Multilingual creativity on China's Internet

Abstract

ABSTRACT Previous research in China has shown that Chinese‐English code‐mixing is gaining popularity on China's online social network sites. This study investigates the practice of multilingual language play onShanghai Release, an official microblog account set up by the municipal government of Shanghai. Based on the observation of the day‐to‐day weather messages onShanghai Release, as well as the comments posted by the participating netizens over a period of two years, the study reports on a range of strategies employed in the practice of multilingual language play, that involves bending, breaking, and blending the conventional ‘rules’ of Putonghua, English, and Shanghai dialect usage. The findings suggest that through such practices the municipal government web microbloggers posting onShanghai Releasehave constructed a distinct new professional identity, which aims to establish rapport with its audience, through the ludic construction of mixed‐code messages to its Internet public.

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