Cultural identity as a production in process

Abstract

The type of identity most salient in intercultural communication is probably cultural identity, also a major issue in intercultural communication studies. This study adopts a dialectical perspective and approaches cultural identity as a dynamic production in and through intercultural contact and interaction. Semi-structured interviews of educated young Hongkongers turned out accounts of cultural identity along with their language use in day-to-day activities. These provided indirect access to some lived experience of people in a culturally special society. The study identifies dialectics evident in the production of cultural identity and uncovers ways people deal with dialectic tension in the process.