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Article published In:
English World-Wide
Vol. 41:3 (2020) ► pp.295–324

Hongkongites, Hong Kongers, Hong Kong Belongers?

Tracing identity (re)constructions in news discourse in Hong Kong from 1903 to 1999

| Julius-Maximilians-Universität, Würzburg
| Julius-Maximilians-Universität, Würzburg
| Julius-Maximilians-Universität, Würzburg

To find empirical evidence for Schneider’s (2007) periodisation for the emergence of Hong Kong English, Evans (2014, 2015) scrutinised various historical documents, such as newspapers, council proceedings and jury lists. Taking the increasing use of the terms Hongkonger and Hongkong people during the 1980s as evidence for the emergence of a new Hong Kong identity, he argued that the Chinese population considered themselves part of the community. This paper systematises Evans’ (2014) approach by analysing terms denoting ingroup and outgroup members in English news discourse in Hong Kong from 1903 to 1999. By tracing changes in frequency, reference and discourse topics associated with the terms, periods of identity reconstructions are uncovered and Schneider’s and Evans’ periodisations reassessed. The study thus contributes to our understanding of the social dynamics in Hong Kong’s history, which are considered key to the emergence of Hong Kong English.

Keywords: Hong Kong English, identity construction, news discourse, Dynamic Model, diachronic, demonyms
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The emergence and status of Hong Kong English
  • 3.Newspaper discourse and identity (re)construction
  • 4.Method
  • 5.Analysis of demonyms
    • 5.1Bird’s eye perspective: Frequency
    • 5.2Focus on the ingroup: Hongkongite and Hongkonger
      • 5.2.1Reference
      • 5.2.2Discourse topics: Hongkongite and Hongkonger
    • 5.3Focus on the outgroup: Mainlander
      • 5.3.1Reference
      • 5.3.2Discourse topics: Mainlander
    • 5.4Summary of results
  • 6.Discussion
    • Before the Japanese occupation
    • Impact of the Japanese occupation
    • After the Japanese occupation
    • Impact of the Joint Declaration
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Sources
  • References
Published online: 9 November 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.00052.sch
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Cited by (1)

Cited by 1 other publications

Biewer, Carolin, Lisa Lehnen & Ninja Schulz
2020. Chapter 12. “The future elected government should fully represent the interests of Hongkong people”. In Re-Assessing Modalising Expressions [Studies in Language Companion Series, 216], ► pp. 311 ff. DOI logo

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