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I
THE SELF-IDENTIFICATION AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
OF MAINLAND STUDENTS IN HONG KONG
SHAN DANDAN
A Project
Submitted
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Master of Arts in Communication
Supervisor: Dr. Song Zhaoxun
School of Communication
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong
May 2014
II
Acknowledgments
The process of doing this project is like a fantastic journey that is filled with
passion, happiness, appreciation, motivation, and love. Though sometimes I felt
confused and depressed, there are always some people standing by me and granting
me the encouragement and confidence.
First and foremost, I wish to give my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.
Song Zhaoxun. From the beginning of the topic choice to the final decision of the
research subject, to the design of questionnaire and to presentation the argumentation,
he has sacrificed his precious time for giving me the most insightful comments,
suggestions and inspiration. I could not have gone so far without his great support and
encouragement.
I have benefited so much from the discussions with my friends. Special gratitude
goes to Wang Jun, Lin Pengtao, and Zhang Jialin. They inspired me a lot and always
pointed out my limitations sincerely. Besides, I would also like to give my gratitude to
those people who have spent time participating in the in-depth interviews. Moreover, I
am so grateful to some friends and classmates for their cares and encouragement,
which makes me full of power and conviction whenever I meet difficulties.
Finally, I want to thank my families who have always been on my side,
encouraging me to overcome the difficulties in life and to fulfill my academic studies.
（Signature）_________________________________
(Student’s name)
M.A. in Communication
School of Communication
Hong Kong Baptist University
Date: May, 17th
, 2014
III
Authorization
This is to authorize the School of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist
University to place my project titled “The Self-identification and Communication
Strategies of Mainland Students In Hong Kong” in the HKBU library for general
public reference and inspection.
Name in block letters: SHAN DANDAN
Student ID: 13406868
Signature: ________________
Date: ____________________
IV
MA Graduation Project
PLAGIARISM DECLARATION FORM
This form must be completed, signed, dated and included with the Project
submitted to the University for marking.
Student Name: Shan Dandan
Student Number: 13406868
Name of Project: The Self-identification and Communication Strategies of Mainland
Students In Hong Kong
Submission Date: ____May 17th
, 2014_____________________________________
Declaration:
I have read the relevant sections on Plagiarism provided in the Handbook for
Graduation Project and observed the standards of conduct. I am fully aware of the
consequences in the event of plagiarism.
I declare that, to the best of my knowledge, this project represents my own work
and all sources have been properly acknowledged, and the Project contains no
element of plagiarism.
I further declare that the Project has not been previously included in a thesis,
dissertation or report submitted to this University or to any other institution for a
degree, diploma or other qualification.
Student’s Signature: ____________________________________________________
Date: ________________________________________________________________
V
Abstract
This thesis employs Giles’ communication accommodation theory to investigate
the communication strategies that mainland students often applied when interacting
with local people in Hong Kong and how they defined their identities when studying
in the city.
The research finds out that most of the mainland students in Hong Kong would
like to identify them as mainlanders in Hong Kong. Although studying and living in
Hong Kong, they still feel closer to mainland friends. When interacting with local
people, they often place themselves in a relatively passive position. On the other hand,
participants who want to work in Hong Kong after graduation are more enthusiastic in
their verbal and non-verbal convergence with the lifestyles in Hong Kong, such as
learning and speaking Cantonese, using Traditional Chinese characters, and so on.
Code-switching strategy, passing strategy, buffering strategy, third-language as
mediation strategy, and treat-with-indifference strategy are the most common used
strategies when they communicate with local people.
The research is the most updated study of the self-identification and
communication strategies of mainland students in Hong Kong. The data collected in
this study could be a valuable document in the study of communication strategies
between mainlanders and HongKongers. The research findings are also of practical
value by providing important reference for relevant authorities or social groups to
help mainland students improve their communication strategies in Hong Kong.
Key words: Communication Accommodation Theory, mainland students in Hong
Kong, self-identity, and communication strategies
VI
摘要
本文以交际适应理论为基础，重点研究大陆在港留学生对自己的身份认定以
及常用的交流策略。并对有意留港和无意留港的学生的交流策略经行对比。
本研究结果表明：大多数大陆在港留学生对自己的身份认定为：在香港的大
陆人。虽然身在香港，他们的朋友圈依旧主要由大陆人组成，并认为大陆朋友更
亲切。在与当地人交流的过程中，在港留学生处于一个相对被动地地位。另一方
面，想要留港工作的学生在语言和生活方面表现出对香港更大程度的趋同现象，
比如更愿意学习并且使用粤语，以及更喜欢用繁体字，等等。
本研究是有关在港大陆留学生自我身份定位及沟通策略方面的最新研究。文
中所收集到的采访内容，为研究大陆与香港学生的沟通策略提供了宝贵的素材。
同时，本研究对于相关机构或社会团体帮助在港大陆留学生改善交流策略具有重
要的参考价值。
关键词： 交际适应理论，大陆在港留学生，个人身份认定，交流策略
VII
Table of Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1
Research Background ............................................................................................................. 1
Research Purpose and Procedures ....................................................................................... 2
Significance of the Research ................................................................................................. 3
Organization of the Thesis ..................................................................................................... 3
Literature Review .............................................................................................................................. 5
An Overview of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) ............................ 5
Historical Development of CAT .......................................................................................... 5
Basic Communicative Strategies ......................................................................................... 7
Convergence: Communication Accommodation ................................................... 8
Divergence: Communication Non-Accommodation ............................................ 9
Maintenance .................................................................................................................. 10
Additional Interactional Strategies ................................................................................... 10
Motivations for Accommodation Strategies .................................................................. 11
Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 14
Participants .............................................................................................................................. 14
Research Procedures ............................................................................................................ 17
Interview Guide ............................................................................................................ 17
Analytic Plan ................................................................................................................. 17
Results ................................................................................................................................................ 18
Research Question 1: Perceptions of Self-Identity ...................................................... 19
VIII
Research Question 2: Communication Strategies ........................................................ 23
Part one: participants’ usage of spoken Cantonese ............................................ 23
Part two: the willingness of communicating with local people. .................... 28
Part three: verbal communication strategies under certain situations. ......... 31
Part four: non-verbal strategies under certain situations. ................................. 38
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 43
Limitations .............................................................................................................................. 45
Appendixes ....................................................................................................................................... 47
Appendix I: interview request letter and consent forms ............................................ 47
Appendix II: Original questionnaire in Chinese .......................................................... 49
Appendix III：Questionnaire translated in English .................................................... 50
References ......................................................................................................................................... 52
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Research Background
In July 1997, after 156 years of colonial rule, the sovereignty of Hong Kong was
returned by the British government to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China was established at the moment
when the Chinese national flag rose up at the handover ceremony.
After the handover, the communication and cooperation between the Mainland
and Hong Kong has dramatically increased. Most Hong Kong people speak
Cantonese, one of the south China dialects, as their first language. People who come
from the Mainland usually speak Mandarin. Language and its varieties could reflect a
person’s demographic, geographic, educational, and religious background. Language
is not just a tool of expressing and understanding, but also a thinking model and
claims people’s identity. So the language difference between Mainlanders and Hong
Kong people would always cause some unnecessary problems. So in order to gain the
favor in the process of communication and improve efficiency of communication,
people would normally monitor, adjust, and modify their behavior during interaction.
This is so called communication accommodation behavior.
Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) is one of the theories that explain
the way in which communicators influence each other in the process of
communication. The three basic accommodation strategies of CAT are convergence,
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divergence, and maintenance. Giles et al (1987) defined that convergence is occurring
when individuals adapt to each other’s speech by means of a wide range of linguistic
features. For divergence, it occurs when interactants try to accentuate the difference
between themselves and others in communication. Finally, maintenance occurs when
interactants remain their communication patterns when interacting with other people.
Researchers in the past decades have done quite a lot work about the
accommodating problems. For example, Genesee and Bourhis (1989) studied the
dynamics in language switching in cross-culture communication. In the mainland of
China, Xing (2006) did a research about the college students’ attitude toward Sichuan
dialect and Mandarin. But there are very few systematic attempts at documenting the
group of Mainland students in Hong Kong. From the beginning of 1998 until now,
more than 100 thousand Mainland students came to study in this international city. So,
their communication with local people and their self-identity should be paid more
attention to. What perceptions of mainland students see themselves; what
communication strategies they would normally apply during interacting with local
people; what kind of image they hold for Hong Kong people? The analysis of their
identity, accommodation strategies may uncover these questions.
Research Purpose and Procedures
The study is to examine the communication strategies of Mainland students in
Hong Kong based on the frame of Communication Accommodation Theory.
Two research questions will be addressed in this thesis as follows:
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1. How do mainland students see themselves?
2. What communication strategies do mainland students use in their
communication with Hong Kong people?
Thirty Mainland students from Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong
Polytechnic University were chosen as subjects of the research.
Significance of the Research
The study takes on its significance in the following aspects. First of all, the
present research reveals the current situation of communication strategies of Mainland
students in Hong Kong. Second, distinguished from previous domestic studies, the
data collection and analysis in this study could be a valuable reference of
communication strategy study in Mandarin and Cantonese. Third, this study could
give mainland students some advice about how to communicate effectively and
successfully in Hong Kong.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis is composed by five chapters. Chapter 1 gives brief introduction
including research background and research purpose. Chapter 2 is the literature
review part including overview of Communication Accommodation Theory and its
historical development, the basic communication strategies and additional
interactional Strategies, as well as motivation of accommodation strategies; Chapter 3
mainly focuses on the methodology and procedure of the research. The collected data
4
is analyzed and interpreted in chapter 4. Chapter 5 is the final conclusion. The
limitation and suggestions for further research would also be given in this chapter.
5
Chapter 2
Literature Review
An Overview of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT)
The Communication Accommodation Theory is one of the theories that provide
the framework for understanding the adjustments people make to maintain, increase,
and decrease the social distance in the process of communication. It dose not only
account for the ways in which individual act in interaction, but also the underlying
motivations of doing such behaviors, and the consequences arising from these
adjustments. The Communication Accommodation Theory has been applied to
communication between different countries, cultures, and linguistic groups, and
face-to-face interactions, about different contexts, through different media (Gallois,
Ogay & Giles, 2005).
Historical Development of CAT
Over the past decades, a number of researches have been done for understanding
the way and the reason of individuals adjust their communication styles. In 1970’s,
Howard Giles, professor of communication at University of California, Santa Barbara
and his colleagues started to study the accommodation behavior in interaction. In
1973, the original form of CAT——the Speech Accommodation Theory (SAT), was
put forward by Giles through his “accent mobility” model (Giles, 1973).
The Speech Accommodation Theory focuses on linguistic features, such as
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pronunciation, intonation, dialect, register, and so on. Besides, it explains “the
motivations underlying certain shifts in people’s speech styles during social
encounters and some of the social consequences arising from them” (Giles &
Coupland, 1991). More specifically, it’s originate aid is to “elucidate the cognitive and
affective processes underlying speech convergence and divergence” (Thakerar et al.,
1982).
Later on, the Speech Accommodation Theory has been refined and elaborated for
several times based on the language as the central focus. Giles has invoked Tajfel and
Turner’s (1979) Social Identity Theory of intergroup relations (SIT) to analyze the
motivation behind the convergence and divergence.
After the expansion of the border and scope of SAT, the theory now does not only
concentrate on speech but also non-verbal communication behavior, as well as other
communication aspects of identity (such as hair style and dress) (Coupland & Giles,
1988). In the 1987 paper, Giles and his colleagues assessed the first decade of SAT
and presented a reformulation of its propositions of recent research, renaming the
theory Communication Accommodation Theory (Gallois, Ogay & Giles, 2005). Now,
CAT, as pointed by Coupland and Jaworski (1997) has been shift from its original
model of explaining accent and bilingual shift in process of communication expanded
into an interdisciplinary model of relational and identity processes in interaction.
In CAT, Social Identity Theory remains the major theoretical reference. Social
identity is the portion of an individual’s self-concept derived from perceived
membership in a relevant social group, which is “a collection of individuals who
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perceive themselves to be members of the same social category, share some emotional
involvement in this common definition of themselves, and achieve some degree of
social consensus about the evaluation of their group and of their membership of it”
(Taifel & Turner, 2001, p.100). Taifel (1979) proposed that the groups that people
belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give
individuals a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world. In
order to increase self-image, individuals would enhance the status of groups they
belong to. On the contrary, individuals increase their self-image by discriminating and
holding prejudice views against the out-group.
In the latest presentation in propositional form, Giles et al (1987) has indicates
the scope of CAT: “Overall, CAT is a multifunctional theory that conceptualizes
communication in both subjective and objective terms. It focuses on both intergroup
and interpersonal features and, as we shall see, can integrate dimensions of cultural
variability. Moreover, in addition to individual factors of knowledge, motivation, and
skill, CAT recognizes the importance of power and of macro contextual factors. Most
important, perhaps, CAT is a theory of intercultural communication that actually
attends to communication.”
Basic Communicative Strategies
“Interactants achieve the information and relational functions of communication
by accommodating their communicative behavior, through linguistic, paralinguistic,
discursive, and nonlinguistic moves, to their interlocutor’s perceived individual and
8
group characteristics ”(Gallois et al., 2006, p.137). CAT suggests that in conversation,
individuals may adjust their accommodation strategies toward each other. They may
use the same or similar verbal or nonverbal systems (accommodation/convergence
strategies) to match interlocutor’s behavior; they may distinguish themselves
(non-accommodation /divergence strategies) by accentuating the verbal or nonverbal
differences when they communicate with others. Also, they may stay their
communication styles (maintenance strategies) regardless of the other interlocutor’s
communication behavior. Broadly stated, CAT can be explicated in two types of
communicative strategies: convergence and divergence.
Convergence: Communication Accommodation
Convergence is considered the core of CAT. Giles, Nikolas, Coupland, and
Justine Coupland (1991) has defined convergence is a strategy where by individuals
adapt to each other’s communication behavior. More specifically, in convergence
process, people may adjust their speech rate, pause, eye gaze, and other verbal and
nonverbal behaviors. Adequate convergence could bring benefit to communicators
while the misusing or overdoing convergence will lead to contrary effect. When
convergence is applied properly, it can enhance the dialogue and increase
communication effectiveness. On the other hand, if a communicator speaks or
behaves “ridicule, tease, or patronize”, it will be evaluated negatively and offend
other people. For example, stammering the words in front of a stutterer is impolite
and would hurt other people. Thanasoulas (2008) also pointed out that overdoing
9
convergence is often evaluated “patronizing and even unctuous”.
Convergence can be objective and subjective (Thakerar, Giles, & Cheshire, 1982).
Objective convergence happens when individuals converge to the actual
communicative behavior with other people. For example, people apply the same
language, speech styles, and nonverbal with their interlocutors. In contrast, subjective
convergence is an individual try to be accepted as part of that group by interpret
other’s communicative behavior as accommodative, regardless of what really said
linguistically (Shepard, Giles, & Le Poire, 2001). For example, Mainland students
who want to be closer to Hong Kong people’s group may begin eating Hong Kong
foods, using Hong Kong communication codes.
Divergence: Communication Non-Accommodation
Giles believes people sometimes would accentuate the verbal or nonverbal
differences when they communicate with others. He termed this divergence.
Divergence refers to “the way in which speakers accentuate speech and nonverbal
differences between themselves and others” (Giles and Coupland, 1991: p.36). In the
process of divergence, people will differentiate their speech rate, gestures, or posture
with others with no concern about accommodating. Divergence is often evaluated
negatively, such as insulting, impolite, especially if the intends is perceived to be
dissociative.
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Maintenance
When people apply no convergence or divergence strategies and just stay their
own speech style, which is named Maintenance. “Maintenance” is also mentioned in
the CAT. Maintenance occurs when an individual’s communication pattern remain the
same during the interaction (Katherine, 2005). Normally, maintenance is viewed as
psychological equivalence to divergence.
Giles and Powesland suggested that divergence could move in upward and
downward directions in terms of status different (1975). Upward divergence occurs
when high statues people emphasize their high standard language with low statues
people. Downward divergence occurs when low statues people emphasize their low
prestige language to communicate with high statues people.
Additional Interactional Strategies
While CAT provides a broad scope of communicative strategies: convergence and
divergence, Strauss and Cross provide a wide range of specific interactional strategies
that African-Americans always applied when communicate with mainstream people
(2005). Many of these strategies could also be applied by the Mainland students in
Hong Kong, including: buffering, code-switching, and passing.
According to Strauss and Cross (2005), code-switching refers to the ability to
communicate “smoothly, effectively, and competitively operate” within another social
group. For example, for the students from Guangdong province of China, they can
speak both Cantonese and Mandarin fluently. So they can speak only in Cantonese
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when communicating with Hong Kong people, but switch to Mandarin when
communicating with friends from Mainland of China. Code-switching can be used as
convergence strategies that individuals could accommodate both sides with two
different languages. Code-switching can also be used as divergence strategies to
affirm one side of the identity. For example, student who can speak Cantonese still
use Mandarin when communicate with Hong Kong people to distinguish their
Mainland identity.
Buffering is a protection strategy that applied when individuals face hostile,
aggressive, threatening situation. Strauss and Cross defined buffering as “strategy to
protect oneself from an actual occurrence of prejudice or to respond to the possibility
of encountering prejudice” (2005, pp.105). For example, individual can use
indifferent communication messages when heard some ethnic jokes, which help to
protect the identity from outside attack from mainstream culture.
Finally, passing is a strategy in which an individual from minority groups tried to
“pass off” as a member of the mainstream group. Passing is used as a convergence
strategy. For example, in some circumstance an individual from Guangdong Province
of China may “pass” as a Hong Kong person due to her or his physical features, skin
colors, dress, and adopted accents.
Motivations for Accommodation Strategies
Convergence is a selective process. When people do convergence in
communication, they usually rely on their perceptions of the other people’s speech or
12
behaviors, which mean that the reason why people do convergence is because their
interlocutors do so. Besides, convergence is also based on attraction (Giles, 2008).
Normally, people will converge their conversation to the communicators who are
attracted to them. Giles and Smith (1979) said that the attractions are coming from
several aspects, such as the probability of future interactions, the speaker’s ability to
communicate, and the statues differential between communicators. The similar beliefs,
similar personality, or similar behaving ways of communicators are also the facts that
made them converge to each other.
One of the motivations of divergence behavior could be explained by Taifel’s
(1978) Social Identity Theory. He proposed that when individuals paid more attention
to their different group identity, divergence strategies might be applied to maintain
distinctiveness from others. Giles (1987) found out that people may “deliberately use
their language or speech styles as a symbolic tactic for maintaining their identity,
culture pride, and distinctiveness”(p.28). Another occasion of divergence behavior is
when there is a huge power difference between communicators. Street and Giles
(1982) observed that the people who have greater statue might speak for a long time,
more slowly, and maintain a more relaxed body posture then the lower statues people.
Finally, divergence is also likely to be applied to the people who “come from
undesirable group, considered to hold noxious attitudes, or display a deplorable
appearance” (Street & Giles, 1982, p.195)
Social approval is the primary motivation explaining why individual would
accommodate to each other. According to CAT, there are two types of accommodation
13
orientations. An Interpersonal orientation is based on personal identity. What
determines the individual’s interaction with others is interpersonal interaction. In
contrast, an intergroup orientation is based on respective social identity. For example,
in interpersonal communication, people interact with each other as personalized
individuals regardless of their social identity. Interpersonal orientation would lead to
interaction between people of the same social group. In Intergroup communication,
people interact with each other as member of different social-culture membership
groups. Intergroup orientation would lead to interaction between people of the
different social groups. Specifically, for Mainland students in Hong Kong,
interpersonal communication is the interaction with Mainland students, intergroup
communication is the interaction with all others in Hong Kong, especially the local
Hong Kong people.
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Chapter 3
Methodology
In this study, a qualitative research method (in-depth interview) was utilized to
investigate communication strategies of mainland students in Hong Kong. The
interview questions were designed to have an insight into how mainland students
react and communicate at different situations. The interview also explored whether
the attitude and communication strategies are different among students with different
plan after graduation. A systematic interpretive analysis of interview data provided
deep insight into how these students view themselves and their rich communicative
strategies they applied in daily life.
Participants
Mainland students in Hong Kong (n=30) were interviewed in this study. Given
the objectives of this study, the interview was mainly focus on two groups:
1. Mainland students who plan to work in Hong Kong after graduation
(n=15);
2. Mainland students who don’t plan to work in Hong Kong after
graduation (n=15);
For the group one and group two, 28 participants are the graduate students in the
Hong Kong Baptist University, and 2 participants are graduate students in the Hong
Kong Polytechnic University.
Interviewees were recruited for this study through the snowball technique. First I
15
introduced my study and objectives to the students or friends who are qualified to my
research and then, with the permission of prospective interviewees, I collected their
names and contact information for further use. Then some of the participants would
recommend other friends who are also qualified to my study. Every participant in this
study is coded by number for confidential. To qualify for the study, the students who
have no clear plan of graduation were excluded from the research.
The backgrounds of the twenty-four interviewees are as follows in a code number,
gender, age, birth-place, university they studied in, and the level of Cantonese format:
1. Mainland students who plan to work in Hong Kong after graduation:
No. Gender Age Birth place University Level of Cantonese
A1 Female 23 Hubei HKBU Limited ability
A2 Male 23 Henan HKBU
Limited ability
A3 Female 24 Hunan HKBU
Can’t understand
A4 Female 24 Xinjiang HKBU
Can’t understand
A5 Female 24 Guangdong HKBU
High level
A6 Female 23 Jiangxi HKBU
Limited ability
A7 Female 24 Hunan HKPU Limited ability
A8 Male 24 Guangdong HKBU
High level
A9 Male 24 Guangdong HKBU
High level
A10 Female 24 Shanxi HKBU
Limited ability
A11 Female 23 Yunnan HKBU
Limited ability
A12 Female 22 Chongqing HKBU
Can’t understand
16
A13 Female 23 Sichuan HKBU
Medium level
A14 Female 23 Guangdong HKPU High level
A15 Female 23 Fujian HKBU Can’t understand
2. Mainland students who don’t plan to work in Hong Kong after
graduation:
No. Gender Age Birth place University Level of Cantonese
B1 Female 23 Beijing HKBU
Can’t understand
B2 Female 24 Shanxi HKBU
Limited ability
B3 Female 24 Shandong HKBU
Limited ability
B4 Male 23 Zhejiang HKBU
Can’t understand
B5 Male 24 Hubei HKBU
Can’t understand
B6 Female 25 Jiangsu HKBU
Can’t understand
B7 Male 24 Shanxi HKBU
Can’t understand
B8 Male 24 Hubei HKBU
Can’t understand
B9 Male 24 Jiangxi HKBU
Can’t understand
B10 Male 24 Jiangxi HKBU
Limited ability
B11 Male 24 Xinjiang HKBU
Can’t understand
B12 Female 25 Heilongjiang HKBU
Can’t understand
B13 Female 22 Shanxi HKBU
Can’t understand
B14 Female 23 Shandong HKBU
Can’t understand
B15 Female 23 Henan HKBU
Can’t understand
17
There were 20 females and 10 males interviewed. The age ranged from 22 to 25
years old.
Research Procedures
Interviews were conducted in public spaces for approximately 20 to 30 minutes
each. An iPhone was utilized for sound recording. All the audio taped during
interview is for the purpose of research project. All participants were told that their
identities would be kept strictly confidential. Codename were given to all
interviewees so that any references to their answers cannot be associated with their
particular identity.
Interview Guide
First, participants were asked for basic demographic information (sex, age, and
university). Then participants were asked some in depth questions, including how
they view their identities, which group of friends they are closer to, strategies they
have used under certain kinds of situation.
Analytic Plan
Owen’s (1984) interpretive method is used for analyzing the interview data. This
method is basically identifying the themes with the criteria repetitiveness (i.e.,
repeated terms, words, or phrases used in the interview), recurrence (i.e., the use of
different words but reflecting similar underlying meanings) and forcefulness (i.e., the
tone of voice that reflect strong emotions).
18
Chapter 4
Results
The data for this study come from the audio-recorded interviews of 30 Mainland
students in Hong Kong and will be analyzed by Owen’s (1984) interpretive method.
I will use Group A to represent the students who intend to stay in Hong Kong to
work after graduation and Group B to represent those don’t want to work in Hong
Kong in the following narratives. The quotation from a certain interviewee will be
identified in such a way: (B12/female/ 25)，which means the interviewee is from
Group B who don’t have the intension to stay in Hong Kong to work after graduation.
He is assigned the number 12th
in Group B, who is a female at the age of 25.
Level of Cantonese proficiency of the interviewees:
Four interviews come from Guangdong Province. They have no problems in
communicating with local people in Cantonese. They all wish to work in Hong Kong
after graduation. The language advantage makes them more confident in finding a
job and adapting to the lifestyle in Hong Kong in the future.
The other interviewees’ Cantonese proficiency is various in degrees. Three
percent of them (n=1, Group A) have medium level. She can understand spoken
Cantonese and speak relatively fluent Cantonese, while the accent may not be
standard. 30 percent of them (n=9, 6 are from Group A and 3 from group B) have a
limited ability. They can understand most of the spoken Cantonese but they are poor
19
in speaking. 53 percent of them (n=16, 4 of them from group A and 12 from Group B)
can’t understand spoken Cantonese, except some basic words in Cantonese.
Research Question 1: Perceptions of Self-Identity
Research Question 1: How do mainland students regard themselves?
In order to find out how do mainland students see themselves, there are two sub
questions designed:
1. How do you see yourself? How do you describe your identity? Are you a
HongKonger? A Mainlander? Or a Mainlander in Hong Kong?
According to the Identity negotiation theory of Ting-Toomey (2005), if a person
wants to understand the interlocutor, the identity domain she or he deems salient
must be understood. The answers to this first set of questions can be summarized as
follows:
Self-identity No.
Mainlander in Hong Kong 24
Mainlander 4
HongKonger 2
The majority of the interviewees identified themselves as mainlanders in Hong
Kong rather than mainlanders. They think there is a difference between a mainlander
in Hong Kong and a mainlander.
My first response is “I am a mainlander”, but perhaps I should say I am a
20
mainlander in Hong Kong. The temporary Hong Kong ID card makes me different
with the mainlanders, this feeling is getting stronger when I go through the Customs
between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, because I go the “Hong Kong Citizen” gate
every time. (B4/ male/ 23)
I identify myself as a mainlander in Hong Kong. Actually I don’t think I have
any difference with the mainlander, but this identity is much more accurate. At least I
am studying in Hong Kong now. (B12/female/ 25)
They admit that they have put a lot of effort to learn this city’s culture and ways
of life and have changed a lot during these days in Hong Kong, for example the way
of thinking and dressing. Even though they are gradually adapted to the living here
but they still think that they are only mainlanders in Hong Kong because sometime
they still feel alienated.
One interviewee says that he is a mainlander in Hong Kong now. However, if one
day in the future he gets the permanent Hong Kong status, he would feel he is a
HongKonger.
Among the 30 interviewees, four identified them as Mainlanders. One of them
provides a typical answer:
I identify myself as a mainlander. I haven’t integrated in to this city. All my
friends around me are mainland friends; my life style or habits haven’t changed since
I went to Hong Kong. I am just living in Hong Kong for a while, but will go back to
where I really belong to sooner or later.(B6/ Female/ 25)
Only two identify themselves as HongKongers. One of them is from
21
Guangdong. “I was born and grow up in Guangdong Province, the culture and
habits are quite similar with Hong Kong’s. So I don’t feel I am in a foreign land.
What’s more, I got the Hong Kong ID card here. I know it is a temporary one, but it
do makes me feel I am a HongKonger. (A8/ male / 24)
The other student thinks that he has to integrate into the city if he wants to stay
here for work in the future. In my view, I think Frist of all I am a Chinese, but if you
want me identify myself in a more specific way, I think I am a HongKonger now.
(A8/ male / 24).
2. Which sides of friends are closer to you? Hong Kong friends or Mainland
friends?
The second set of questions helps to identify their identities by finding out who
are their close friends. The interview results are summarized in the following table:
Closer friends No.
Mainland friends 28
HongKongers 1
Both mainlanders and HongKongers 1
The majority of the interviewees answered that mainlanders are their closest
friends in Hong Kong. Most of them have very few Hong Kong friends. Even these
who say they have made several Hong Kong friends, but they still feel close to
mainland friends.
Hong Kong friends are very nice and friendly to me. However, I would rather
22
talk to my mainland friends about some personal topics and some secrets.
(B12/female/ 25)
Only one participant feels she is closer with Hong Kong friends:
I feel closer to my Hong Kong friends. I have made a lot of local friends since I
came to Hong Kong. They teach me Cantonese and offer help to me, both in life and
study, and also introduce some job opportunities. To me, my Hong Kong friends are
more useful. (A6/ female/ 23)
The other one who feels both sides of friends are the same comes from
Guangdong province. He explains his answer in the following way:
I feel both sides of friends are close to me. I was born and grow up in
Guangdong, the life styles are very similar. So I haven’t felt any distance when I
contact with both sides’ friends.(A8/ male/ 24)
In summary, the majority of interviews, both Group A and Group B, identify
themselves as mainlanders in Hong Kong or mainlanders. According to Social
identity theory proposed by Taifel (1979), social groups categorize the individuals
with similarities and different them from members with other groups. The mainland
students in Hong Kong identified “mainlanders in Hong Kong” as in-group members,
and Hongkonger as well as Mainlanders as out-group members.
They also have mainland students as their closer friends. However, the slight
difference between these two groups can still be concluded as:
Group A are normally have both mainland friends and Hong Kong friends, and
they feel closer to mainland friend after comparison; while participants from Group
23
B are hardly have local friends in Hong Kong and naturally, they feel closer to
mainland friends.
Research Question 2: Communication Strategies
Research Question 2: What communication strategies do mainland students
use in their communication with Hong Kong people?
To find out the communication strategies used by the mainland students in their
communication with and interaction with Hong Kong people, thirteen questions are
designed. They can be grouped into four types:
Part one: participants’ usage of spoken Cantonese after arrival in Hong Kong
(Question 1 to question 3);
Part two: their willingness of communicating with local people in Hong Kong.
(Question 4 )
Part three: their verbal communication strategies in some specific situations.
(Question 5 to question 7)
Part four: their non-verbal strategies in daily life (Question 8 and 9)
Part one: participants’ usage of spoken Cantonese
1. Have you ever studied Cantonese? If yes, how do you study it?
The interview results are summarized in the following table:
Studied Cantonese ever? Ways of studying
Group Yes 11+4 Class, TVB drama, TVB news, talk with
24
A No 0 local people, Self-study, Change to Hong
Kong accent
All the participants from Group A said that they have learned or at least tried to
study Cantonese. The most common ways for them to learn Cantonese are: taking
training courses, watching TVB drama, practicing with Hong Kong friends, or
studying by themselves.
I signed up a class for Cantonese study last semester and also keep learning in
daily life. （A2/ male/ 23）
I haven’t taken any class of Cantonese. My way of studying Cantonese is just
talk to my Hong Kong friends, in turn I teach them how to speak Mandarin.
(A15/female/23)
Before I came to Hong Kong, I bought a book on how to learn Cantonese and it
really helps me a lot. Besides, I think the TVB drama is also a good way of learning.
(A6/ Female/ 23)
Among the 15 interviewees from Group A, four are coming from Guangdong
Province, who can speak Cantonese fluently, so the first question for them is:
1: Have you changed your accent to Hong Kong accent?
They all said they have changed their accent to Hong Kong accent.
I come from Guangzhou and my Cantonese accent is slightly different with Hong
Kong Cantonese, so I have spent couple of weeks to imitate Hong Kong accent.
Luckily it was not difficult for me. (A14/female/23)
25
On the contrary, the participants from Group B show less interest toward
studying Cantonese.
Group
B
Yes 9 Class, TVB drama, Talk with local people
No 6
Only 9 answered they studied Cantonese. “Study from a class” is the most often
mentioned way of learning for them and most admitted that their learning results
were not satisfactory.
I signed up a class for Cantonese study last semester but it didn’t help me a lot. I
still can’t say or understand Cantonese. (B4/ male/ 23)
I have joined a Cantonese class last semester and also watched some TVB
drama. But when I decided to go back to my hometown after graduation, I haven’t
put any energy on learning Cantonese anymore. (B2/ Female/ 24)
6 students from Group B said they have never put any energy in Cantonese
studying, and one interviewee gave the following reason:
I haven’t learnt to speak Cantonese anymore since I don’t plan to work in Hong
Kong at the very beginning. (B7/ male/ 24)
2. When you communicate with Hong Kong people, what language do you usually
speak?
3. What are the main contents of the conversation when you talk with local people?
26
The interview results are summarized in the following table:
Language usually used Main contents of the conversation
Group A
Cantonese 5 Study, shopping, daily life
Cantonese and
Mandarin
7
Mandarin 3
Group B
Cantonese 0 Study, shopping, daily life
Cantonese and
Mandarin
6
Mandarin 9
Half of the participants from Group A replied that they would use both languages
in daily life as much as they can. Under some special situations, they still need to
speak Mandarin.
When I communicate with Hong Kong students, I usually speak Cantonese first,
if they can’t understand, then I would speak it again in Mandarin. (A10/ female/24)
When I need to explain myself with accurate information, for example, in hospital
and Immigration Department, I speak Mandarin because I am still not that confident
about my Cantonese. But in other situations, I would like to speak Cantonese as
much as possible. (A6/ Female/ 23)
There would be no doubt that the four participants from Guangdong Province
speak Cantonese in daily life, but there is one participant (not from Guangdong
Province) who has studied Cantonese for half a year and now she can speak
27
Cantonese with Hong Kong people:
I speak Cantonese to Hong Kong people. I don’t think I have a gift in learning a
new language. The secret for me is to be confident and just speak out.
(A13/female/23)
Most of the interviewees from group B answered that they only speak Mandarin
in Hong Kong under all situations.
I don’t speak Cantonese at all since I don’t plan to work in Hong Kong at the
very beginning. I come from the north of China, so the pronunciation of Cantonese is
so different with my way of speaking (B7/ male/ 24)
Although there are nearly the same number of interviewees from two groups (7
and 6) said they would speak both Cantonese and Mandarin in daily life, the degree
of their language usage is different: interviewees in Group A would speak Cantonese
as much as they can, while interviewees from Group B would use some words in
Cantonese:
I seldom speak Cantonese in daily life. I just speak some basic Cantonese when
I buy food in the market, for example: “Gei do cin”(which means“how much is it”)
and “m goi1 saai”,(which means “thank you”). Otherwise, the sellers can hardly
understand my Mandarin so I have to speak some Cantonese to them. (B2/ Female/
24)
For the main content of communication with Hong Kong people, the 30
participants gave almost the same answer: shopping and discussing about study. This
means that the mainland students in Hong Kong usually limited their communication
28
with local people to these two fields. Comparatively, students in Group A have put a
more active energy to use the Cantonese in daily life.
In summary, there exists a distinct difference between Group A and Group B. All
the students in Group A have turned their effort to study Cantonese or change to
Hong Kong accent because most of them think the Cantonese is the basic skill of
working in Hong Kong. A big part of students from Group B also tried to study
Cantonese while limited both in the degree and in methods. Their aim of studying
Cantonese is not as utilitarian as Group A. They think that studying some Cantonese
can help them “have a better understanding of this city”(B2/ female/ 24). The free
classes provided by the university and other social groups also make them want to
have a try. Group A students have better Cantonese and they find chances to speak
Cantonese as much as possible. Group B students have no pressure of finding a job
in Hong Kong. They would only communicate with limited words and when
necessary.
Part two: the willingness of communicating with local people.
4. Do you take the initiative to speak to Hong Kong classmates or Hong Kong
people? Why？
This question is designed to find out whether mainland students have or like to
talk to local people initiatively, and the reasons why they do so. The basic data of
participants are summarized below:
29
Initiative or not
Group A
Initiative 6
Not Initiative 9
Group B
Initiative 3
Not Initiative 12
Two thirds of the participants said they would not contact local people
initiatively since it seems wired and purpose-oriented, which probably makes other
people uncomfortable.
No, I haven’t reached them initiatively. I think it seems utilitarian. (A3/ female/
24)
The lack of proper interaction chances is also one limitation for mainland
students to interact with Hong Kong people:
Actually I really want to contact them actively but I don’t have the proper
opportunity to do so. I think if I talk to a Hong Kong person with no reason, it would
seem very odd. (A13/female/23)
On the other hand, personality is regarded as an important reason to explain why
some interviewees don’t like to interact with Hong Kong people initiatively. Some
interviewees said they are shy to talk to strangers.
No, I think it is because of my personality; I am shy and seldom make new
friends actively. (B1/ Female/ 23)
One third of interviewees say that they would talk to Hong Kong people actively.
The main aim of such action is to have a better understanding of Hong Kong and
30
have more local friends:
If I think that person is interesting or I want to know, I will talk to him or her
actively. I really enjoy communicating with other people. Once when I played tennis
with friends, a man came to us and told us how to play. I was very glad to talk to him
(A7/ Female/ 24)
Three participants from group B answered that they have talked to local people
initiatively simply for the purpose of coursework requirement:
I often talked to Hong Kong people initiatively and it was mainly for study
purpose. My major is Journalism so I have to interview some Hong Kong people for
my project. (B13/female/22)
Although the number of interviewees to contact local people actively is
relatively low, majority interviewees indicated that they feel delighted to talk to local
people if local people come to them actively. One of them explains her answer in the
following way:
I seldom talk to local people initiatively but I feel happy when Hong Kong
people talk to me. (A3/ female/ 24)
I am not reluctant to communicate with local people if they come to me actively.
(B1/ Female/ 23)
The discussion above shows that most of mainland students do not take the
initiative to speak to Hong Kong people. On the other hand, they generally welcome
the conversations started by local people. This finding indicates that mainland
students are in a relatively passive position when interact with local people.
31
All in all, language barrier, utilitarian-oriented, lacking of proper interaction
chances, personal character are the major obstacles of mainland student to interact
with local people actively. It is safe to conclude that mainland students are in a
passive situation when interacting with local people. As mentioned in the literature
review, social approval is the primary motivation explaining why individual would
accommodate to each other. After the handover in 1997, the conflicts between Hong
Kong and the mainland of China intensify day by day. There are some
misunderstandings and prejudice of mainlanders, which makes mainland people feel
distance with Hong Kong people. The lacking of the social approval from Hong
Kong leads mainland students in Hong Kong prefer interpersonal communication
rather than intergroup communication. So, the mainland students are in a passive
situation in interaction.
Part three: verbal communication strategies under certain situations.
From the data of interviews, five communication strategies can be summarized
among mainland students in Hong Kong, which are code-switching strategy, passing
strategy, buffering strategy, third-language as mediation strategy, and treat-with-
Indifference strategy.
Code-switching strategies
According to Strauss and Cross(2005), people can use the code-switching
strategy to deal with two separate membership groups. Code-switching strategy
32
refers to the ability of speaking in different ways in the different communicative
situations. For example, the students from Guangdong province of China, who can
speak both Cantonese and Mandarin fluently, speak Cantonese when they
communicate with Hong Kong people, but switch to Mandarin when they interact
with Mainland friends.
I will switch the language when I talk to different people. Most of my classmates
are from mainland and they are non-Cantonese speakers, I will speak Mandarin to
them. When I communicate with friends from Guangdong province or HongKongers,
I would normally speak Cantonese. This could make the conversation more
efficiently. (A5/ Female/ 24)
When I communicate with Hong Kong people, I will try to imitate their accent,
but when I communicate with friends from Guangdong, I will switch to my original
accent. I think it can make both sides comfortable. (A8/ male/ 24)
In this situation, participants used code-switching as a convergence strategy that
they could accommodate both sides with two different languages. This
communication strategy is used by students from Guangdong province who are
fluent in Cantonese. Interviewees from other provinces of China find it hard for them
to switch the two languages when talk to different people.
Passing strategy
Passing is a strategy in which an individual from minority groups tried to “pass
off” as a member of the mainstream group. Passing is used as a convergence strategy.
33
For example, in some circumstance an individual from Guangdong Province may
“pass” as a Hong Kong person due to her or his physical features, skin colors, dress,
and adopted accents.
When I bought food in market, the vendors thought I am a local person because
I speak Cantonese to them. This situation really brings me lots of convenience so I
won’t tell them I am from Guangdong. For example, some vendors would charge
tourists more money for the same merchandise. （A9/ male/ 24）
The interviewee (A9) uses a passing strategy by remaining silent and not
revealing his mainlander identity Passing strategy is considered as a convergence
strategy.
Third-language as mediation strategy
5. Do you ever speak English to Hong Kong people or classmates? If yes, can you
share some examples?
This question concerns about whether mainland students have utilized other
languages in Hong Kong. The basic data of participants are summarized below:
Speak English
Group A 11
Group B 14
The data indicated that except the four interviewees from Guangdong Province
in group A, all the other participants have adopted the third language—English, to
34
communicate with HongKongers.
The reasons of speaking English are different under different situations. The
most mentioned situation of speaking English to local people is when the two
interlocutors cannot understand each other’s language, so the English is used as a
mediated language.
When they can’t understand my Cantonese or Mandarin, and I couldn’t
understand their saying, English is the only language that we can communicate with
each other. To my surprise, Hong Kong people’s English is quite good, even the
venders in the food market can communicate in English. (A2/ male/ 23)
Some interviewees answered that specialized words or terminology, for example
in one specific field, are more precise when spoken in English. An interviewee told a
story about his coursework discussion with a Hongkonger:
Once one Hong Kong classmate and I talked about the photographing, some
specialized words, for example “shutter speed” and “aperture”, are more precise
when I speak it in English, and it would prevent the misunderstanding. Therefore,
English in this situation makes our communication more fluent. (B7/ male/ 24)
Some interviews also indicated that they use English out of another reason.
When I just arrived in Hong Kong, there was something wrong with my
telephone number. When I talked to the staff in Mandarin, they seemed impatient.
Then I changed to English and they suddenly changed attitude and solved my
problem quickly. Some time I feel the Hong Kong people look down upon mainland
people. (B13/ female/ 23)
35
The use of The English for B13 is not for the basic function of communicating,
but for a better service or attitude from others. There is also another example:
Once I went through customs from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, one of the Hong
Kong staff spoke loudly to me in Cantonese but I couldn’t understand, so I ask him
what he meant in Mandarin. Then he repeated that Cantonese again even louder,
which makes me very embarrassed. I think he is too disrespectful so I said, “sorry, I
can’t understand you” in English. The man stopped shouting. (B9/ male/ 24)
The third-language as meditation strategy can be used as a convergence strategy
that both sides of communicators rely on when they cannot understand each other’s
language. In this situation, both sides converge to each other. To understand or to be
understood is the ultimate aim of communication. The third-language as mediation
strategy can also be used as a divergence strategy as the speaker uses the third
language to show differences between themselves and their interlocutors.
During the interaction with HongKongers, mainland students would encounter
the situations when some sensitive topics related Hong Kong and mainland of China
were talked about, intentionally and unintentionally. There are two questions
designed for these situations:
6. When you communicate with HongKongers, what would you react if they said
some sensitive topics related Hong Kong and mainland of China not
intentionally? Can you share some examples?
7. When you communicate with HongKongers, what would you react if they said
some sensitive topics related Hong Kong and mainland of China intentionally?
36
Can you share some examples?
The basic data of participants are summarized below:
Sensitive topics not
intentionally
Sensitive topics
intentionally
Keep silence/Ignore 19 23
Agree with them 8 1
Explain/Argue 3 6
The majority of the interviewees choose to keep silence or ignore when some
sensitive topics were talked about. They are using two communication strategies:
buffering strategy and treat-with-indifference strategy. The difference between these
two strategies is that when some sensitive topics are mentioned, buffering strategy is
to explain kindly to eliminate bias and embarrassment. While treat-with-indifference
strategy is just ignore any of others’ saying and keep silence.
Buffering strategy
Buffering strategy, according to Strauss and Cross (2005), is an identity
protection strategy applied when individuals face hostile, aggressive, threatening
situations, to “protect oneself from an actual occurrence of prejudice or to respond to
the possibility of encountering prejudice”(page number).
Last month I did the Laser hair removal in a store in Tsim Sha Tsu. The
assistants there were very courteous. In order to persuade me to buy their service,
37
one assistant told me that if I do it in Mainland it would be unsafe. I know she is not
intentionally defaming the mainland, so I brushed it off and said I did the laser hair
removal in mainland China and it is as safe as in Hong Kong. (A10/ Female/ 24)
Treat-with-Indifference strategy
As for the situations where some sensitive topics were mentioned in the
conversation, more participants would like to use treat-with-indifference strategy
than buffering strategy. Treat-with-indifference strategy can be used as a
maintenance strategy that individual ignore it and say nothing when faced with
hostile, aggressive, and threatening situation. The intention of indifference strategy is
to protect the individual and prevent the embarrassment.
Once the neighbor met me and said “your apartment is too noisy at night, this is
in Hong Kong, not in Mainland! ” it happened so suddenly that I didn’t have time to
response to her, so I pretend not hearing. (B3/ female/ 24)
Some interviewees explained that the reason to keep silence is because they
thought the explanation is far from enough to change the other party’s belief:
Once one of my mainland friends donated blood in Hong Kong and I kept her
accompany. The doctor complained to us that the mainland students occupied a lot
of places so that Hong Kong students couldn’t get educated. We got mad but just said
nothing. We can’t change his mind after all. （A5/ female/ 24）
Some participants say they would agree with them on some sensitive topics if
what they are saying were the truth.
38
Once a Hong Kong classmate and I talked about the illegal cooking oil issue in
the Mainland. He got surprised and angry to this kind of things. I know this is the
truth and it really happens everywhere in mainland of China, so I agreed with him.
(B4/ male/ 23)
According to the data, more people would remain silence if the sensitive topics
were talked intentionally (19 vs. 23). Most of interviewees said they don’t want to
get trouble.
Once a HongKonger said that the mainland tourists are in low moral quality. I
got very angry with him. But what can I do to him? I think I’d better keep my mouth
closed. I don’t want to have trouble here. (B7/ male/ 24)
In summary, when sensitive topics are brought up, most of the interviewees
would use treat-with-indifference strategy and buffering strategy to avoid the
embarrassment. When the saying are true, some interviewees still have the courage
to agree with them.
Part four: non-verbal strategies under certain situations.
The communication accommodation theory evolved from the speech
accommodation theory (SAT), but now theorists have broadened this theory to
include not only speech but also the “non-verbal and discursive dimensions of social
interaction”. (Giles, 1991)
Mainland students who want to adapt to Hong Kong people’s life styles may
39
begin eating Hong Kong foods, using Hong Kong communication codes and so on.
There are two questions designed to find out the nonverbal accommodations.
8. Will you converge to Hong Kong way of life? For example, changing the way of
dressing, using traditional Chinese character? Can you share some examples?
9. Will you follow the rules or customs in Hong Kong that are different with the
mainland of China (e.g. standing on the right side on the escalator to give way to
other walking passengers)? How do you think of these different rules?
From the interview data, four most mentioned aspects: social rules, Chinese
characters, social media usage and the way of dressing, are chosen. A careful
analysis of the data leads to the three nonverbal strategies adopted by the mainland
students: full convergence, partial convergence, and maintain.
The basic data of participants are summarized below:
Group A
Social
rules
Chinese
Characters
Social
media
Dressing
Full Converge 15 0 0 0
Partial
Converge
0 11 5 6
Maintain 0 4 10 9
40
Group B
Social
rules
Chinese
Characters
Social
media
Dressing
Fully Converge 15 0 0 0
Partially
Converge
0 2 1 5
Maintain 0 13 14 10
Some rules in Hong Kong are different with those in the mainland of China. For
example, people will stand on the right side on the escalator to give way to other
walking passengers. For such well-observed social rules, all the participants sang
high praise of them and have shown the high degree of behavioral convergence.
I follow the rule strictly and I will continue to do so when I go back to the
Mainland. When my friends come to Hong Kong I will also tell them the rule in Hong
Kong. It makes the society in order. (A4/ Female/ 24)
I like the rule here and it’s the performance of civilization. It makes society in
order.（A12/female/ 22）
Simplified Chinese characters and traditional Chinese characters are two
standard character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The
government of the People's Republic of China has promoted Simplified Chinese
characters since the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to increase literacy. They are
officially used in the Mainland of China. In Hong Kong, people still apply traditional
41
Chinese characters.
In the aspect of usage of Chinese characters, participants from two groups have
shown distinct differences. 11of 15 interviewees from Group A indicated that they
use traditional Chinese characters in daily life while only 2 out of 15 interviewees in
Group B.
The code-switching strategy is also applied in the non-verbal interaction. Some
switch between traditional characters and simplified characters:
I use traditional Chinese words when chatting or sending e-mails with friends
online, but switch to simplified Chinese words when chatting to parents online. (A1/
Female/ 23)
Most participants with no plan of working in Hong Kong felt the simplified
characters are more convenient:
I just use simplified Chinese character. The traditional one is too complicated.
(B6/ Female/ 25)
Although more students from Group A employ the Hong Kong’s popular social
network software (SNS) (e.g. Facebook, Whatsapp, twitter), the whole usage rate of
the two groups is still relatively low. Most interviewees still prefer the mainland
popular SNS software. The lack of Hong Kong local friends is the fundamental
reason of the low usage rate.
I have registered Facebook and Whatsapp but seldom use them because I don’t
have friends on them. (A1/ Female/ 23)
This question echoed the findings from research question 1 that interviewees’
42
friends group are mainly composed by mainland friends. Although they have tried to
use the social media popular in Hong Kong, the lack of local friends makes them
loose the enthusiasm. So, most of the interviewees from both groups maintain their
usage of the mainland SNS such as Wechat and Weibo.
For the dressing style, most interviewees keep their original taste since they
don’t think the dressing styles could have any influence on their future job in Hong
Kong.
In summary, all the mainland students have fully converged to the
well-established social rules in Hong Kong, for example, leaving room for other
passengers to walk by when riding an elevator. Their choice of the Chinese
characters and the usage of popular social media indicate partial converge. More
interviewees from group A would like to use Traditional Chinese characters while
interviewees from group B prefer Simplified characters. They take a stance of
maintenance in other aspects of daily life, such as the way of dressing.
43
Chapter 5
Conclusion
Based on prior academic literature and current researches, this research took a
deep investigation to find how mainland students see themselves in Hong Kong as
well as their communication strategies. The efforts are also put to discover whether
communication strategies are different when students have different plans after
graduation.
Firstly, all the interviewed Guangdong students have the plan of working in Hong
Kong. Their language advance makes them more confident to find a job in this city,
which also reflects that the language is the important hurdle of finding a job in Hong
Kong.
Secondly, this research finds out that majority of the interviewees would like to
identify them as mainlanders in Hong Kong. The temporary Hong Kong ID card, the
understanding of the city’s culture, and the gradually changed way of thinking, are all
the reasons for them to believe there is a difference between a mainlander in Hong
Kong and a mainlander. Although most interviewees replied that the close friends they
have in Hong Kong are still mainland friends, the difference from two groups still is
distinct: Group A have both sides friends but feel close to mainlanders while Group B
have few local friends.
Thirdly, Students who have the wish of staying in Hong Kong showed more
positive attitude on studying and speaking Cantonese. All the non-Guangdong
44
participants from Group A have tried to study Cantonese through multiple methods.
Their level of Cantonese speaking has improved a lot after the half-year-study and
practice. While the participants from Group B show less interest toward Cantonese.
Small number of them has never studied Cantonese since they don’t have the plan of
working in Hong Kong at the beginning. For the rest of interviewees from Group B,
“study from a Cantonese class” is the most mentioned way.
Fourthly, mainland students are in a relatively passive position when interact with
local people. Most of mainland students do not take the initiative to speak to Hong
Kong people but welcome the conversation started by Hong Kong people. The
reasons participants gave for not initiative are: language barrier, personality character,
purpose-oriented, and limited chances.
Moreover, five communication strategies that mainland students often used are
discovered. They are: code-switching strategy, passing strategy, buffering strategy,
third-language as mediation strategy, and treat-with-indifference strategy. The first
three of them are discovered by Strauss and Cross(2005), and the last two strategies
are the unique strategies that first been found from this research. The code-switching
strategy and passing strategy are two convergence strategies. Buffering and
treat-with-indifference are divergence strategies that are used to protect the individual
and prevent the embarrassment when some sensitive topics were talked about. The
difference between them is: buffering strategy has the explanations while
treat-with-indifference doesn’t. The third-language as mediation strategy can be used
as convergence strategy when interlocutors converge to each other, and can also be
45
used as divergence strategy when mainland students speaking the third language to
affirm differences between themselves and Hong Kong people.
Lastly, the nonverbal strategies adopted by the mainland students are in three
levels: full convergence, partial convergence, and maintenance. Some rules in Hong
Kong, which are different with those in the mainland of China, are strictly followed
and highly praised by mainland students. Choice of the Chinese characters and the
usage of popular social media software are partially converged. More interviewees
from group A would like to use Traditional Chinese characters. For other aspects of
daily life such as dressing style, they take a stance of maintenance since it has no
influence on their future job in Hong Kong.
In summary, most of the participants from two groups identify them as
mainlanders in Hong Kong. Their friends are mainly composed by mainlanders and
they are in a relatively passive position when interact with local people. On the other
hand, participants who want to work in Hong Kong after graduation are more
enthusiasm in verbal and non-verbal convergence to Hong Kong, for example of
learning and speaking Cantonese, using Traditional Chinese characters, and so on.
Limitations
Despite attempts to produce a more rigorous and comprehensive investigation,
several flaws continue to plague the perspectives.
The in-depth interview, which was applied as the method of this study, tends to be
less standardized and rely more on the researcher’s own questioning style and choice
46
of subject matter. Also, the translation of interview contents from Chinese to English
of the researcher may all lead the certain bias on views and thus lower the
generalizability.
The mainland-student-in–Hong Kong background of the researcher may offer
both strengths and limitations. On the one hand, being one member of the group helps
the researcher have a better understanding of the stories and their feeling. On the other
hand, this position may make the researcher select and ignore some information
subjectively. For example, researcher may resonated with some stories shared by a
participant and ignore some other important information.
The third limitation of the study is the generalization of the data. 28 of the
participants are from Hong Kong Baptist University and 2 from Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, thus the demographics of the sample is not enough to be
generalized to the whole mainland students in Hong Kong. A larger sample size
would provide a more diverse perspectives and richer insights.
During the interviews, many of the interviewees pointed out the importance of
where they come from. For example, one of the interviewees said that he is from
North China that the accent is completely different with Cantonese, so it was
impossible for him to speak Cantonese fluently. That is also the reason why he has no
plan to work in Hong Kong after graduation. It seems a comprehensive investigation
of the locations of interviewees would shed new light on the research topic and should
be included in further research.
47
Appendixes
Appendix I: interview request letter and consent forms
Interview Request Letter
Dear participant:
My name is Shan Dandan. I am a graduate student in the School of
Communication at Hong Kong Baptist University. I am conducting a study of
communication strategy for my thesis under the direction of Dr. Song Zhaoxun. The
purpose of this study is to discover the communication strategies of mainland students
in Hong Kong.
Participants will be interviewed and asked questions about their communication
strategies. Your participation in this audio taped interview is extremely important to
the success of this research project. All of the information gathered in this study will
remain confidential to the extent allowed by law. You do not have to answer any
questions you feel uncomfortable with. The final report will not identify any
individual by name, and no one will have access to the raw data except for the
principal investigator.
Your Participation is voluntary and you are free to withdraw from participation at
any time without suffering penalty or loss of benefits or services you can otherwise be
entitled to. Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated.
48
CONSENT FORM TO PARTICIPATE
The purpose of this study is for thesis research. There are no financial conflicts of
interest in this study. I have carefully read and/or I have the terms used in this consent
form and their significance explained to me. By signing below, I agree to participate
in this project.
Participant's Name: ___________________________
Signature: _____________________________
Debriefing and Thank You Note
All questions answered during this interview will be kept confidential to the
extent of the law. Your interview will be given codename and all audio recording and
transcriptions will be destroyed by the research end date. Any questions you have felt
uncomfortable about can be omitted. Thank you for participating in this interview.
Codename: _________________Interview Date: ________________
Start Time/Close Time: _________________Location: ____________________
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Appendix II: Original questionnaire in Chinese
Part I： Background Information Survey
1. 性别： 2. 年龄： 3. 在港学校/专业：
Part II：Actual Interview
Research Question 1: How do mainland students identify themselves?
1. 你怎样定义自己在香港的身份，是香港人？大陆人？还是在香港的大陆人？
2. 在身边的大陆朋友与香港朋友，哪一个群体让你觉得更亲近？为什么？
Research Question 2: What communication strategies do mainland students use
in their communication with Hong Kong people?
1. 你是否学习过粤语？通过什么渠道学习？
对于广东同学来说，是否会将所讲粤语口音趋向香港口音？
2. 当与香港人交流时，你通常使用什么语言？
3. 当与香港人交流时，你们主要的交流的内容是哪些？
4. 你是否主会动接触一些香港人？目的是什么？
5. 与香港市民交流时，是否使用过英语？如果有请举一个例子。
6. 在与香港人交流时，如果香港人不经意（没有恶意）地说了一些贬低大陆的
言语，你会怎样？如果有，请举出一个具体例子。
7. 在与香港人交流时，如果香港人有恶意地说了一些贬低大陆的言语，你会怎
样？如果有，请举出一个具体例子。
8. 你是否在生活方式上向香港趋同，比如服装，文字，社交网络的应用，等等。
请举出具体例子。
9. 香港与大陆的不同行为规范，比如排队，扶手电梯靠右站等，你是否会遵守？
50
Appendix III：Questionnaire translated in English
Research Question 1: How do mainland students identify themselves?
1. How do you describe your identity? Are you a HongKonger? A Mainlander? Or a
Mainlander in Hong Kong?
2. Which sides of friends are closer to you? Hong Kong friends or Mainland
friends?
Research Question 2: What communication strategies do mainland students use
in their communication with Hong Kong people?
1. Have you ever studied Cantonese? If yes, through which channels?
(For interviewees from Guangdong Province: Have you changed your accent to
Hong Kong accent?)
2. When you communicate with Hong Kong people, what language do you usually
speak?
3. What are the main contents of the conversation when you talk with local people?
4. Do you take the initiative to speak to Hong Kong classmates or Hong Kong
people? Why？
5. Do you ever speak English to Hong Kong people or classmates? If yes, can you
share some examples?
6. When you communicate with HongKongers, what would you react if they said
some sensitive topics related Hong Kong and mainland of China not
intentionally? Can you share some examples?
7. When you communicate with HongKongers, what would you react if they said
51
some sensitive topics related Hong Kong and mainland of China intentionally?
Can you share some examples?
8. Will you converge to Hong Kong way of life? For example, changing the way of
dressing, using traditional Chinese character? Can you share some examples?
9. Will you follow the rules or customs in Hong Kong that are different with the
mainland of China (e.g. standing on the right side on the escalator to give way to
other walking passengers)?
52
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