Hong Kong Cantonese TV talk shows: When code-switching manifests as impoliteness

Cher Leng Lee and Daoning Zhu

Abstract

This study examines how impoliteness is carried out through code-switching in the Hong Kong Cantonese television talk show Sze U Tonight. Hong Kong is a modern and globalised Chinese society with a colonial background and is currently part of China. This unique combination makes the norms that govern code-switching and impoliteness in talk shows worth exploring. It is interesting to examine how the Hong Kong people express themselves through their language choices, especially when this is put in the media for public viewing, situated in the context of semi-institutional conversations on a Hong Kong television talk show. Using Spencer-Oatey’s (2002, 2008) rapport management framework, this paper discusses the forms and functions of code-switching that manifest as impoliteness in the media of a multilingual Chinese society.

Keywords:
Publication history
Table of contents

Although Chinese impoliteness has become a popular research topic (Kádár and Pan 2012), research in this area still lacks discussion in different Chinese contexts. Code-switching (CS) is a common linguistic phenomenon in multilingual Hong Kong (HK). CS in TV media, including TV talk shows, is of great research value. The CS data from a HK Cantonese TV talk show used in this study will enhance our understanding of impoliteness in different Chinese speech communities, shedding light on this cross-cultural and cross-linguistic phenomenon.

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