TY - JOUR
T1 - Spreading language ideologies through social media
T2 - Enregistering the ‘fake ABC’ variety in Hong Kong
AU - Chau, Dennis
N1 - Funding Information:
My sincerest gratitude goes to Rodney Jones, without whom this paper would not have been possible. I would also like to thank Monica Heller, Yoonhee Kang and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - This paper explores how language ideologies are disseminated on social media through examining the enregisterment of a pseudo-variety of language attributed to people in Hong Kong who are supposedly trying to act ‘Western’. Comments from Facebook discussions about ‘fake American-born Chinese’ (fake ABC) are analyzed to identify the linguistic features people attribute to these speakers and how their attitudes towards these features reflect larger assumptions about language. The analysis shows how this pseudo-variety is enregistered through collaborative stylization and metalinguistic commentary by online commenters and how this enregisterment reinforces a range of language ideologies dominant in contemporary Hong Kong, including ideologies of ‘standardness’, linguistic purity and authenticity. The analysis not only traces these beliefs to long-standing conflicts within the society around such issues as race, gender, politics and national identity but also argues that language mocking practices on social media have become an important means through which ideologies are circulated and maintained.
AB - This paper explores how language ideologies are disseminated on social media through examining the enregisterment of a pseudo-variety of language attributed to people in Hong Kong who are supposedly trying to act ‘Western’. Comments from Facebook discussions about ‘fake American-born Chinese’ (fake ABC) are analyzed to identify the linguistic features people attribute to these speakers and how their attitudes towards these features reflect larger assumptions about language. The analysis shows how this pseudo-variety is enregistered through collaborative stylization and metalinguistic commentary by online commenters and how this enregisterment reinforces a range of language ideologies dominant in contemporary Hong Kong, including ideologies of ‘standardness’, linguistic purity and authenticity. The analysis not only traces these beliefs to long-standing conflicts within the society around such issues as race, gender, politics and national identity but also argues that language mocking practices on social media have become an important means through which ideologies are circulated and maintained.
KW - Fake ABC
KW - Hong Kong
KW - collaborative stylization
KW - enregisterment
KW - language ideologies
KW - social media
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112670958&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/josl.12486
DO - 10.1111/josl.12486
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85112670958
SN - 1360-6441
VL - 25
SP - 596
EP - 616
JO - Journal of Sociolinguistics
JF - Journal of Sociolinguistics
IS - 4
ER -