A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the English First Name Culture in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper examines how the global use of English is changing the culture of personal naming. In Hong Kong, the majority of people use English first names along with their Chinese surnames. An analysis of job application documents and personal interviews with 19 speakers uncovered many interesting aspects about Hong Kong's naming culture, such as duplicate names and name change. Deeper investigation revealed that a number of linguistic and non-linguistic factors, such as Hong Kong’s unusual political status in China, the fact that Cantonese, the local dialect, has inferior linguistic status than Mandarin, its history as a British colony, and the current internationalized way of life - have converged to foster the use of English and English first names.