What is Canto-pop?
Canto-pop is a coined English word meaning ‘Cantonese popular music. This musical style is viewed as a hybrid of mainland Chinese
themes and lyrics combined with Western ballad-style arrangements and instrumentation .It is a combination of Cantonese lyrics and more Western melodies and music background. Rose in the 1970s, Canto-pop is featured by the adaptation of rhythm and styles of Western popsongs. In the past three decades, English language is coded-mixed with the Cantonese lyrics in a bit a achieve various goals.
In short, Canto-pop is characterized by its hybridity.
themes and lyrics combined with Western ballad-style arrangements and instrumentation .It is a combination of Cantonese lyrics and more Western melodies and music background. Rose in the 1970s, Canto-pop is featured by the adaptation of rhythm and styles of Western popsongs. In the past three decades, English language is coded-mixed with the Cantonese lyrics in a bit a achieve various goals.
In short, Canto-pop is characterized by its hybridity.
What we speak, what we sing?
English was branded a colonial language for Hong Kong people. Together with the change in linguistic demography in recent decades, it is common for Hong Kongers to “sprinkle” English words to Cantonese in daily conversation. Code-switching gradually becomes a distinctive linguistic behaviour among Hong Kong people in which the switch is either unconscious or consciously purposeful.
In simple terms, Code-switching refers to the use of more than one language in the course of a communicative episode. Such linguistic feature has been consistently employed in the lyrics of Canto-pop in the past three decades.
However, the kind of Cantonese that is usually sung in popular songs is not identical to the Cantonese spoken in conversational discourse. The lyrics in Canto-pop are much more formal than colloquial Cantonese as heard on the street. In terms of syntax and the choice of characters, written Cantonese bears strong similarities to Putonghua. Spoken Cantonese bears littleresemblance to Putonghua, on the other hand.
In simple terms, Code-switching refers to the use of more than one language in the course of a communicative episode. Such linguistic feature has been consistently employed in the lyrics of Canto-pop in the past three decades.
However, the kind of Cantonese that is usually sung in popular songs is not identical to the Cantonese spoken in conversational discourse. The lyrics in Canto-pop are much more formal than colloquial Cantonese as heard on the street. In terms of syntax and the choice of characters, written Cantonese bears strong similarities to Putonghua. Spoken Cantonese bears littleresemblance to Putonghua, on the other hand.
Let's Investigate the City Through Its Songs!
The emergence of Canto-pop is an integral part reflecting local “Hong Konger” identity. Thus, the rise and decline of Canto-pop and its lyrics mirror the social, cultural, and political developments of Hong Kong society from past to present,.