title: Language Use and Language Perceptions in Social Media Marketing
title: A Case Study of Hong Kong Facebook Pages
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Lau, Ka Man
Publisher: name: University of Muenster, Institutional Repository MIAMI
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: 420 English and Old English (Anglo-Saxon)
subject: 400 Language
subject: 410 Linguistics

description: Fokussierend auf das Facebook-Marketing durch die kommerziellen und öffentlichen Sektoren in Hongkong umfasst dieses Projekt zwei Studien, um die wenig erforschten Bereiche des Sprachgebrauchs und der Sprachwahrnehmung im Social-Media-Marketing und im Marketing des öffentlichen Sektors zu untersuchen. Studie I untersucht den Sprachgebrauch in organischen Facebook-Beiträgen, die von gewerblichen und öffentlichen Organisationen veröffentlicht wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Mehrsprachigkeit im Facebook-Marketing in Hongkong sich in der Verwendung von lokalen und ausländischen Sprachen, im Vermischen verschiedener Sprachen sowie in der Gegenüberstellung unterschiedlicher Sprachen und Sprachpraktiken manifestiert. Studie II untersucht mit Hilfe von zwei Fragebogen-Experimenten die Wahrnehmung der Hongkonger von fünf Sprachpraktiken im Facebook-Marketing: die Translanguaging-Praxis von Kongish, monolinguales Englisch, Kantonesisch-Englisches Code-Mixing, monolinguales Kantonesisch und Standard-Chinesisch-Englische Gegenüberstellung. Die Studie deckt die untrennbare Natur des hybridisierten Diskurses auf und plädiert für einen ganzheitlichen Ansatz zur soziolinguistischen Analyse hybridisierter Sprachpraktiken.
description: Focusing on Facebook marketing by the commercial and public sectors in Hong Kong, this project incorporates two studies to address the underresearched areas of language use and language perceptions in social media marketing and public sector marketing. Study I examines language use in organic Facebook posts published by private and public sector organisations. The results reveal that multilingualism in Facebook marketing in Hong Kong is manifested in the use of local and foreign languages, the mixing of various languages, as well as the juxtaposition of different languages and language practices. Study II uses two questionnaire survey experiments to look into Hongkongers’ perceptions of five language practices in Facebook marketing: the translanguaging practice of Kongish, monolingual English, Cantonese-English code-mixing, monolingual Cantonese, and Standard Chinese-English juxtaposition. The study uncovers the inextricable nature of hybridised discourse and advocates a holistic approach to the sociolinguistic analysis of hybridised language practices.
description: Acknowledgements ..... iii
List of Figures ..... iv
List of Tables ..... v
CHAPTER 1 Introduction: Studying Language Use and Language Perceptions in Social Media Marketing .... 1
CHAPTER 2 Sociolinguistics of Multi- and Translingual Hong Kong ..... 9
2.1 The Chinese Language, Cantonese, and Putonghua ..... 10
2.2 English in Hong Kong ..... 15
2.3 Chinese Dialects, Minority Languages, and Foreign Languages ..... 20
2.4 Code-Mixin ..... 22
2.5 Kongish—A Translanguaging Practice ..... 25
CHAPTER 3 Research on Multilingual Marketing Discourse: Language Choice, Functions, Motivations, and Effects ..... 33
3.1 Multilingualism in Global Marketing Discourse ..... 33
3.2 Multilingualism in Hong Kong Marketing Discourse ..... 47
CHAPTER 4 Study I: Language Use by Commercial and Governmental Organisations in Marketing on Facebook in Hong Kong ..... 58
4.1 Aims and Research Questions: Study I ..... 59
4.2 Data and Methods: Study I ..... 63
4.2.1 Identification of Language Varieties ..... 67
4.2.2 Identification of Language Presentation Patterns ..... 72
4.2.3 Measurement of Association Between Language Use and Sector Type ..... 73
4.3 Linguistic Profile of Marketing Communications on Facebook in Hong Kong ..... 74
4.3.1 Overview of Marketing Language Practices on Facebook ..... 74
4.3.2 Language Use in Facebook Marketing in Hong Kong: Private Sector vs. Public Sector ..... 85
4.4 Discussion: Variation in Marketing Language Use on Facebook in Hong Kong ..... 89
CHAPTER 5 Study II: Perceptions of Marketing Language Use by Commercial and Governmental Organisations on Facebook in Hong Kong ..... 101
5.1 Aims and Research Questions: Study II ..... 102
5.2 Methods and Data: Study II ..... 106
5.2.1 The Stimuli ..... 107
5.2.2 The Online Questionnaires ..... 108
5.2.3 Quantitative Analysis of Rating Items ..... 111
5.2.4 Thematic Analysis of Textual Data ..... 115
5.2.5 Demographics of Respondents ..... 115
5.3 Results of Quantitative Analysis for the Private Sector Experiment ..... 118
5.3.1 Perceptions of Different Language Practices ..... 119
5.3.2 Correlation Between Comprehensibility and Attitudes ..... 130
5.4 Results of Quantitative Analysis for the Public Sector Experiment ..... 130
5.4.1 Perceptions of Different Language Practices ..... 131
5.4.2 Correlation Between Comprehensibility and Attitudes ..... 138
5.5 Results of Quantitative Analysis for the Between-Sectors Comparisons ..... 139
5.6 Results of Thematic Analysis of Textual Data ..... 144
5.7 Discussion: Effects of Language Choice in Facebook Marketing in Hong Kong ..... 148
CHAPTER 6 Research in Language Use and Language Perceptions in Social Media Marketing: Methodological, Theoretical, and Managerial Implications ..... 170
References ..... 182
Appendix A The Five Stimuli Designed for the Private Sector Experiment of Study II ..... 211
Appendix B The Five Stimuli Designed for the Public Sector Experiment of Study II ..... 216
Appendix C Selected Sections of the Online Questionnaire Designed for the Private Sector Experiment of Study II ..... 221
Appendix D Selected Sections of the Online Questionnaire Designed for the Public Sector Experiment of Study II ..... 229