Abstract:

Educational terms play an important bridging role in the deepening exchanges in the field of education between Hong Kong and the Mainland. In order to systematically explore the commonalities and differences in commonly used educational terms between Hong Kong and the Mainland, we utilizes the Cantonese-Putonghua-English Glossary of 5000 Educational Terms Commonly Used in Hong Kong as the research material, employing a combined quantitative and qualitative analysis approach. Our findings indicate that, in terms of word forms, the commonality of commonly used educational terms is greater than the differences. However, in terms of the specific meanings of the terms, there is still a significant degree of difference, with complex factors such as differences in educational systems, variations in term translations, disparities in naming rationales, and linguistic code differences being involved. We suggest that we can make full use of the experience of term comparison between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, and take into account the characteristics of Hong Kong’s high degree of internationalization, to promote the research and standardization of educational terminology in Hong Kong and the Mainland, so as to build a bridge of terminology for further exchanges of educational undertakings in both places.

Key words: educational terms, Hong Kong terms, standardization of terms, analysis on commonalities and differences of terms