Official Languages Ordinance

The Official Languages Ordinance is an ordinance of Hong Kong enacted for the purpose of specifying the status and use of official languages of the territory. Both Chinese and English are declared official languages with equal status in the ordinance, and are to be used in communication between the government and members of the public.[2] It dictates that all ordinances would be enacted and published in both languages,[3] and allows judicial officers the choice of using either language in court proceedings.[4]

Official Languages Ordinance
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
CitationCap. 5
Enacted byLegislative Council of Hong Kong
Commenced15 February 1974
Legislative history
Bill published on11 January 1974
Introduced bySecretary for Home Affairs Denis Campbell Bray
First reading30 January 1974
Second reading13 February 1974
Third reading13 February 1974
Amended by
1975, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2011, 2017[1]
Status: Current legislation

History

While no law existed prior to 1974 to designate official languages in Hong Kong, by practice, English was the sole language used in all branches of the British colonial government. Under public pressure, the Official Languages Ordinance was enacted in 1974 to declare that both English and Chinese may be used in communication between the government and the public. Despite the usage of different dialects in spoken Chinese, the government chose not to specify a dialect as an official language, instead indicating "Chinese" as an official language, allowing any dialect to be used. Since most of the local population spoke Cantonese, it became the most frequently used dialect in official communication.[5]

References
  1. "Enactment History of Cap. 5 Official Languages Ordinance". Cap. 5 Official Languages Ordinance. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  2. "Official Languages Ordinance, Official languages and their status and use (Cap 5, Section 3)". HKSAR Department of Justice. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  3. "Official Languages Ordinance, Enactment of Ordinances in both official languages (Cap 5, Section 4)". HKSAR Department of Justice. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  4. "Official Languages Ordinance, Judicial proceedings (Cap 5, Section 5)". HKSAR Department of Justice. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  5. Peter Dickson and Alister Cumming (1996). "National Profiles of Language Education in 25 Countries" (PDF). National Foundation for Educational Research. p. 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.


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