Abstract

Under the influence of globalization, Hong Kong has been one of the most popular spots in Asia for international companies to set up offices and regional headquarters. With the uniqueness of the language environment and the city’s significance as an international commercial and financial centre, Hong Kong is an ideal research site for the use of English among local Cantonese-ethnic Chinese, Mainland Chinese, and also speakers from other Western cultural backgrounds in intercultural workplace settings. This study examines relationships between rapport management, cultural differences, and specific negotiated norms among members of Community of Practice (CofP) by investigating how rapport is managed and interlocutors get things done in particular CofPs. In particular, this article looks at how rapport is managed and face work is done when interlocutors refuse certain orders and requests from other members in a private educational company and how norms are negotiated in a department in a local higher education institute. The study would like to acknowledge the dynamic nature of interlocutors’ identities. Participants’ linguistic behaviour may not always reveal their cultural identity. Instead, in different situations, participants may select from an array of pragmatic strategies to construct their identities to fulfill different purposes.