Lam, Cindy Man-FongCindy Man-FongLamDr. CHAN Kin WingWong, Sheung PingSheung PingWong2025-07-252025-07-252024Buckeye East Asian Linguistics, 2024, vol. 9, pp. 52-69.2378-9387https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/f3ba9fa2-ea01-4c26-acea-f8884d320264/contenthttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/24088In existing research on Chinese as a second language (CSL) acquisition in Hong Kong, the Cantonese oral proficiency of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students receives far less attention than the challenge of developing their literacy skills in standard written Chinese (SWC). This study focuses on the second language (L2) Cantonese oral language abilities of NCS students with advanced speaking proficiency, describing several salient linguistic features in their Cantonese speech based on elicited oral narrative speech data. The test group comprises 16 senior secondary students of Pakistani heritage recruited from a single school in Hong Kong (mean age = 16.44 years), with an average duration in formal Cantonese learning experience of 12.50 years. Students’ oral performance was assessed through a storytelling task using the wordless illustrated storybook Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer 1969). Prominent linguistic features observed from audio recording transcriptions include the extensive blending of SWC elements across various lexical and morphological categories, English code-mixing retaining source-language morphosyntax, and a limited inventory of classifiers. Comparison with native Cantonese speaker controls reveals systematic errors (Corder 1967) involving such features, suggesting the emergence of a new interlanguage variety of spoken Cantonese among South Asian NCS students in Hong Kong. The findings of this study offer valuable insights regarding how advanced adolescent CSL learners in Hong Kong simultaneously acquire multiple Chinese varieties in their formal education. This research carries significant implications for pedagogy and curriculum design that aims to improve Cantonese oral proficiency among this group of learners.enHong Kong CantoneseInterlanguageNon-Chinese Speaking (NCS) StudentsOral NarrativesStandard Written Chinese (SWC)Peer Reviewed Journal Article