Impact

The film was shown in international conferences including New Ways of Analyzing Variation, International Symposium of Bilingualism, Sociolinguistic Symposium, Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Annual Meeting. 

Professors at the following universities have been using this film in teaching: Birkbeck College University of London, Boğaziçi University, Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, National University of Singapore, National Yang-Ming University, New York University, Ohio State University, Queens College CUNY, Sungshin University, Tulane University, University College London Institute of Education, University of Bangor, University of Colombo, University of Cyprus, University of Edinburgh, University of Hong Kong, University of Michigan, University of New Hampshire, University of Pittsburg, University of Toronto, University of Virginia, York University, and more. 

Reviews

“Your film gives students a concise, compelling and entertaining introduction to a completely different situation of language contact. It has been eye-opening for them to see a situation in which code-switching might be seen as prestigious or indicative of higher education levels, since more often than not it is seen as exactly the opposite. Given this contrast, I have often used the film as a jumping off point for a writing assignment in which students compare/contrast Spanish-English code-switching in U.S. Latino communities with code-switching in the Hong Kong context and identify positive aspects or advantages to code-switching”. 

- Holly Cashman, Professor of Spanish, University of New Hampshire, USA.

“This film is filled with vivid examples of bilingualism in action, showing how speakers draw on the resources of different languages in everyday interaction. As always, the linguistic practices of everyday life run counter to the prescriptions of  the language experts. And ‘Multilingual Hong Kong: Present 一個 Project’ is as lively and entertaining as it is informative. I recommend it to students and researchers - and indeed to anyone who is interested in the many and varied ways people use language (and languages) to communicate with each other.”

- Lesley Milroy, Professor Emerita in Linguistics, University of Michigan, USA. Honorary Fellow, Faculty of Linguistics, Phonology and Phonetics, University of Oxford, UK. 

This fascinating film combines lucid narrative with perceptive commentary; it is both educational and entertaining. I cannot think of a better way of introducing anyone to bilingualism than showing them this film.

- Li Wei, Professor and Chair of Applied Linguistics, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.

"Multilingual Hong Kong constitutes fascinating viewing for anyone interested in language and culture and in beliefs about bilingualism and practices of bilingualism in Hong Kong and elsewhere. I would also like to strongly recommend the film as an ideal teaching resource to anyone teaching in sociolinguistics, bilingualism, language and culture, World Englishes, Asian Studies and related areas".

- Ingrid Piller, Distinguished Professor of Applied Linguistics, Macquarie University, Australia. 

See her review on the Language on the Move website: https://www.languageonthemove.com/multilingual-hong-kong/

"It's nice to see people who want to spread the work that linguists do to wider audiences and I think your film can do just that.  It is professional and sophisticated enough that linguists, anthropologists, communication scholars, etc. would benefit from it yet it is accessible enough that beginning students and the public in general can enjoy it and learn from it as well.  I look forward to being able to show this film to my students (and my family and friends)!"

- Lisa Del Torto, University of Michigan, USA.

"This film was REALLY INTERESTING.  I loved it!  It looks very professional, and it held my attention throughout.  I like the mix of humor and seriousness, of academic and  personal comments. I would definitely recommend this film – for other linguistics classes, for classes on Chinese history and politics, and for American culture classes (to exhibit the contrast between monolingual and multilingual societies).  I would also recommend it to friends who are bilingual. My parents grew up in Israel and tease each other all the time about code-switching (they try to prevent themselves from doing it); I would show them this movie so they can see how natural it is, and hear people who argue that it’s not harmful."

- Daphna Atias, University of Michigan, USA.