The semiotic construction of cha chaan teng tea cafés in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong-style cha chaan teng (茶餐廳), or tea cafés, are a key feature of the local foodscape and they are internationally known and recognised. However, their semiotic aspects have received little scholarly attention. This paper combines a geosemiotic analysis of cha chaan tengs with a historical perspective on their development. The theoretical approach also draws on the concept of the semiotic register as an aspect of enregisterment, highlighting both the dynamic development of the cha chaan teng register and its currently visible differentiation. The latter is analysed through the tentative identification of different subcategories of cha chaan teng, two of which are illustrated by detailed geosemiotic analyses. The analysis shows how more recently established cha chaan tengs can consciously draw on certain aspects of the semiotic register to create a sense of the past in new spaces, as part of an overall semiotic strategy that indexes related values such as artisan production. The semiotic construction of cha chaan tengs reveals aspects of the complex relationship between economic and commercial factors, identity, and a sense of belonging.

香港式茶餐廳 (cha chaan teng) 是本地飲食景觀中的重要元素，已在國際層面廣為人知及獲得認可。然而，有關其符號學層面上的研究迄今仍未受到學術界廣泛關注。本文將茶餐廳的地理符號學 (geosemiotics) 分析與其演變發展的歷史角度相結合，從而勾勒茶餐廳在空間與時間上的符號構建。理論方面，本文作為引援作為「語域化」(enregisterment) 一環的「符號語域」 (semiotic register) 概念，以凸顯茶餐廳符號語域的動態發展及其當下呈現出的分化態勢。本文嘗試初步界定若干茶餐廳的子類別，並選取其中兩項，透過詳細深入的地理符號學 (geosemiotics) 分析作為示例。研究顯示，較近期開設的茶餐廳會有意識地調動與茶餐廳符號語域相關的若干元素，在嶄新的空間中營造出「昔日」的想像與感知，作為整體符號策略的一部分，用以指涉諸如匠心製作等相關價值。茶餐廳的符號構建過程，揭示了經濟與商業考量、身分構建及歸屬感認同之間錯綜複雜的緊密關聯。