Young Adults' Language Mixing on Chinese Social Media: Convergence and Identity Changes through WeChat.

China as a place, and Chinese as a language, is seen by many to be a unitary whole. Upon closer inspection, however, a new and more diverse picture emerges. From data collected in Macao we find the rise of a mixed vernacular Cantonese-English style of communicating; this is seen most commonly and creatively in online messages shared among young adults who use WeChat. This chapter demonstrates how social media may be a platform for youth to create mixed forms and interactional patterns rooted in a local context, but also shared across greater China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]