Cantonese‐English code‐switching research in Hong Kong: a Y2K review

This paper is a review of the major works in code‐switching in Hong Kong to date. Four context‐specific motivations commonly found in the Hong Kong Chinese press—euphemism, specificity, bilingual punning, and principle of economy—are adduced to show that English is one of the important linguistic resources used by Chinese Hongkongers to fulfill a variety of well‐defined communicative purposes.