Abstract:
Under the Biliteracy and Trilingualism policy, both Standard Chinese and English are core subjects
printed on the school curriculum throughout 12 years of compulsory education in Hong Kong, and
Cantonese is expected to be spoken fluently by every local-born resident through natural exposure.
It is in this sociolinguistic environment, newly created language varieties used by particular
social stratum came into sight, namely Hong Kong English (HKE) and Kongish. Research to date has
not yet adequately attended to what roles these varieties play when it comes to intra-group
communication among bilinguals. This thesis focuses on the lexicogrammar of HKE and Kongish as
reflected by text data in real-time messaging among young Hongkongers. It sheds light on the
linguistic and pragmatic considerations that rationalize the use of each of these varieties in
context. Using semi-structured interviews, it reports that HKE and Kongish exist as common
intra-ethnic means of communication in e-discourse apart from Cantonese and standard English.
Additionally, the innovation of HKE and Kongish can be traced to
bilinguals' linguistic manipulation as a means of achieving a range of personal and interpersonal
purposes.
