Document Type
Journal Article
Department/Unit
Department of Communication Studies
Language
English
Abstract
The paper examines the historical change in linguistic practice of Hong Kong advertising through the decolonization period and attempts to make sense of it from a local-and-global point of view beyond the conventional national-functionalist perspective. It is found that the prominent patterns of language mixing in the advertising of Hong Kong are not only ‘Standard Written Chinese mixed with English’, but also ‘Standard Written Chinese mixed with both English and Cantonese’. The embedded elements of both English and Cantonese in the Chinese advertisements can take the form of a word, a phrase and/or a full clause and can serve both informational and involving functions. Finally, it is argued that multilingual mix in Hong Kong advertising is a phenomenon constantly emerging in the multicultural process of globalization and that being able to mix different languages or varieties of languages for effective communication should be an aspect of linguistic competence highly valued in the age of globalization and localization.
Keywords
Multilingual Mix, Glocalization, Hong Kong, Cultural China
Publication Date
7-25-2007
Source Publication Title
Asian Journal of Communication
Volume
17
Issue
3
Start Page
301
End Page
307
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Peer Reviewed
1
DOI
10.1080/01292980701458398
Link to Publisher's Edition
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01292980701458398
ISSN (print)
01292986
APA Citation
Wu, D., & Chan, K. (2007). Multilingual mix in Hong Kong advertising, pre- and post-1997. Asian Journal of Communication, 17 (3). https://doi.org/10.1080/01292980701458398