Our group has therefore decided to take a closer view of this community in attempt to adopt a qualitative approach in studying the relationship between language choice and social identity. In such, five Africans in Hong Kong have accepted our invitation in participating in our interview that mainly concerns about their linguistic repertoire after their migration to Hong Kong; their language choice in different context and settings such as workplace, family gatherings and social activities; their experiences and obstacles in identifying themselves as part of Hong Kong community and so on. By the end of the project, we expect that we would able to relate language choices with social identities, as well as to gain insights in home and school education received by children of the ‘intermarried’ parents.



We carried out in-depth interviews with 5 African migrant interviewees. Interview settings include home of the interviwee, Tsim Sha Tsui, K-11 mall and business company. Questions regarding their use of language in different settings, mother tongue, daily experiences which relates to their language ability and language use were asked.
The questions that we asked are as followed:



Questionnaire for Africans in Hong Kong



Part I- Basic Information

Name:
Age:
Occupation:
Home Town:
Marital Status:
Family Details:
First Language(s):
Other Language(s):
Years of Immigration:

Part II- Language Use in Hong Kong
1. What are the languages you use in daily communication?
(a) Family:
(b) Workplace:
(c) Social Gatherings:
(d) Other Occasions:
2. (i) What is/are the mother tongue(s) of your children?
      (ii) (Jump to (iii) if mother tongue includes African)
            Do you wish to teach your children African Languages? Why/ Why not?
      (iii) What is the medium of instruction of your children’s school?
     (iv) What languages do you want your kids to be proficient in? Why?
3. Have you learnt Cantonese or Mandarin? Why/Why not?
Cantonese:                                                 Mandarin:

Part III- Language and Social Barriers in Hong Kong

1. Have you encountered any language barriers or difficulties when you communicate with the local people in Hong Kong?
(a) In Family:
(b) At Workplace:
(c) Other instances:
How did you overcome these difficulties? ____________________________________________

2. Have you encountered any societal barriers in participating in Hong Kong’s Speech community?
(a) In Family:
(b) At Workplace:
(c) Other instances:
(d) How did you overcome these difficulties?_________________________________________

Part IV-  African Community in Hong Kong
1. How large is  the African Community in Hong Kong? Small  Medium Large
2. Are you acquainted to any official or non-official African societies in Hong Kong? If so, what are they?
3. Do you think there are enough support and resources given to these socieities?
4. What would you suggest the government or the society can do to help the African community to enjoy a better social life in Hong Kong?

*Questions are sometimes modified during the interviews.​