#3869. Spreading language ideologies through social media: Enregistering the ‘fake ABC’ variety in Hong Kong

September 2026publication date
Proposal available till 12-05-2025
4 total number of authors per manuscript0 $

The title of the journal is available only for the authors who have already paid for
Journal’s subject area:
Philosophy;
Language and Linguistics;
History and Philosophy of Science;
Linguistics and Language;
Sociology and Political Science;
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Abstract:
The research explores how language ideologies are disseminated on social media through examining the enregisterment of a pseudo-variety of language attributed to people who are supposedly trying to act ‘Western’. Comments from Facebook discussions about ‘fake American-born Chinese’ (fake ABC) are analyzed to identify the linguistic features people attribute to these speakers and how their attitudes towards these features reflect larger assumptions about language. The analysis shows how this pseudo-variety is enregistered through collaborative stylization and metalinguistic commentary by online commenters and how this enregisterment reinforces a range of language ideologies. The analysis argues that language mocking practices on social media have become an important means through which ideologies are circulated and maintained.
Keywords:
Collaborative stylization; Enregisterment; Fake ABC; Language Ideologies; Social media

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