The use of semiotic resources in a British and Chinese cross-cultural family within three generations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the utilisation of semiotic resources and altitudes of families after transiting from a single cultural family to a cross-cultural family. The participants of this study include three generations and six family members from a Chinese and British cross-cultural family located in the East Midlands of England. This Chinese family comes from a developed city in southern China. Among these three generations of six members, the grandparents and the mother are mono lingual. The three children are multilingual and have varying degrees of proficiency in Mandarin and English, as well as an understanding of the cultures of both countries. This study adopted an ethnographic research method, using field notes and interactive approach to collect data within one month, while combining participants’ daily observations and conversations on media platforms to answer the research questions. This study conducted the research on three parts: recording data, identifying semiotic resources, and analysing resources. The study also applied systematic data analysis using PEEL (Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link) writing format under the guidance of Gibbons (2019). The results of this study indicated that semiotic resources are reflected in the pendant of Chinese calligraphy, hot water culture discussed on social media, birthday cards, and daily etiquette. In addition, the attributes behind these semiotic resources reflected recognition and appreciation of multiculturalism among family members, as well as an open attitude towards diversity. When using semiotic resources, cross-cultural communicators selectively used a certain language, image, or method to construct the text they needed to adapt to the current conversational environment, thereby achieving successful meaning creation and developing cooperative abilities.