Teaching Hong Kong: Cantonese Humor as a Resource

Charles Lam; Raymond Pai

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香港研究 ›› 2024, Vol. 4 ›› Issue (1) : 83-103.

Teaching Hong Kong: Cantonese Humor as a Resource

Charles Lam, Raymond Pai

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Teaching Hong Kong: Cantonese Humor as a Resource

Charles Lam, Raymond Pai

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Abstract

This article discusses how humor contributes as a resource to the teaching of Hong Kong, both in the context of Cantonese language learners across the globe and for a wider audience who are interested in social and identity issues in “homeland” Hong Kong. We argue that humor is an effective resource in teaching Hong Kong since humorous texts in the broad sense are often nuanced and multi-layered, which are important qualities that match Hong Kong's (in)famous plurality and hybridity. Drawing on Shih Shu-mei's decentralized and pluricentric concept of Sinophone studies, this article argues that humorous texts help learners better appreciate the diversity and dynamicity in Hong Kong culture and Cantonese. In the context of heritage language learners, we show that humor and parody are excellent vehicles to allow students to connect with the target language in their own style, rather than tracing back to certain stereotypical yet imaginary roots of “homeland” that go against the psychological ownership of students' learning. In the Asian (“homeland”) context, we illustrate the importance of comedy studies through a course in a popular education setting outside of universities. Through the course on humor studies and the stress on Cantonese language, aspects related to the Hong Kong identity are introduced while covering various topics, such as popular culture, parody, and the negotiation of the Hong Kong identity. This article shows how humor engages with the audience and enables dialogues and discussions on the otherwise divisive and abstract topic of identity, even in the local “homeland” context, in which speakers assume a relatively stable and homogeneous identity. We stress that learners' active engagement can be leveraged by the incorporation of both consumption and production (also known as “prosumption”) of humorous content and learning materials that suit their own learning style and motivation, which is particularly significant for adult learners.

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Charles Lam, Raymond Pai. Teaching Hong Kong: Cantonese Humor as a Resource[J]. 香港研究. 2024, 4(1): 83-103

Charles Lam, Raymond Pai. Teaching Hong Kong: Cantonese Humor as a Resource[J]. Hong Kong Studies. 2024, 4(1): 83-103

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