This dissertation conducts a sociolinguistic study to examine the current status and potential future development of vernacular written Cantonese (VWC), as opposed to the government-sanctioned standard written language -- Standard Written Chinese (SWC), in Guangzhou (Canton City) of China. Collecting sociolinguistic data from 116 Cantonese-Mandarin biliterates in Guangzhou, this study deals with the social variation of language attitudes toward VWC, and with the sociolinguistic variation in terms of writing behavior of Mandarin-Cantonese biliterates. Moreover, the role of Cantonese lifestyle is explored as an influencing factor in the literacy practices of VWC in this study.
Firstly, a statistical study is conducted to describe the social variation of the language attitudes toward VWC. The results suggest that the positive attitude toward VWC in Guangzhou is restricted to the informal and casual domains. The best strategy to maintain the vitality of VWC in Guangzhou community is to let it develop naturally. Furthermore, VWC has social value as a marker of cultural solidarity in Guangzhou city, a vital sign of its maintenance.
Secondly, the directions of the variation of VWC in different linguistic levels are explored in terms of language divergence and convergence in different social groups. The findings suggest that the patterns of VWC used by different social groups vary at the lexical and syntactic levels. Male gender is the most influencing factor in the convergence of VWC to SWC, while the most notable social factors are female gender and middle income in the divergence of VWC from SWC.
Lastly, correlation methods of statistics as well as the method of critical discourse analysis (CDA) are adopted to explore the role of local identity in the maintenance and spread of VWC in the Guangzhou community. The findings suggest that, the Guangzhou Cantonese lifestyle, representing the regional identity of Guangzhou, plays a positive role in the divergence of VWC from SWC. There is also positive correlation between language attitude and Guangzhou Cantonese lifestyle. Mass media and Hong Kong culture strongly promote the spread of VWC in the Guangzhou community.