Code-Mixing with English
Motivation
To target local population, advertisers pick our main language - Chinese for the base of an ad. Yet, they attempt to insert some English elements as most people in Hong Kong can understand English to a certain extent.
Features
It is observed that the most common code-mixing elements are proper nouns like personal and place names, and names of different proucts in English Other than these, the main body of advertisement rarely contains English, but is often found in headlines and slogans. Besides, most of the code-mixing elements are single English words or clauses while English phrases or sentences are rarely used.
English often functions as an attention-getting device in the advertisement. Yet, English inserted into the body of advertisement is sometimes used for sensible reasons. For instance, advertisements that sell high-tech services and health products significantly mix more English technical-terms. The reason is some drug-related vocabularies are probably too new to have Chinese equivalents or the equivalents are not generally-known. Advertisers thus use English to avoid confusion.
English often functions as an attention-getting device in the advertisement. Yet, English inserted into the body of advertisement is sometimes used for sensible reasons. For instance, advertisements that sell high-tech services and health products significantly mix more English technical-terms. The reason is some drug-related vocabularies are probably too new to have Chinese equivalents or the equivalents are not generally-known. Advertisers thus use English to avoid confusion.
Implication
English used in Hong Kong usually signifies success, internationalism, sophistication, future orientation etc. while fun English in advertising is usually associated with particular social stereotypes like advancement and modernity.
However, although most Cantonese-speaking people are likely to use and mix English into their Cantonese, the proficiency of mixing English into Chinese is quite low. Code mixing is just an intra-sentential insertion to them They are familiar with certain words and phrases but they do not necessarily speak fluent English. They simply exhibit their lexical bilingualism with English to a certain degree.
(Leung, 2010)
However, although most Cantonese-speaking people are likely to use and mix English into their Cantonese, the proficiency of mixing English into Chinese is quite low. Code mixing is just an intra-sentential insertion to them They are familiar with certain words and phrases but they do not necessarily speak fluent English. They simply exhibit their lexical bilingualism with English to a certain degree.
(Leung, 2010)