Hong Kong Cantonese trendy expressions : a morphological, semantic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic analysis

Abstract

This thesis collects some commonly used trendy expressions in Cantonese dialect in Hong Kong from different media like online forums, newspapers, tabloids and recent books on trendy expressions, then scrutinizes them based on their morphological and semantic properties. It also highlights different features and origins of trendy expressions and looks into the pragmatic meanings of trendy expressions and their use in different age and gender groups. Besides, the relationship between the understanding and frequency of use of the trendy expressions and the informants’ age and gender will be investigated. The reasons behind such phenomenon and the contexts in which trendy expressions are used will also be examined. Lastly, the attitude towards trendy expressions and its implications on education will be analyzed.

Since there are very few previous researches on Cantonese trendy expressions in Hong Kong, it is hoped that this research study will provide a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the morphological, semantic and pragmatic aspects of Cantonese trendy expressions in Hong Kong. Besides, it is worth investigating whether the language practice and language attitude of different age and gender groups has changed over these years. Most importantly, some useful suggestions on the application of trendy expressions on education are to be given, which are hopefully to be of use for teachers and language learners.