Leng3 Zai2, Leng3 neoi5
In Cantonese, Leng3 Zai2 and Leng3 neoi5 means ‘handsome boy’ and ‘pretty girl’ respectively. These words are very common greetings in Hong Kong and can be used in as alternatives to normal address like Mr, Mrs, Ms etc. For example, ” Leng3 Zai2, can i have a glass of seoi2 (water) m4 goi1 (please)”. This would be a normal way of asking a waiter for a glass of water. These first words have been very beneficial as they were great conversation starters.
However, some students would mix up the pronunciation with lek1 zai2 and lek1 neoi5 which means ‘smart boy’ and ‘smart girl’ respectively. It is about compliments – but it is not used in as conversation starters.
Lazy Pronunciations
Lazy pronunciations (or lazy sounds) are the “left-over” phonetic traits from childhood for some native-speakers. Some sounds are difficult to pronounce for a child and they are replaced by similar sounds which would take less effort to pronounce.
As the child grows older and the linguistic ability has developed better, the lazy-sounds will be replaced by the correct sounds. The correction sometimes happens naturally and sometimes requires guidance from the adults.
Unfortunately, this process might not happen to some people, for many different reasons. This is why when people speak with lazy sounds, they sound like a child.
- ‘n’ initial replaced by ‘l’.
E.g., 男 (man) – naam4 becomes laam4 / 你 (you) – nei5 become lei5 - ‘ng’ initial disappears.
E.g. 我 (I) – ngo5 becomes o5 - ‘ng’ final replaced by ‘m’.
E.g. 五 (five) – ng5 becomes m5
In recent years, many young pop-stars suffer seriously from lazy pronunciations and this seems alright, if not trendy. As a result, many youngsters follow them. This was certainly not the case in the past, when lazy pronunciations were less tolerated. I still remember when I was a kid, a children TV program was launched for only a week or so, and one of the hosts got replaced. The reason? Many parents complained that she spoke with lazy sounds.
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is the most dynamic and modern city in Vietnam. It consists of nearly 8 million people which equals to 10% of Vietnam’s population. This city is a centre of various cultures, from traditional architectures such as Chinese style pagodas and French style churches to modern skyscrapers and night clubs. There are some places that visitors cannot miss when they visit Ho Chi Minh City:
Reunification Palace (or Independence Palace)
Located on 135 Nam Ki Khoi Nghia Street, District 1, Reunification Palace has been engraved in local people and foreigners’ mind as a witness of history that Vietnamese fought against the aggression of French’s and American’s colonists. It is also known as the house and workplace of former presidents. The old telecommunication equipments and maps in the command room as well as the unfathomableness of the labyrinth remind visitors about the past and the sacrificed Vietnamese soldiers.
Ben Thanh Market
Visitors can reach anything that people buy for their daily needs to local handicrafts and souvenirs. From the transaction of selling and buying, the goods which are popular most to the atmosphere in the market, people can experience the truly local life of Vietnamese. One more thing that customers cannot miss out is the local dishes in the market such as Pho, Hu Tiu and Banh Xeo. However, besides food, bargain is a necessary activity when you purchase goods.
Bitexco Financial Tower
Bitexco Financial Tower is the highest building in Ho Chi Minh City with the height of 262.5 meters. It is a combination of financial, commercial and office function skyscraper. Bitexco Group – the owner of Bitexco Financial Tower has invested US $100 million for this project. The building has structured by glass with the shape of Vietnamese national flower – lotus bud. At the top of the tower, customers can gaze with veneration at the Saigon River while enjoying a warm dinner with family and friends.
Da Nang City
Located in the middle of Vietnam, Da Nang City not only has been known as the centre of 3 world cultural heritages which are Hue old town, Hoi An old town and My Son sanctuary, but also has been voted as one of the sixth most luxurious beaches in the world by Forbes Magazine. Da Nang is also an ideal place for museum and historical sigh lovers. You should not miss the Museum of Cham sculpture, Ho Chi Minh museum, Da Nang Cathedral, Pho Da Nang pagoda etc.
In addition, Da Nang is also known for its magnificent white sand beach along the South China Sea, namely China Beach, and the beautiful Marble Mountain next to it.
Although there are 2 million tourists visiting Da Nang City each year, the government tries to maintain the healthy and peaceful atmosphere as well as the security of the city with no homeless on streets, no drug crime or traffic jams in the city. Therefore, travelers can totally feel comfortable and safe when visiting Da Nang. Recently, Da Nang City has introduced many entertainment activities such as experiencing the nightlife on Bach Dang Street, traditional art performances and activities after midnight. With the ambition to become a event city, Da Nang City has organized big tourist events like International Fireworks Competition which has become the typical event of the city, the International Parachute Competition, to name a few.
Besides these views and shows, tourists should not miss the speciality food such as Quang noodles (mì Quảng), pork rice paper (bánh tráng thịt heo) and seafood.
Canton Tower
On 1st October 2010, Canton Tower has opened to public the first time after 6 years of construction ready for the 16th Asian Game. It was named after the European name of Guang Zhou city. This unique design tower is the fantastic idea of designers from Information Based Architecture and Arup which has won the international design of tower competition. The idea of the design is to build a “twist” building, which is different from all the traditional looks of towers. Canton Tower is described as a “female tower” for its curvy and gracious look. This beautiful building has 108 floors and high 600m. It was the only building which is taller than the Toronto CN Tower at the time.
The tower has nearly 200 m open-air skywalk where people can experience the climb, also there are out door gardens and observation desk at the top floor where visitors can enjoy the beautiful scene of Guang Zhou. The building also equipped with other facilities such as TV and radio transmission, restaurants, exhibition spaces, conference rooms, shops, 4D cinemas etc. One of the special points of this tower is that there are high and low speed lifts available.
Canton tower is also famous for its special architectural lighting design. During the night time, the tower bright up the city with the wonderful color LED light. Each node of the light is control individually to form a smooth glow along the tower.
Italian Cinema
Italy excels in many sectors such as art, fashion, food and others. But we cannot forget to mention the cinema. Italian cinema has very old origins going back to the 20s.
But it was after the Second World War that Italy saw some excellent directors and actors who established the Italian cinema tradition. Italian realism was one of the first expressions of reality all over the world: films became a way not only to deal with good themes but also with the most hidden and sad aspects of the reality.
Marcello Mastroianni, Sofia Loren are examples of Italian excellence in cinema overseas.
Roberto Benigni with his La vita è bella (Life is beautiful) touched the whole world dealing with one of most terrible pages of history.
But Italy has been also one of the favorite backgrounds for famous movies: The Da Vinci Code was made in Rome, The Tourist in Venice.
Understand the language while watching a film is unique experience and allows you to appreciate details you couldn’t notice without knowing the language. Learn Italian would be a chance to enjoy Italian movies.
It is Easier to Learn a Similar Language
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What is your name? |
I am fine, thanks. |
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Italian language is a good possibility to start with languages. As we say in Latin carpe diem! (seize the fleeting moment).
The Importance of Learning a Second Language
Australian people have a great fortune, they speak the most common and useful language of the world. But sometimes this chance can discourage English native speakers in learning a second language. They may feel they don’t really need it or they may be not interested in it.
Studies demonstrates not only that learning a second language helps brains to better develop but also that it helps in knowing and discover better one’s own language.
Furthermore learning a language that comes from a different root than your mother tongue can be a good way to enlarge your knowledge and your vocabulary while learning words and expressions coming from a different linguistic family.
Last but not least you will have the opportunity to go to a beautiful country such as Italy and be able to speak and understand the language. And if you cannot go so far, you might experience the huge Italian community in Sydney, Melbourne and others cities of Australia!
The importance of learning a second language
Australian people have a great fortune, they speak the most common and useful language of the world. But sometimes this chance can discourage English native speakers in learning a second language. They may feel they don’t really need it or they may be not interested in it.
Studies demonstrates not only that learning a second language helps brains to better develop but also that it helps in knowing and discover better one’s own language.
Furthermore learning a language that comes from a different root than your mother tongue can be a good way to enlarge your knowledge and your vocabulary while learning words and expressions coming from a different linguistic family.
Last but not least you will have the opportunity to go to a beautiful country such as Italy and be able to speak and understand the language. And if you cannot go so far, you might experience the huge Italian community in Sydney, Melbourne and others cities of Australia!
The Beauty of a Language: The Dialects
It is easy to fall in love with the beauty of Italian language.
It will bring you immediately to a great culture, a great history, a great tradition and a great food.
Italian language is the modern version of Latin, the language of the Pope and the language of many famous writers. Dante Alighieri, maybe the most famous one, wrote his masterpiece La Divina Commedia in a language in between Latin and modern Italian (even in Leichhardt in the Italian Forum there is a statue dedicated to Dante Alighieri).
The beauty of Italian language lives in its complex history: in Middle Age Latin was spoken only by educated people, by church men but not by the majority of Italians. Poor people spoke a “vulgar” form of Latin, because at that time they couldn’t go to school and have a good education. Then Italy was not a unique country, it was divided in many small countries and that’s why there were different forms of “vulgar Latin” (called dialects). When Italy was unified in 1861 (only 151 years ago!), people didn’t speak the same language but Tuscany dialect was chosen as the Italian Standard one because Dante Alighieri and many other poets wrote using this dialect.
Nowadays, although Italian is the national language and 151 years passed from the unification, dialects are still alive. People continue using them at home and in some informal situations.
So Italy has got not only a beautiful language that is Italian but many others attractive languages still alive and different from town to town.
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