A lot of younger Chinese in Hong Kong are bilinguals whose formal learning all takes place in English. Their Cantonese is influenced by the superordinate language, English. These Cantonese-English bilinguals often resort to a mixed code (Cantonese-English) when interacting among themselves. The use of the elements of English is sometimes so unconscious that it seems to fit perfectly well in speech. However, they still use the Cantonese strategy to learn English.
There are many cognitive and social advantages to bilingualism (Supporting, 2002). The cognitive skills of bilingual children are enhanced over those who only speak one language. The sequence for acquiring a second language closely follows that for acquiring the first language (Supporting, 2002; Watson, 1995). Children who learn two languages simultaneously in a natural setting follow the same stages of development as monolingual children, but may progress at different rates in the two languages. One may take precedence at certain times and the second at others. Children acquiring two languages often mix the two when speaking, which is part of the normal process and may promote higher cognitive and social levels of understanding.
There are three phases of simultaneous acquisition (Watson, 1995). In the first phase, the child uses words from both languages. The child may use words from both languages at once for the same object, e.g. ôagua-waterö for the Spanish/English speaking child. A child in phase 2 begins to differentiate lexical systems but often mixes the grammar. The mixing of the two languages can occur on several levels, such as lexical, syntactic, phonological, and prosodic. Grammar from the earlier language acquired may be dominant for a while. In the third phase, the tow languages are differentiated in vocabulary and syntax. The child may associate the two languages with people and contexts, and there might be overextension of certain gra...