Raising Children in Cantonese, English, and Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) Within Non-Trilingual Families

Abstract

This chapter explores trilingual teaching in Hong Kong, a city where the ‘trilingual and biliterate' policy was officially enacted for more than two decades. A brief introduction of Hong Kong's language climate was illustrated to provide a clearer idea why trilingualism is a significant topic that should be explored. The two purposes of this study are to understand more about how non-trilingual parents raise their trilingual children and to compare the findings between families of different socioeconomic and cultural background. Case studies were conducted with four families: two bilingual local families, one bilingual family from mainland China, and one monolingual family from Nepal. The work provides viewpoints regarding the motivation, attitude, expectations, and strategies of these four families in raising trilingual children in Hong Kong.