Andrew Wong, Ph.D.

Professor of Anthropology

Anthropology

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Expertise

Sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology, Language variation and change, Language and ideology, Language and the media, Language and sexuality, Hong Kong, Applied anthropology, Business anthropology (marketing and advertising, brand name development)

Languages spoken besides English

Chinese (native), French (intermediate), Italian (beginner), Spanish (beginner), German (beginner), Dutch (beginner) and Japanese (beginner).

Biography

My research focuses on the ways in which ideologies materialize in and through language. Using ethnographic, sociolinguistic, and experimental methods, I have examined the role of ideology in semantic variation and change, the relationship between genre and social change, and the creative use of unconventional spelling in brand names. My current project explores how the ongoing conflict between Hong Kong and mainland China is being played out on the terrain of language. I am also interested in the applications of linguistic anthropology in marketing and advertising (particularly, brand name development). I previously worked at Lexicon Branding, where I oversaw its global linguistic and cultural evaluation program.