Gender and codemixing in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship of gender and codemixing behaviour in Hong Kong. Data were obtained through the use of a questionnaire and a language diary experiment from 10 young women and 10 young men who had just joined the workforce. It was found that educated young women in Hong Kong are more likely to codemix (Cantonese sentence with English words or phrases) than their male counterparts. However, this difference shown up in the sex grouping could not be said to be a pure gender difference. Rather, this difference seemed to be difference among the females themselves. By looking into the historical and cultural background of Hong Kong, the researcher suggested that Hong Kong young women’s higher use of mixed code nowadays was caused by their desire to dissociate themselves from the traditional role of women in the Chinese culture. Furthermore, it was found that young women working in a more competitive environment would codemix more than those working in a less competitive environment. The findings in this paper confirm the constructionsts’ view that the construction of gender is interwoven with other social constructions of identity in a complex way, so that it is important for researchers interested in gender and language use to look into the cultural and historical background of a speech community instead of focusing solely on the differences shown up in sex groupings.