A survey released by the University of Hong Kong on August 24, 2023, found that the status of Mandarin in Hong Kong is becoming increasingly important, but it has not affected the status of Cantonese.
The Social Science Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong conducted a telephone survey from August 2014 to January 2015, interviewing over two thousand people. The results showed that at least 27 languages are currently in use in Hong Kong; 68% of respondents understand Mandarin, and nearly 35% can speak it; 99% of respondents use Cantonese; 62% can use English, but less than two percent of respondents can engage in advanced English conversation. Among young people aged 12 to 39, the proportion of respondents who can speak English slightly exceeds those who can speak Mandarin.
The survey found that over 80% of respondents believe that Cantonese is the language that best represents Hong Kong's culture. Professor Liu Jingguang from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who participated in the research, stated that the status of Mandarin in Hong Kong is becoming increasingly important, both in business and in daily life, and that Mandarin has already entered Hong Kong's education system. However, at the same time, the vitality of Cantonese has not diminished.
The research center indicated that the survey shows that Hong Kong society is gradually becoming "trilingual," but the mastery of simplified characters in society is still not proficient. Another participant in the research, Professor Kingsley Bolton from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, pointed out that simplified characters have significant utility in the business community, and therefore suggested that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government should strengthen students' reading and writing skills in simplified characters. However, he also emphasized that this does not mean replacing traditional characters, but rather enabling students to possess both simplified and traditional writing skills. The research recommends that, given the importance of simplified characters for national communication, the Special Administrative Region government should consider formulating a "bilingual literacy" framework that encompasses both traditional and simplified characters.