Language as a Carrier of Ethnic Stereotypes in Hong Kong

The present study was an attempt to see whether language use contributes to group stereotypes independent of the target's ethnic-group identity. Chinese bilinguals from a Hong Kong high school heard a passage of spoken English or Cantonese given by either Chinese or British males. The speaker's language controlled judgments about his benevolence, his likability and his degree of Westernization. Speaker ethnicity, however, controlled judgments of the target's ethnic-group preference.