Linguistic Change in Hong Kong Chinese Newspapers: A Diachronic Press?Centered Study

Abstract

This study examines the linguistic evolution of Chinese-language newspapers in Hong Kong from the mid-nineteenth century to the eve of the 1997 handover. Rejecting a linear narrative of transition from Classical to vernacular Chinese, it argues that newspaper language developed through a long-term process of functional recombination, in which Classical Chinese, vernacular written Chinese, Cantonese, and English were continually reconfigured in response to changing communicative and institutional needs. Based on representative newspaper texts across periods and genres, the study identifies three major phases. In the founding period, Classical Chinese was adapted into an informational and argumentative medium for news. During the transitional period, hybrid forms such as Saam Kap Dai and mixed classical-vernacular writing emerged to mediate tensions between written authority and mass readership. From the 1970s onward, these practices became institutionalized, giving rise to Hong Kong-style Chinese as a stable written system marked by integrated Cantonese features, embedded English lexis, and strong register differentiation. Overall, the findings highlight the press as a norm-producing and mediating institution in a multilingual society, where language functions as a flexible resource for negotiating authority, accessibility, and local identity.