As a first-time foreigner in the UK, I spent a year getting used to the environment, and in the process, I discovered and learned about the language habits of Chinese people living in the UK and other Chinese people who have lived in North America and Australia for a long time through personal experiences and social media. Being a keen surfer and interested in the phenomenon of language, I noticed the high level of discussion and mixed reviews on this phenomenon and decided to use it as a research topic. In doing so, I used soundwalking as a basic research methodology, listening to the dialogues of the groups involved in the walks, and then creating new dialogues based on the characteristics revealed in these dialogues, and discussing identity belonging in the dialogues. In the following text I will first give a closer look at Chinglish and the linguistic phenomenon it represents today, then focus on how my practice was created, and finally record my reflections on the process. The research and artistic transformation of Chinglish is my endeavor to make Chinese people more understandable to locals, and it is also a catalyst to force Chinese people to think about their own identity and then think about the way they relate to people in their hometowns and the locals.

4.1 Intercultural adaptation problems of Chinese living abroad.

The issue of identity and cross-cultural adaptation of foreign Chinese is a multi-layered, complex, and dynamic process. The identities of Chinese foreigners are usually multiple, including ethnic identity (Chinese), nationality identity (country of residence), and possibly transnational identity (e.g., expatriate or migrant). These identities change over time, circumstances, and personal experiences. Foreign Chinese usually need to find a balance between maintaining their original culture and integrating into the new culture in a new cultural environment. It can be observed that many Chinese immigrants maintain their cultural identity through language, traditional festivals, and community activities, while gradually accepting and adapting to the cultural practices of the host country. Language is one of the key factors in cross-cultural adaptation. Higher language proficiency not only facilitates adaptation in daily life but also enhances the competitiveness of Chinese immigrants in education, employment, and other areas, thus facilitating wider social integration.

4.2 Definition of and trends in presenting Chinese English

Chinglish is a distinctive linguistic phenomenon arising from the influence of Chinese logic and expressions in the use of English words. This phenomenon is common among English learners and speakers whose mother tongue is Chinese. Chinglish is characterized by its vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and expressions.

4.2.1 Speaking English in a Chinese logical way

English is an important foreign language in China. Still, because most people learn to take the test as the first goal and do not understand the logical features of the language in the English language environment, many people appear to translate the Chinese sentences in their mind word by word into English when they speak English, and what appears to be English is actually the language logic of the Chinese expression. The logic of the language is the expression of the Chinese language. Very often such expressions are simply not understandable to people other than native Chinese speakers. Common mistakes include:

1.Wrong order: English sentence structure is different from Chinese, and Chinese English often shows that the Chinese order is directly applied to English. For example, "I very like this book" comes directly from the Chinese phrase "I like this book very much", but the correct English expression should be "I really like this book ".

2.Improper use of articles: Chinese does not have the concept of articles (e.g. a, an, the), so articles are often used incorrectly in Chinese English. For example, "I am going to supermarket" omits "the" or "a".

3.Tense confusion: Chinese tenses are not as complex as English, so tense errors often occur in Chinese English. For example, "Yesterday I go to the park" should be "Yesterday I went to the park".

4.Direct translation of idioms and expressions: Chinese is rich in idioms and sayings that are sometimes directly translated in Chinglish, but these translations may not work in English. For example, the Chinese for "Hearts as hard as flints" is "铁石心肠", but a direct translation of "Iron and stone entrails "might be confusing.

Screenshot of WHAT, practice 1

4.2.2 Code-mixing of Chinese and English

Code-mixing is the state of mixing several languages while speaking in a bilingual or multilingual environment, which is not only a linguistic phenomenon but also a product of social and cultural interaction.

The popular social media challenge of reading mixed Chinese, Japanese and English languages.

There are several types of code mixing between Chinese and English, common ones such as:

1.Insertional Code-Switching： Inserts words or phrases from another language into a sentence. For example, "我昨天去shopping了( I went shopping yesterday )." Here "shopping" is an English word inserted into a Chinese sentence.

Among them, the English words inserted in Chinese are not necessarily correct in terms of meaning or lexis. For example, in daily conversations, Chinese people will use the noun fashion as an adjective meaning "fashionable"; or take "chill" in the meaning of "chill out" as an adjective expressing the relaxation and emotional stability of a person or lifestyle. Such misuse of word meanings, mainly invented by people with low English education but influenced by globalisation, is widely used because it makes sentences less written and more complex by interspersing them with a foreign language. This leads to two very important reasons for the mixing of English codes in insertion: ease of expression and reduced semantic intuition.

Due to grammatical differences, something that needs to be expressed in a sentence or phrase in Chinese can be directly replaced by an English word. For example, Chinese people who are studying or have studied in English-speaking countries often use the adjectival meaning of "due" as a noun, meaning "a task with a deadline". We often say "赶due", a two-syllable word that is obviously more concise than the correct Chinese expression " working hard in order to complete the task within the deadline".

Due to the restrained nature of Chinese culture, there are some sensitive words that Chinese people are unwilling to say directly in their mother language and turn to English to eliminate embarrassment, such as words about sex. Many people find it embarrassing to say words like "sex" or "making love" directly, so they use English instead, which is like putting up a semitransparent screen in communication to achieve the effect of euphemism through a foreign language, or even they say "do" instead of "make love" to achieve a more ambiguous and euphemistic expression.

2.Alternate Code-Switching： Switches language between sentences or paragraphs. For example, "You know what? 我今天去购物了。 ( You know what? I went shopping today. )"

Alternate Chinese-English code mixing also has similar reasons to the previous one for the sake of concise expression. For example, "why" has three syllables in Chinese but only one in English. Another reason for alternating between Chinese and English is that some phrases often accompanied by a strong tone of voice in English cannot be said in Chinese, and once Chinese is used it will lose the cultural filter of English, and then fail to express a similar emotion. This phenomenon is inextricably linked to foreign cultural output, for example, saying OMG with a California accent automatically reminds people of hot, beautiful girls in chick flicks, and such a mix of Chinese and English sentences can add more interest to a conversation.

4.2.3 Development of Chinglish after 2000

The development of Chinglish after 2000 has shown a trend of diversification and complexity. During this period, with the rapid development of China's economy and the acceleration of globalization, more and more Chinese people have the ability and need to travel, study, work, and live abroad, and English has become more important to Chinese people, both in China and in foreign countries, leading to the development and evolution of Chinglish.

Especially with the reform of China's education system and the widespread of English education, more and more Chinese students are learning English from primary school. While this large-scale English education has boosted the popularity of English, it has also led to the widespread use of Chinese-style English, especially among students and young people. At the same time, the rise of social media has also fuelled the invention and use of Chinglish, which is regarded by many as a buzzword to be used on the internet, Including the word “Chinglish”.

Social media has made language exchange more diverse.

Essentially, Chinese English is borrowed words in the stage of integration. For example, in the early 1990s, Chinese people would use the English word "cool" as a foreign expression in their daily communication, whereas today, two decades later, "cool" has been written into dictionaries and has become a foreign language with a Chinese character form “酷” . Similarly, Chinese English words such as "add oil" and "people mountain people sea" are gradually being accepted and used in English-speaking countries.

4.3 Cultural belonging of Chinese-English bilinguals

Cultural belonging refers to an individual's sense of identification with and belonging to a culture or culture. This sense of belonging can be influenced by a variety of factors, including family background, educational experience, social environment, personal experience, and so on. The issue of cultural belonging is particularly complex for Chinese-English bilingual speakers, who usually grow up and live in two different cultural backgrounds.

Many bilingual speakers are exposed to Chinese culture at home and English culture at school or in society. They tend to develop a bi-cultural identity, identifying with both the Chinese culture and accepting the English culture. Some develop a mixed cultural identity, combining elements of both Chinese and English cultures. They may switch their identities in different contexts to adapt to different cultural environments.

However, bilingual speakers are easily confronted with culture clash issues, such as conflicts in values, behavioral norms, and social expectations. They may find it difficult to find a balance between the two cultures. In the process of cultural belonging, they may also experience identity confusion, be unsure of which culture they belong to, or feel that they do not fully belong to either culture. At the same time, the level of social acceptance of bilingual speakers may also affect their sense of cultural belonging. If they feel excluded or not understood in one culture, they may tend to identify with another.

This triggered my desire to conduct research and practice: can people with bilingual cultural backgrounds discern their identities and cultural affiliations through their use of Chinese and English? How do they, who speak a mixture of Chinese and English, perceive this?

Screenshot of 东/West by Su-Chen Hung, A Chinese-American Dual-Identity Artist's Autobiography on the Dilemma of Self-Identity

5.1 Listening: Walking in the City

The most important thing in this research is the sense of hearing. The information-gathering approach I adopted was soundwalking.Soundwalking is an activity of consciously attending to and recording the sounds of the environment, usually on a pre-designed route or within a specific area. This practice emphasizes the experience and understanding of soundscapes through walking and listening.Soundwalking can reveal the culture and history of a place, recording and telling stories of the past through sound.

Dialogue is conveyed through sound, such that the language is first-hand, instantaneous, and subconscious. Therefore, I searched for Chinese people on the streets of London, followed them, listened to and recorded their conversations, and in the process, observed their linguistic habits, and judged their inner preference for cultural belonging by analyzing how they preferred to use Chinese and English.

Following Piece by Vito Acconci, Walking by following someone else's route

5.2 Narrative Dialogue: From Lived Dialogue to Communication Phenomena and Reflections

The narrative dialogue here is not the traditional way of telling a story verbally, but through a well-designed dialogue, the background of the story behind the dialogue, the characters' personalities, and their viewpoints are subtly shown. This type of narrative leaves the real story to the audience to imagine and fill in, thus making the story more three-dimensional and vivid.

In this kind of narrative dialogue, there are no direct character introductions. The audience can only get a sideways view of the character's identity and personality through what they say in the dialogue, as well as their tone, accent, and delivery. For example, one character may hint at his geographical background or social status through his distinctive dialect or specific diction, while another character may show his educational level or occupational characteristics through his style of discourse.

The original purpose of choosing this method is to make the audience pay more conscious attention to these details. Attention to details not only enriches the audience's experience, but also enables them to understand the story more deeply. This kind of detail is exactly the kind of part of the information-gathering process that I focus on listening to and observing. When constructing a story, I notice how these subtleties invisibly shape the image and background of the characters, and thus in the narrative dialogue, I want the audience to go through the same process of information gathering and analysis.

In this way, the audience is not just passively receiving the content of the story, but actively participating in the construction of the story. They need to speculate and restore the identity information of the characters in the dialogue through careful listening and observation. This interactivity and participation not only enhances the layering and complexity of the narrative, but also prompts the audience to think more deeply about the motives and emotions behind the story, thus establishing a deeper emotional connection with the characters. This narrative method is both a challenge to the audience's intellect and imagination, as well as a training for their ability to perceive details.

5.3 Textual videoisation: sound and text

Due to the inevitable presence of Chinglish in the dialogues, I chose to attach correct English subtitles to the dialogues by producing text videos. This method not only helps non-Chinese viewers understand the content of the dialogues but also provides them with an in-depth understanding of some of the linguistic and ideological dilemmas faced by Chinese in English-speaking areas.

Through this form of subtitling, viewers are not only exposed to Chinglish, but also to standard English expressions at the same time. This overlapping and collision of languages can have the unique effect of enabling viewers to naturally grasp the logic of thinking in Chinglish and recognize its differences from Standard English as they try to separate and understand the two languages separately. For example, when a character utters a sentence in Chinglish, the subtitles will simultaneously show the standard English version of the sentence, so that viewers can directly compare the difference between the two, from which they can appreciate the unique expression of Chinglish and the cultural background behind it.

This form of dialogue with text is more capable of providing an active environment for viewers to understand and think than traditional Chinese English teaching. Instead of passively accepting knowledge, the audience can discover the characteristics of Chinglish through their own observations and analyses, and in the process put themselves in the shoes of Chinese people and feel the contradictions and challenges brought about by the intermingling of the two cultures. For example, when viewers see a Chinglish sentence, they need to infer its actual meaning through the subtitles, which not only trains their language skills but also allows them to experience the complex psychological process that Chinglish speakers go through when expressing their thoughts.

In addition, this method can also promote viewers' understanding and tolerance of cross-cultural communication. When they are understanding Chinglish, they are actually experiencing a cross-cultural dialogue. This experience helps break down cultural barriers and enhances their respect and understanding of different languages and cultural backgrounds. Through this type of immersion, the audience not only learns about the language but also gains a deeper cultural understanding.

Screenshot of A Mother Tongue (Magic Prelude) by Axel Kacoutié,A prelude into a world where language and magic are one.

6.1 Sound collection of the Chinese community in London

In addition to randomly encountering Chinese people on the street, I made a conscious effort to seek out places in Chinatown where I could listen carefully and record conversations. In the process, I found restaurants to be the easiest places to record. Not only because of the appropriate distance between the tables to listen without being noticed but also because people are more relaxed when they are eating and will exchange conversations without interruption. In this environment, I collected valuable natural conversations that included a mix of Chinese and English dialogue and Chinese accents with ambient sounds. This became the original reference for my artistic transformation.

The subjects in this audio are a mother and daughter sitting next to me, who speak Cantonese-accented Mandarin and do a lot of mixing of Chinese and English codes in their communication. Judging from their fluency and the frequency of their use of English, they are likely to be first and second-generation immigrants from the UK. From their dialogues, we can see that they are already very used to using English as almost all phrases are in English, yet they still use Chinese as the main part of their dialogues. I think it is obviously more intimate and relaxing for them to communicate in Chinese in a Chinese restaurant, and despite the deep influence of English culture on them, they still have not given up on the Chinese language and the Chinese cultural background it represents. There are many more such Chinese in the UK and the world.

6.2 The dilemmas and reflections of the Chinese behind the simple and abrupt dialogues

In practice, I wrote a dialogue in Chinese and one in English. The English dialogue is about a Chinese person with poor English and a local person expressing their feelings about traveling, and the use of Chinese English in the process caused a miscommunication. I used this dialogue to illustrate the difficulties that Chinese people encounter when they try to integrate into the local community, not only in terms of language but also in terms of the different ways of thinking arising from different cultural backgrounds, which make it difficult for Chinese people to express their ideas perfectly in communication and create a cultural gap.

Practice1, WHAT, 4:32

The Chinese dialogue is based on my friend and I. It creates a discussion between two friends living in the UK about whether or not to embrace the English culture, with one of them having a positive attitude and the other a negative one. But even the person who does not want to accept English culture subconsciously adds English to the dialogue. This describes the dilemma of the Chinese identity in foreign countries: whether they accept it or not, they are being influenced by it, and are gradually becoming a mix of different cultures.

Practice2, FLOWING, 2:45

In both dialogues, I included poetic ideas that have been developed through Chinese culture, which is the most difficult thing for Chinese people to express when they want to integrate into the local community. Grass, wood, wind, water, etc. have unique meanings in Chinese. How do bilinguals deal with this unique, untranslatable Chinese context in the process of integrating their dual identities, and whether they choose to forget their Chinese identities or to shape themselves into a superposition of the two minds and personalities in such a dilemma? All these are what the work wants the audience to think about.

6.3 A Podcasts video with a sense of immersion in ambient sound

In order to enhance the sense of immersion in the dialogue and to incorporate the environmental elements of the soundwalking, I added environmental sound effects to the video that matched the scene in which the dialogue took place. This not only makes the dialogue more vivid and realistic but also makes it easier for the audience to integrate into the scene while listening, thus increasing the conviction and understanding of the dialogue content.

For the English dialogue part, I chose to set it in a noisy cafe. The humming of the coffee machine, the whispering of the customers, the clinking of cups and saucers, all these background sound effects make the whole dialogue seem more realistic and natural. Through the design of this environmental sound effect, the audience can feel that the characters are communicating in a relaxed and casual atmosphere, which is also more in line with the relaxed and natural content of the English dialogue. In addition, the noisy background sound effect can blur some parts of the dialogue, which can better simulate the intermittent dialogue in real life, so that the audience can concentrate more when listening.

For the Chinese dialogue, I chose a park with a stream running through it as the background scene. The sound of the gurgling stream, the rustle of the wind blowing the leaves, and the occasional birdsong, all natural sounds echo the theme of the dialogue, especially when wind and water are mentioned in the dialogue, this background sound effect can arouse the audience's empathy and association. Through this delicate environmental sound design, the audience can not only feel the dialogue atmosphere of the characters in the natural environment but also understand the emotion and meaning of the dialogue content more deeply through the combination of auditory experience and visual images.

The use of such environmental sound effects not only enhances the authenticity and sense of immersion in the dialogue but also helps the audience to better understand and feel the culture and emotions behind the dialogue. Different environmental sound effects provide a three-dimensional background for the dialogue, making it more layered and infectious. For example, in a noisy cafe, the audience will feel the rhythm and compactness of city life, while in a park with a stream running through it, they will experience a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. This change of atmosphere not only enriches the expressiveness of the dialogue but also allows viewers to better understand the emotional state and psychological changes of the characters in different environments.

Adding ambient sound effects to the video that match the dialogue scenes, not only enhances the authenticity and sense of immersion of the dialogue but also provides a more immersive viewing experience for the audience. When the audience listens to the dialogue, they can not only understand the content through the language and subtitles but also feel the atmosphere of the scene through the ambient sound effects, so that they can understand and experience the emotional and cultural connotations of the dialogue in a more comprehensive way. This design makes the dialogue seem more convincing as a natural occurrence and enables the audience to participate more deeply in the dialogue when watching and listening.

Time is away, Achieve a close-to-life expression of content through a combination of speech and environmental music.

7.1 The implicit logic of communication in Chinese English

There are many poems, idioms, and other parts of the Chinese language that carry their own content and imagery. This half of the communication code like hyperlinks can be cultivated under Chinese culture. Chinglish is not only a mixture of language structures, but also a reflection of culture and communication logic. This particular content, which can only be understood but not conveyed in words, is part of the cultural identity of Chinese people, despite the difficulties it brings to their communication with native English speakers. When Chinese poetic discourse is spoken in English in large numbers, it is perhaps a process by which Chinese people communicate their cultural background outwardly and accommodate their English identity inwardly.

The increasingly frequent use of Chinglish is clearly a reflection of the growing acceptance of English culture. Language as a tool of communication builds a bridge of cultural integration. At the same time, the process of exporting Chinglish outward is also a spillover of Chinese identity. These positive exchanges are all contributing to cultural diversity.

7.2 Continuous identity discourse

Identity discourse for bilinguals is an ongoing and complex process. Observational activities such as recognizing the environment and the self require a great deal of integration with one's own cognitive and cultural background, so how one goes about this procedure will be an important part of the process of internalizing their own background. It is also a very self-conscious process, and the way individuals relate to their environment and people is unique and interesting.

The fact that bilinguals use different languages in different contexts prompts them to constantly reflect on their own identity. For example, they may reflect on their understanding of their self-identity by thinking about which language is more appropriate to use in a particular situation.

Language choice is not only a tool for communication but also part of identity expression. Bilinguals express their cultural belonging and identity by choosing a particular language. For example, the use of English in a formal setting may express their professional identity, while the use of Chinese in a family gathering expresses their cultural affiliation.

In the past, present, and future, people living in foreign countries have always thought about their identity. Belonging is also always a topic that belongs to them. Through identity contemplation, bilinguals develop strong intercultural competence, and they are able to cope flexibly in different cultural environments. This intercultural competence not only contributes to personal development but also has a positive significance on the development of social diversity.

At the same time, bilinguals gain multiple perspectives in identity discernment, and they are able to understand and tolerate the differences between different cultures, which helps to promote cross-cultural communication and cooperation.

Language can reflect a person's view and attitude towards his or her personal identity, and changes in the language itself represent a switch or change in a person's identity. My research not only aims to prove such a point but also hopes to promote mutual understanding among people with different mother tongues and to communicate and interact with each other with a tolerant heart.

With this study only, I would like to elaborate on the thoughts and wishes of a new dual-identity person.

• Зарубин, Алексей Николаевич. "Chinglish: a cultural phenomenon." (2012).

By studying the phenomenon and impact of Chinglish, the cultural significance of Chinglish is explored and possible implications for linguistic purity are noted.

• Zhang, Wei. "Chinese-English code-mixing among China's netizens:

Chinese-English mixed-code communication is gaining popularity on the Internet." English Today 28.3 (2012): 40-52.

• Smolicki, Jacek, ed. Soundwalking: through time, space, and technologies. CRC Press, 2023.

An introduction to the methodology of soundwalking, instructing me on how to use sound as the primary observational information as well as how to discern and process cumbersome ambient sounds.

• Acconci, V. Following Piece. 1969.

With the theme of walking tracking observation records, the artist offers a way of working with art that breaks down the boundaries of strangers in public space, while at the same time being art that is itself an affront to personal territory. Such a method of art practice will become an important way of collecting materials for my work.

• Su-Chen Hung. 东/West.

Splicing images of mouths that speak half Chinese and half English. The collision of the lips and the fragmentation of the images reflect her struggle with her two identities.

• Radio Atlas.https://www.radioatlas.org/a-m...

The text and readings are made into a simple and straightforward video, using visuals to assist the auditory expression.

• Ortega y Gasset, J. (Year). Man and People. Authorized translation from the Spanish by W.R. Trask. New York.

Extremely detailed analyses and theorising of individuals and groups. I will take the parts I need as theoretical support.

• Wang, D. (Year). Which is more important: "voice" or "hearing"? Discourse Construction in Auditory Cultural Studies.

Important sound-walking papers, carefully elaborating on the recording of observations and information processing of environmental sounds, were an important reference for the first part of my walk through Canary Wharf.

• Hanning, J. (Year). Turkish Mercedes, 1996.

The exploration of immigrant identity is accompanied by the use of sound in artworks that subtly intervene locally with the language of foreign peoples. Will be an important reference for my practice.

• Jean-François.Intimité territoriale et espace public, Jeu de Paume Hall, 2013

The concept of I’ntimité territoriale is discussed in full detail, while using very much referenced and relevant photography.

• Gill, Scherto. "Overseas students' intercultural adaptation as intercultural learning: A transformative framework." Compare 37.2 (2007): 167-183.