The linguistic landscape of Hong Kong after the change of sovereignty

This study about the linguistic landscape of Hong Kong was conducted 12 years after the People's Republic of China (PRC) reclaimed sovereignty over the city. A total of 1160 visual signs displayed in open public spaces in four selected areas of Hong Kong were analysed. These sites extend from the very heart of the city to a small town near the border with the PRC. Through analysis of the assembled photographic evidence, it is able to establish baseline data that help answer three major questions namely: to what extent is Hong Kong a multilingual city; how prominent is the influence of the PRC after the change of sovereignty; and how far is the presence of minority groups represented in the linguistic landscape of Hong Kong.