Cantonese, a Sino-Tibetan language with a long history, is primarily spoken in the Guangdong region of China, as well as in Hong Kong, Macau, and various overseas Chinese communities. It holds significant political, economic, and cultural value. Howev...
Cantonese, a Sino-Tibetan language with a long history, is primarily spoken in the Guangdong region of China, as well as in Hong Kong, Macau, and various overseas Chinese communities. It holds significant political, economic, and cultural value. However, due to various factors, the usage environment for Cantonese has become increasingly limited, leading to a substantial decline in the number of speakers in recent years, thus posing challenges for cultural transmission. Nonetheless, with the advent of the information age, Cantonese is encountering new opportunities for growth, with the internet emerging as a novel avenue for its dissemination. This study, therefore, takes the Cantonese online community as its starting point, aiming to investigate the current status of Cantonese culture on the internet and systematically discuss strategies to achieve the sustainable development of Cantonese and its associated culture. The research period extends from 2022 to early 2024, focusing on the Cantonese online community on the popular Chinese platform 'Bilibili.' The study commences with an examination of four representative influencers who promote Cantonese culture, analyzing their video content, interactive comments, and interviews with community subscribers.
This study employs qualitative research methods to better understand the cultural context of the Cantonese-speaking community and to explore their needs and desires. Firstly, netnography was utilized to conduct long-term observations of Cantonese online communities, collecting relevant visual and textual materials. Subsequently, a combination of semi-structured interviews and online focus groups was used to gather multidimensional data, systematically analyzing the cultural phenomena and user needs within these communities. Finally, triangulation was employed to ensure the reliability of the research. Additionally, a conceptual diagram of the Cantonese online community ecosystem was derived, exploring the cultural themes, influencing factors, and developmental suggestions for the community. The findings indicated that policy, culture, public services, and education play crucial roles in the inheritance and development of the Cantonese language. The diversity of local culture and strong cultural identity significantly influence the cultural life and identity formation of community members. Ultimately, by integrating the concept of sustainable development, a design strategy framework for the sustainable development of the Cantonese language and culture was established, based on ecological, economic, and social dimensions. The framework consists of three main components: ecosystem construction strategy, revenue diversification strategy, and cultural group concentration strategy. The ecosystem construction strategy focuses on content creation for the Cantonese language and culture, cross-media promotion, and digital exhibitions to enhance cultural influence and tourism industry development. The revenue diversification strategy aims to increase the market value and economic impact of Cantonese culture through brand design, advertising placement, and partnerships. The cultural group concentration strategy involves segmenting the user market, encouraging user participation and cross-cultural exchange activities to boost cultural experience and learning interest, and promoting the spread of Cantonese culture. This design strategy framework can be applied to various individuals and organizations, including Cantonese people, online community platform operators, and Cantonese cultural industry practitioners, providing new perspectives and methods for protecting and inheriting the Cantonese language and culture.
This study investigates the representation of Cantonese language and culture in online communities, identifying the thoughts and needs of subscribers. The findings aim to enhance the understanding of how Cantonese language and culture disseminate within online communities and their impact on user behavior. Additionally, the proposed sustainable development design strategy framework for Cantonese culture offers practical directions for future research. Beyond providing significant value to the Cantonese cultural community, this strategy can serve as a reference for the preservation of other regional languages and cultures. It highlights the potential of integrating anthropological methods in design studies, serving as a reference for interdisciplinary research aiming to address complex sustainable development issues. Furthermore, this study offers a foundation for relevant Chinese institutions to formulate policies for the protection of regional languages and cultures, thereby enhancing policy effectiveness. Future research should include a longer tracking period and a more extensive sample encompassing various types of Cantonese online communities. It should also investigate the impact of new technologies across platforms and social media on the sustainable development of Cantonese culture, encouraging multidisciplinary collaborative research. Collaboration with government departments or social organizations should be explored to provide a solid foundation for the preservation and development of Cantonese culture.