Dynamics of Language Attitudes and Language Choices In the Film Everything Everywhere All at Once: A Sociolinguistic Study on The Use of Mandarin, English, and Cantonese

Abstract

This study examines the dynamics of language attitude and language choice in the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) using a sociolinguistic approach. Representing the first and second generations of the Chinese-American immigrant community, the film presents linguistic complexities involving Mandarin, English, and Cantonese. The research method applied is descriptive qualitative with filmic discourse analysis techniques. Data consist of dialogue fragments, code-switching, code-mixing, and non-verbal expressions reflecting the characters' subjective evaluations of specific languages. The results show that language choices within the Wang family are determined by interlocutors, interaction domains, topics, and emotional load. Cantonese serves as an instrument of traditional domestic intimacy and respect toward the oldest generation (Gong Gong), Mandarin functions as a formal-emotional bridge for the nuclear family, while English dominates the expression of identity for the second generation (Joy), who experiences de-ethnicization. The identified language attitudes split into a positive (sentimental-loyal) attitude among the first generation, who view their native tongue as a cultural anchor, and a pragmatic-ambivalent attitude among the second generation. This intergenerational linguistic gap triggers communication distortions and cultural censorship to maintain the concept of 'face' (mianzi), yet emotional resolution is ultimately achieved through pluralistic linguistic compromises.