| Official Languages Ordinance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Legislative Council of Hong Kong | |
| |
| Citation | Cap. 5 |
| Enacted by | Legislative Council of Hong Kong |
| Commenced | 15 February 1974 |
| Legislative history | |
| Introduced by | Secretary for Home Affairs Denis Campbell Bray |
| Introduced | 11 January 1974 |
| First reading | 30 January 1974 |
| Second reading | 13 February 1974 |
| Third reading | 13 February 1974 |
| Amended by | |
| 1975, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2011, 2017[1] | |
| Status: Current legislation | |
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]
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]
The full text of Official Languages Ordinance 1974 at Wikisource
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