Having resided in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, Grandpa and Grandma Wu hold on largely to their Chiu Chownese identity as well as their indigenous language. Chiu Chownese is their native and first language as they grew up and stayed in Chiu Chow until their later adulthood. Upon arriving in Hong Kong, they have learned to understand the language mostly, but is still unable to converse fluently in Cantonese. It is observed that Chiu Chownese is still largely spoken within the Wu family, especially for the youngest generation, is due to the reason of having to speak to their grandparents.
Grandpa Wu comparatively has a larger competence in Cantonese, as he understands Cantonese and is able to speak basic Cantonese including numerical values and day-to-day interactions. As Grandpa Wu works at the cashier at the family Chiu Chow restaurant, he has learnt throughout the years to communicate with the customers and pronounce basic numerical values. On the other hand, Grandma Wu does not usually help out in the shop, whereby her competence in Cantonese is lower than that of Grandpa Wu. Usual activities which Grandma Wu engages in, such as going to the market for groceries or running errands, does not command a high degree of competence in Cantonese; which results in her limited Cantonese vocabulary. Also, Grandma Wu maintains regular contact with relatives and friends back in their hometown via the phone, and the conversations are engaged in Chiu Chownese, as the family is busy with the restaurant business and does not have a lot of time to visit their home town.
Therefore, for Grandpa and Grandma Wu, Chiu Chownese remains their native and dominant language used despite immigrated here to Hong Kong, as their daily activities does not require or demand Cantonese fluency, therefore they do not see the need to learn or adopt the local language.
