Transpositioning Identity of Indonesian Hospitality Internship Program Students in Hong Kong Hotels

Abstract

This study investigates the transpositioning of identity among Indonesian hospitality interns navigating multilingual environments in Hong Kong’s global hotel sector, a context that remains underexplored in current research. Recognizing the gap in how young professionals adapt and reposition their linguistic and cultural identities within institutions dominated by linguistic hierarchies and diverse ideologies, the study set out to examine how they transform themselves in such agentive, moment-to-moment shifts in self-positioning.  Employing a qualitative narrative inquiry design, data were collected through thematic analysis triangulated by survey data and interviews with four Indonesian interns. The findings reveal that identity transformation in this setting is both strategic and deeply agentive: intern students transition from locally-rooted Indonesian students to global hospitality professionals,  transpositioning their identity from Indonesian student to global hospitality professional as well as shaping their identity through continually leveraging English, Mandarin, and other languages as powerful tools for career advancement, adaptive professionalism, and emotional well-being. The implications suggest that hospitality training should focus not only on language proficiency but also on the development of identity-negotiation skills, preparing interns for complex communicative and cultural demands. Future research is recommended to trace the long-term effects of workplace identity transposition, compare outcomes across international service sectors, and integrate longitudinal and quantitative approaches.