Discourse processes and products: Land surveyors in Hong Kong

The study reported in this paper aims to provide a description of professional communication pertaining to land surveying project management in Hong Kong, achieved through a comprehensive analysis of both workplace discourse processes and products. The study, situated in Hong Kong, represents a collaborative effort between English and Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics departments in a university and a civil engineering consultancy firm. By means of survey research, textual analysis and ethnography, the study has collected rich data which enable descriptions of the nature and patterns of professional communication, and the communication profiles of novice and expert professionals engaged in project management in land surveying. In addition, examples of workplace discursive events are discussed in terms of intertextuality. The findings of the study make a useful contribution to the description of professional communication expertise in the field of land surveying project management from the perspectives of both professionals and academia, and have important implications for the education of future members of the profession.