Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-cnmwb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T15:08:03.840Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Discourse and social change in contemporary Hong Kong

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2009

John Flowerdew
John Flowerdew
Affiliation:
Department of English, City University of Hong KongTat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article documents discursive and social change currently taking place in contemporary Hong Kong during the transitional period leading up to the change of sovereignty from Britain to China. It does so by means of a detailed analysis of a political meeting, involving the British Hong Kong governor, Chris Patten, and members of the Hong Kong public. The meeting took place in October, 1992, a day after Patten introduced proposals to widen the democratic franchise. Patten used the meeting, the first time a Hong Kong governor had made himself openly accountable to the public at large, to demonstrate the sort of democratic discourse for which the reform proposals were designed to create a framework.

The analysis focuses on two main ways Patten highlighted the democratic nature of the discourse: the use of mise en abyme, or a “play within a play” structure, and the downplaying of overt markers of hierarchy and power asymmetry. Although Patten's aim was to demonstrate openness and accountability, his ultimate control of the discourse belied the democratic agenda he ostensibly promoted. The analysis consequently also focuses on the manipulative dimension of Patten's discourse. The conclusion considers to what extent the meeting might mark a real shift to a more democratic order of public discourse in Hong Kong. (Discourse analysis, power and language, social change, indexicals, involvement, manipulative discourse, mise en abyme, order of discourse, political discourse, turn-taking).

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , December 1996 , pp. 557 - 586
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anon. (1993). Hong Kong end of term report. Sunday Morning Post (Hong Kong), 4 07, p. 9.Google Scholar
Anon. (1995a). End rhetoric, provide information [editorial]. Eastern Express, 10 05, p. 9.Google Scholar
Anon. (1995b). A legitimate vote [editorial]. South China Morning Post, 09 18, p. 18.Google Scholar
Anon. (1995c). The climate changes [editorial]. South China Morning Post, 09 22, p. 22.Google Scholar
Anon. (1995d). Trouble ahead as fear increases [editorial]. Eastern Express, 10 2, p. 10.Google Scholar
Anon. (1995e). Relations resume [editorial]. South China Morning Post, 10 5, p. 22.Google Scholar
Atkinson, John Maxwell (1984. Our masters' voices. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bhatia, Vijay K. (1995). Genre mixing in professional communication. In Bruthiaux, Paul et al. , eds.), Explorations in English for professional communication, 1–19. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Blyth, Sally (1995). Compelling arguments for a change of governor. Eastern Express, 10 04, p. 15.Google Scholar
Braude, Jonathan (1995). From the gallery: Meek civil servant turns into savage adversary. South China Morning Post, 25 05, p. 4.Google Scholar
Brown, Penelope, & Levinson, Stephen (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Roger, & Gilman, Albert (1960). The pronouns of power and solidarity. In Sebeok, Thomas (ed.), Style and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [Reprinted in Pier Paolo Giglioli (ed.), Language and social context, 252–82. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972.]Google Scholar
Cottrell, Robert (1993). The end of Hong Kong: The secret diplomacy of imperial retreat. London: Murray.Google Scholar
Cradock, Percy (1994). Experiences of China. London: Murray.Google Scholar
de Golyer, Michael E. (1994). Politics, politicians, and political parties. In McMillen, Donald H. & Man, S. W. (eds.), The other Hong Kong report, 1994, 76–101. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.Google Scholar
Fairclough, Norman (1989). Language and power. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Fairclough, Norman (1992). Discourse and social change. Oxford: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Fong, Bernard (1995). What Patten says is not necessarily what he means. Hong Kong Standard, 13 06, p. 15.Google Scholar
Foucault, Michel (1984). The order of discourse. In Shapiro, Michael (ed.), Language and politics, 108–38. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Fowler, Roger G. (1988). Critical linguistics. In Malmkjær, Kirsten (ed.), The linguistics encyclopaedia, 89–93. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fowler, Roger G. (1990). Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fowler, Roger G. et al. ; (1979). Language and control. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fowles, John (1969). The French lieutenant's woman. Boston: Little Brown.Google Scholar
Free, Brett (1993). Popularity rating for Patten soars. Hong Kong Standard, 22 06, p. 3.Google Scholar
Gastil, John (1992). Undemocratic discourse: A review of theory and research on political discourse. Discourse and Society 3:469–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goffman, Erving (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Ho, Andy (1995). Lost for words. South China Morning Post, 10 6, p. 23.Google Scholar
Hodge, Robert, & Kress, Gunther (1979). Language as ideology. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hong Kong Government (1992). Our next five years: The agenda for Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Hodge, Robert (1995). Transcript of “Any questions?, 09 22, 1995”. Hong Kong: Government Information (GIS) Service Press Enquiries.Google Scholar
Hutcheon, Linda (1980). Narcissistic narrative: The metafictional paradox. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. [Reprinted, London: Methuen, 1984.]Google Scholar
Johnson, Donna M. (1994). Who is we? Constructing communities in US-Mexico border discourse. Discourse and Society 5:207–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kwan, Wai-Ling (1994). Governor shows us his ability as an actor. South China Morning Post, 10 7, p. 5.Google Scholar
Lakoff, Robin (1973). The logic of politeness; or, minding your P's and Q's. Chicago Linguistic Society 9:292–305.Google Scholar
Lakoff, Robin (1990). Talking power: The politics of language. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
MacPherson, Stewart (1995). Access to information not always the answer. Eastern Express, 27 08, p. 15.Google Scholar
Maynard, Senko K. (1994). Images of involvement and integrity: Rhetorical style of a Japanese politician. Discourse and Society 5:233–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miners, Norman J. (1991). The government and politics of Hong Kong (5th ed.) Oxford and Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ng, Sik Hung, & Bradac, James J. (1993). Power in language: Verbal communication and social influence. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith (1989). The paradoxical status of repetition. Poetics Today 1:151–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberti, Mark (1994). The fall of Hong Kong: China's triumph and Britain's betrayal. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Sacks, Harvey; Schegloff, Emanuel A.; & Jefferson, Gail (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language 50:696–735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schenkein, Jim (1978), ed. Studies in the organization of conversational interaction. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Schiffrin, Deborah (1987). Discourse markers. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scollon, Ron, & Scollon, Suzanne Wong (1991). Topic confusion in English-Asian discourse. World Englishes 10: 113–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Michael (1994). Schoolmaster keeps lawmakers in line. Hong Kong Standard, 10 7, p. 4.Google Scholar
Spaeth, Anthony (1995). Eleventh-hour election fever. Time, 09 18, p. 27.Google Scholar
Tannen, Deborah (1984). Conversational style: Analyzing talk among friends. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Tannen, Deborah (1989). Talking voices: Repetition, dialogue, and imagery in conversational discourse. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tannen, Deborah (1990). You just don't understand: Women and men in conversation. New York: Morrow.Google Scholar
Thomas, Hedley (1995). Voice of the future: Interview. South China Morning Post, 04 29, p. 2.Google Scholar
van Dijk, Teun A. (1977). Text and context: Explorations in the semantics and pragmatics of discourse. London: Longman.Google Scholar
van Dijk, Teun A. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse and Society 4:249–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wales, Katie (1989). A dictionary of stylistics. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Wallen, David (1995). Patten and the politics of change. South China Morning Post, 05 13, p. 12.Google Scholar
Wilson, John (1990). Politically speaking. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Yeung, Chris (1995a). New balance of power. South China Morning Post, 09 24, p. 12.Google Scholar
Yeung, Chris (1995b). Victory scored for pragmatism. South China Morning Post, 10 4, p. 5.Google Scholar