by Cicely Fung
Although Hong Kong is a small city, the roads and streets are very intricate and complicated. There are more than 4,000 streets including public streets and private streets without constitutional names. The names of the streets are also multifarious. As Hong Kong was once a British colony, some street names were named after British places, the former governors and the English dignitaries. Also, some of the streets were named after places or cities in China. This combination of eastern and western cultures has become part of Hong Kong’s distinctive culture. Besides, some street names are named after some auspicious words or terms. Many of them are named after the rise of various industries and the development of local communities.
Among these numerous street names, have you ever paid attention to them when you passed through them? The first thing you have to notice about the street names is their pronunciation. However, some of the street names are complicated and difficult to pronounce, and even the Hong Kong people do not know about them. So, to test your knowledge of the pronunciation of Hong Kong street names, play the video below and make sure you know how to pronounce these difficult street names:
Why are these street names in this video considered to be hard to pronounce? As you can see, plenty of street names in Hong Kong are named after British people. For example, in the video, Bonham Road and Chatham Road are mentioned. These two streets are named after the governor and director of public works of the Hong Kong Government. Bonham Road, in Cantonese, is 般咸道 (bun1 haam4 dou6); Chatham Road, in Cantonese is 漆咸道 (chat1 haam4 dou6). These names seem to be normal as the Chinese names are directly translated from English. However, the reason why Hong Kong people may pronounce them wrongly is that they are actually wrongly translated! The truth is, the translator had forgotten the cunning silent letters in English. The “h” is one of the silent letters, therefore, they should be pronounced as Bon-am Road (般南道 bun1 naam4 dou6) and Cha-tum Road 漆潭道 (chat1 taam4 dou6). As a result, Hong Kong people may find it difficult to pronounce them in both English and Cantonese. Even you are a native English speaker, you might make a mistake too!
Photo retrieved from: https://www.theloophk.com/city-culture-guide-7-quirky-hong-kong-street-names/
Speaking of wrongly translated Hong Kong street names, Rednaxela Terrance is famous for making no sense as a street name. When you look at the word “Rednaxela”, you may wonder what word exactly it is. In fact, this is not a proper English word. The street was originally named Alexander Terrace. However, Chinese is used to read from right to left. Thus, the signwriters wrote “Alexander” to “Rednaxela”, and created this street name due to the misunderstanding of letter order. If you find it difficult to pronounce it, try to read it in Cantonese, which is 列拿士地臺 (lit6 na4 si6/si2 dei6 toi4).
Photo retrieved form: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lan_Kwai_Fong_Road_Sign.jpg
Besides using English names to name the street, Hong Kong street names are also made by Chinese and then translated to English. Lan Kwai Fong (蘭桂坊 lann4/laan1 gwai3 fong1), a famous place in Central, which is popular for clubbing, dining and drinking. In Cantonese, Lan Kwai Fong literally means ‘orchid cinnamon square’, which actually means ‘streets filled with orchids and fragrances’. The name suggests different kinds of funny stories behind it. Some say the fragrant smell refers to the flower shops, some say it refers to the prostitutes, in the timing when Lan Kwai Fong was a red-light district. Some may even say it is called 爛鬼坊 (laan6 gwai2 fong1), which 爛鬼 means bad foreigner, which is really impolite. No matter what the street names directly means, it shows how the Cantonese street names are directly translated to English and Hong Kong’s special culture in making names for streets.
All in all, Hong Kong street names show its unique culture including the combination of eastern and western cultures. Through Hong Kong street names, you could find a lot of interesting facts, mistakes and the history of Hong Kong. If you want to know more about Hong Kong, I strongly recommend you explore the amusing facts about the street names. After that, you would definitely understand why Hong Kong is famous for being an international city.
References:
The Secret Stories Behind Hong Kong’s Street Names
Language Culture and Society in Hong Kong (and beyond) 
