth, what I like to call the Holy Quintinity of Cantonese swear word, 屌diu(fuck) 𨳊gau(penis) 撚lun (penis) 𨳍cud (penis) 閪hai (cunt), make for seemingly endless combinations & permutations. 16/
One final point: The crossover of Cantonese with items that are intimately associated with Hong Kong identity, such as mooncakes and minibus signs, further adds to the power of protest Cantonese. 17/
Protest Cantonese x vintage minibus signs 18/
Protest Cantonese x street signs 19/
Those are my two cents on Cantonese as a language protest.
Thank you to @hongkongpen, @asiancha, @jasonyng, and @myetcetera for having me. And it was an honour to be a panellist alongside @krislc, Lian-Hee Wee, and Petula Ho Sik-ying. 20/20
Thank you to @hongkongpen, @asiancha, @jasonyng, and @myetcetera for having me. And it was an honour to be a panellist alongside @krislc, Lian-Hee Wee, and Petula Ho Sik-ying. 20/20
