Talking about AIDS in Hong Kong: Cultural Models in Public Health Discourse.

A study explored the issues of cultural identity and interaction in public health discourse concerning Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Hong Kong's multilingual, multicultural social context. Twenty public service announcements (PSAs) concerning AIDS awareness televised in both English and Cantonese in Hong Kong from 1987 to 1994 were analyzed for the ways in which they construct norms of behavior for various groups represented in the ads and thereby prescribe norms of interpretation for viewers, norms that vary subtly between English and Cantonese versions. The study then expands on this analysis through analysis of the responses of local Cantonese-speaking college students to the PSAs. This was accomplished in an English for Professional Communication class activity simulating media focus groups whose task was to evaluate government-produced PSAs and suggest a campaign of their own. Excerpts of transcripts of the student interactions are included. Implications for classroom communication are discussed. Contains 45 references. (MSE)