International city branding as intercultural discourse: workplace, development, and globalization

摘要

虽然已有城市学学者从交际语言的角度对城市发展问题进行了研究，但这种话语的文化特性、跨文化特性尚未得到足够的发掘。本文以杭州这一中国东部沿海地区的著名旅游城市与古都为例，进行城市发展话语的研究，探索在中国/亚洲/发展中国家这一大语境背景下，杭州在城市品牌全球化建设过程中表现出的特征、问题及潜力。首先，在对现流行的主流研究方式提出批评之后，本文第一次从整体视角阐述了发展中国家城市品牌的国际营销概念——种具有文化性和发展指向性的工作场所话语。其次，本文聚焦城市品牌国际化建设、传播、接受的实践活动，釆用民族志式的多渠道数据采集方法（涉及市政府、商业组织、互联网、采访、报纸、街头海报、博物馆、历史记录等），从质性和量性的角度就包括市政管理、博览会、传统节日推广、展览、国际旅游、网站、外语使用情况等在内的各种活动进行综合分析和评价。最后，本文就发展中国家的城市发展和城市品牌建设问题，对未来的硏究与实践提出了建议。%Although the communicative dimension of urban development has caught the imagination of urban studies scholars, the cultural, and intercultural, nature of this discourse has received less attention than it deserves. As a case study and illustration of urban development workplace discourse from out of a Chinese/Asian/developing-world context, the present article examines the properties, problems, and potentials of the global branding practice of Hangzhou, a renowned tourist and ancient capital city on the east coastal region of China. First, after critiquing tendencies in relevant communication approaches, the paper outlines a holistic, cultural concept of urban branding of the developing world - as a culturally saturated, development-oriented, workplace discourse. Then, based on ethnographic data collected from a plethora of sites and sources (the municipality, trade association, the Internet, interviews, newspapers, street posters, museums, and historical records), the paper studies, qualitatively and quantitatively, a variety of interlocking international branding practices (municipal management, expos, festivals, exhibitions, international tours, websites, foreign language use, award-winning, etc.). In conclusion, the paper draws implications for future research and practice on urban development and branding in the developing world.