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Languages and Tourism
Languages and Tourism
Ngong Ping 360
Our first destination is the Ngong Ping village. We went there by cable car, the Ngong Ping 360. The charges of the cable car are as below. The exciting cable car journey was approximately 25 minutes. Due to the bad weather on our visiting day, the journey was more exciting than we expected. The cable car was tottering. The fierce wind sounds frightening. If you want a safe journey, please check the weather report before you go to the trip. It is because one of our reporters even screamed due to the frightening journey. However, we saw some foreigners were so brave that they standed up in the carriages and said ‘Hello’ to us.
Ngong Ping 360 ticket prices
Normal Days Special Days
Adults Children Students Adults Children Students
Journey of Enlightenment Package $145 $75 $108 $155 $80 $118
Cable Car Experience:Round Trip $88 $45 $68 $98 $50 $78
Cable Car Experience:Single Trip $58 $28 $45 $68 $35 $55
The Ngong Ping Village
The first sight we arrive the Ngong Ping village was full of Western and Southeast Asian travelers. We heard different languages.
Since the language we heard in Hong Kong is basically Cantonese, this makes us wonder whether we are in Hong Kong. Let’s guess where they come from!
Research
According to the research we did on the day visited(the above piechat), we found that the majority of the visitors are the South East Asian and the mainlanders. As we never expected that so many visitors came from Southeast countries, we are all shocked by the result. No wonder that we heard so many languages that we could not understand and even distinguish what the languages they were using. Apart from that, we always heard several Chinese dialects too. Since we had never heard all the Chinese dialects before, some of them were too difficult for us to distinguish. Luckily there were Chinese using Cantonese with Putonghua accent. It seems that they are trying their best to speak Cantonese in Hong Kong in order to communicate with Hong Kong people, but fail to do so because of their heavy native accent. Although, they cannot speak perfect Cantonese, we thought that their spoken Cantonese is pretty well at all. Maybe it is because most of them are super big fans of TVB Cantonese drama that make them have an extra way to learn Cantonese.
Hi 5 Question
What does language use mean to you?
1. For me, it is just used as a mean to communicate with others.
2. Language is something difficult to master, especially Putonghua since I have been studying for 3 years but still can’t speak fluently.
3. It can be used in many different ways such as verbal and non-verbal and I think the verbal language can be used effectively since it’s the effective medium to express our own feelings. I can’t imagine the world without languages!
4. What? Sometimes language use is a tool to communicate; sometimes it is more than a tool because it can be very artistic.
5. Although it is full of grammatical rules, it is interesting and challenging for me.
Arts cape(The display of languages)
The traditional Chinese style architecture in the Ngong Ping Village is just like a 'China Town' in Tung Chung.When we were strolling around the Ngong Ping village, we found that this fabulous cultural themed village was really popular among the foreign visitors. It is because we could see many foreigners were enthusiastic about taking photos in front of the Chinese style architecture.
We appreciated the consistent traditional Chinese style road signs and way marks throughout the village. Just like the photo above, the door, the handle and the signs of female toilet is different from the other tourist spots in Hong Kong. They are artistic and cultural-themed that was impressive and unforgettable.
From the above photo, we found that the Chinese culture was the main selling point of these souvenirs. For example, the dragon, plum blossom pattern which were commonly printed on the products here, are representative of good fortune in China.
Not only can you find the traditional Chinese architecture such as the building curved roofs of the building, carved dragons on the pillars but also the intercultural architects. For example, the Western culture shop, Starbucks, was built in traditional Chinese style. We could see the uniqueness of architecture in the Ngong Ping Village. We also observed that the Western and Japanese products were sold under Chinese style shops. For example, the AJI ICHIBAN, which is a Japanese food shop, is selling their products in the Chinese Style decorated shop.
The Map
In the Ngong Ping Village, we had an astonishing discovery. The site map here is sophisticated as it is written in Chinese, English as well as the braille signs. All of the visitors can make good use of this 3-dimensional map, which is really user-friendly.
Citygate
Difference between sales in Big Buddha and Citygate
After visiting the Big Buddha, we went to the souvenir shops. When we were shopping in the shops, there was a fascinating finding. The salesperson can only speak basic English with Cantonese accent. As their spoken English was below standard, they were just repeating the sentences like ‘One hundred dollars for one’ and ‘I can give you discount!’ As their English proficiency was not high enough to have deeper communication with the foreign travelers, they had difficulties in the conversations with the visitors. We found that when the foreigners have further requests, they stammered and stuttered to answer the questions with simple sentence and limited vocabularies. In some cases, they even needed to use body language to supplement their expression. Although their spoken English was not fluent, they still tried their best to elaborate their answers. We appreciate their positive attitude to fulfill their job requirement although they were weak in the communication aspect.
Inside Citygate, there are numerous shops and outlets. In comparison, the sales are well-trained and they spoke fluent English. Unlike the receptionist of the Monkeys Tale Theatre in Ngong Ping, the salesperson can speak fluent English more confidently with complex use of sentence structure and wide variety of vocabularies. They even have further communications with foreigners using professional language skills. Most of them are trilingual, the third language they can use are either Putonghua or Japanese. Due to their fluent spoken English, they understand the queries of the customers and deliver the product information accurately and clearly.
From this inspiring observation, we can see that English acts as a medium of communication between the staff and the foreigners. Dornyei & Csizer (2005) stated that the intercultural contact is a key issue in learning a second language. The interethnic contact creates opportunities for developing the second language skills and acts as a powerful influence shaping the learners’ motivational disposition, thereby promoting motivated learning behavior(pp. 327-357). Thus, we observed that better understanding between them further led to the success of Tung Chung as a good destination for tourists.
Signs in Citygate & Music fountain
In the shopping arcade, we found that there are many signs, which are bilingual. The bilingual signs can guide the local and foreign visitors where their destinations are. As the signs are not only contain words, but also the symbols which help the illiterates to know how to find their ways.
We found that the foreigners as well as the locals were playing, eating and sitting near the music fountain. Different languages were heard. Due to the observation of different countries people were gathering nearby the music fountain, we could find that Hong Kong as a cosmopolitan city within this area.
Ngong Ping 360Our first destination is the Ngong Ping village. We went there by cable car, the Ngong Ping 360. The charges of the cable car are as below. The exciting cable car journey was approximately 25 minutes. Due to the bad weather on our visiting day, the journey was more exciting than we expected. The cable car was tottering. The fierce wind sounds frightening. If you want a safe journey, please check the weather report before you go to the trip. It is because one of our reporters even screamed due to the frightening journey. However, we saw some foreigners were so brave that they standed up in the carriages and said ‘Hello’ to us.
Ngong Ping 360 ticket prices
Normal Days Special Days
Adults Children Students Adults Children Students
Journey of Enlightenment Package $145 $75 $108 $155 $80 $118
Cable Car Experience:Round Trip $88 $45 $68 $98 $50 $78
Cable Car Experience:Single Trip $58 $28 $45 $68 $35 $55
The Ngong Ping Village
The first sight we arrive the Ngong Ping village was full of Western and Southeast Asian travelers. We heard different languages.
Since the language we heard in Hong Kong is basically Cantonese, this makes us wonder whether we are in Hong Kong. Let’s guess where they come from!
According to the research we did on the day visited(the above piechat), we found that the majority of the visitors are the South East Asian and the mainlanders. As we never expected that so many visitors came from Southeast countries, we are all shocked by the result. No wonder that we heard so many languages that we could not understand and even distinguish what the languages they were using. Apart from that, we always heard several Chinese dialects too. Since we had never heard all the Chinese dialects before, some of them were too difficult for us to distinguish. Luckily there were Chinese using Cantonese with Putonghua accent. It seems that they are trying their best to speak Cantonese in Hong Kong in order to communicate with Hong Kong people, but fail to do so because of their heavy native accent. Although, they cannot speak perfect Cantonese, we thought that their spoken Cantonese is pretty well at all. Maybe it is because most of them are super big fans of TVB Cantonese drama that make them have an extra way to learn Cantonese.
Hi 5 Question
What does language use mean to you?
1. For me, it is just used as a mean to communicate with others. 2. Language is something difficult to master, especially Putonghua since I have been studying for 3 years but still can’t speak fluently.
3. It can be used in many different ways such as verbal and non-verbal and I think the verbal language can be used effectively since it’s the effective medium to express our own feelings. I can’t imagine the world without languages!
4. What? Sometimes language use is a tool to communicate; sometimes it is more than a tool because it can be very artistic.
5. Although it is full of grammatical rules, it is interesting and challenging for me.
Arts cape(The display of languages)
The traditional Chinese style architecture in the Ngong Ping Village is just like a 'China Town' in Tung Chung.When we were strolling around the Ngong Ping village, we found that this fabulous cultural themed village was really popular among the foreign visitors. It is because we could see many foreigners were enthusiastic about taking photos in front of the Chinese style architecture.
We appreciated the consistent traditional Chinese style road signs and way marks throughout the village. Just like the photo above, the door, the handle and the signs of female toilet is different from the other tourist spots in Hong Kong. They are artistic and cultural-themed that was impressive and unforgettable.
From the above photo, we found that the Chinese culture was the main selling point of these souvenirs. For example, the dragon, plum blossom pattern which were commonly printed on the products here, are representative of good fortune in China.
Not only can you find the traditional Chinese architecture such as the building curved roofs of the building, carved dragons on the pillars but also the intercultural architects. For example, the Western culture shop, Starbucks, was built in traditional Chinese style. We could see the uniqueness of architecture in the Ngong Ping Village. We also observed that the Western and Japanese products were sold under Chinese style shops. For example, the AJI ICHIBAN, which is a Japanese food shop, is selling their products in the Chinese Style decorated shop.
The Map
In the Ngong Ping Village, we had an astonishing discovery. The site map here is sophisticated as it is written in Chinese, English as well as the braille signs. All of the visitors can make good use of this 3-dimensional map, which is really user-friendly.
Citygate
Difference between sales in Big Buddha and Citygate
After visiting the Big Buddha, we went to the souvenir shops. When we were shopping in the shops, there was a fascinating finding. The salesperson can only speak basic English with Cantonese accent. As their spoken English was below standard, they were just repeating the sentences like ‘One hundred dollars for one’ and ‘I can give you discount!’ As their English proficiency was not high enough to have deeper communication with the foreign travelers, they had difficulties in the conversations with the visitors. We found that when the foreigners have further requests, they stammered and stuttered to answer the questions with simple sentence and limited vocabularies. In some cases, they even needed to use body language to supplement their expression. Although their spoken English was not fluent, they still tried their best to elaborate their answers. We appreciate their positive attitude to fulfill their job requirement although they were weak in the communication aspect.
Inside Citygate, there are numerous shops and outlets. In comparison, the sales are well-trained and they spoke fluent English. Unlike the receptionist of the Monkeys Tale Theatre in Ngong Ping, the salesperson can speak fluent English more confidently with complex use of sentence structure and wide variety of vocabularies. They even have further communications with foreigners using professional language skills. Most of them are trilingual, the third language they can use are either Putonghua or Japanese. Due to their fluent spoken English, they understand the queries of the customers and deliver the product information accurately and clearly. From this inspiring observation, we can see that English acts as a medium of communication between the staff and the foreigners. Dornyei & Csizer (2005) stated that the intercultural contact is a key issue in learning a second language. The interethnic contact creates opportunities for developing the second language skills and acts as a powerful influence shaping the learners’ motivational disposition, thereby promoting motivated learning behavior(pp. 327-357). Thus, we observed that better understanding between them further led to the success of Tung Chung as a good destination for tourists.
Signs in Citygate & Music fountain
We found that the foreigners as well as the locals were playing, eating and sitting near the music fountain. Different languages were heard. Due to the observation of different countries people were gathering nearby the music fountain, we could find that Hong Kong as a cosmopolitan city within this area.
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