Understanding Chinese tourists perceptions of Cantonese as a regional dialect

原文作者 lu,YF；Chen,GH;Huang,SS;Bao,JG

摘要：This study aimed to offer an in-depth understanding of Chinese tourists perceptions of Cantonese as a regional dialect. Using two samples of Chinese tourists (sample 1: n = 134; sample 2: n = 331) at popular tourist attractions in Guangzhou, China, four dimensions of Chinese tourists perceptions of the Cantonese dialect, namely, local characteristics, captivation, functionality, and dialect understanding, were identified and confirmed. Furthermore, functionality, dialect understanding, and local characteristics were found to influence tourist satisfaction; local characteristics and captivation predicted revisit intention; and captivation and dialect understanding affected recommendation intentions. Slight differences in dialect perceptions were identified between Chinese tourists who had knowledge of the Cantonese dialect and those who had no knowledge of the dialect at all. Destination marketing and management implications were provided

关键词：Dialect perceptions Cantonese as a regional dialect Chinese tourists Satisfaction Revisit intention Recommendation intentions

1. Introduction

In a globalized world, language and tourism appear interrelated (Frank, 2016). Language plays an important role in shaping tourist experience (Thurlow amp; Jaworski, 2011). Prior research has mainly taken an intercultural/cross-linguistic perspective to study tourists perceptions of the language(s) in a destination. Two research streams are identified in the extant literature. The first stream posits that tourists perceive destination language as a communication barrier due to linguistic distances (House, 2003; Tang amp; Van Heuven, 2009), and subsequently inconveniences. Under such a circumstance, tourists would consider such inconveniences in evaluating the destination (Pearce amp; Schauml;nzel, 2013), which may in turn negatively affect their future behaviours toward the destination. However, the second stream suggests that tourists normally attribute the language(s) spoken in a destination to a symbol of local identity (Whitney-Squire, 2016), as well as a way of enabling an in-depth and authentic cultural experiences (Hall-Lew amp; Lew, 2014; Huisman amp; Moore, 1999). In this sense, some studies explored tourists perception of the language landscape (Yan amp; Lee, 2014). However, little research has been done to examine language as a possible component of destination experience. The language landscape in China is much different and more complicated than other countries in the world. In China, despite the variety of spoken languages (State Council, 2017; You amp; Zhou, 1985) used by other ethnic groups, the Han Chinese language (Hanyu) has the largest number of speakers in China. This is because the Han Chinese population accounts for the majority (91.51%) of the total population (State Council, 2017). Additionally, other minority groups (e.g., Hui, Man, and She) also speak Hanyu (State Council, 2017). More importantly, Hanyu has a variety of regional dialects systems, some of which evolved from the original ancient Han language (Hamed, 2005). These regional Hanyu dialects, in their spoken forms, differ greatly from one another in language features such as pronunciation, expression, and slang (Zhan, 2002). It is widely accepted that there are ten major regional dialects in China (State Council, 2017). Due to the aforementioned differences, it is often difficult and sometimes impossible for people from different dialect-speaking regions to understand and communicate with each other effectively (You amp; Zhou, 1985). Within the rapidly expanding Chinese tourism market, domestic travels are still dominant in market share in China (China Tourism Academy [CTA], 2017). In 2016, mainland Chinese made 4.44 billion domestic trips, accounting for 97.3% of the whole national tourism market (including domestic and outbound). Domestic tourists often visit destinations where local residents and tourism practitioners speak local Chinese dialects or minority languages. Consequently, domestic Chinese tourists are inevitably exposed to local Chinese dialects during their trips. To most tourists, local dialects may sound unfamiliar, but are not as different as what a foreign language may sound when theytravel to a different country. Therefore, it is important to investigate how domestic Chinese tourists perceive the local dialects in a domestic destination, and in turn how such perceptions influence their trip satisfaction and future behavioral intentions. The Cantonese dialect (Yueyu) is chosen for the current study, as it can be both “unfamiliar” and “familiar” to domestic tourists. On the one hand, as one of the ten major Chinese dialects in China (State Council, 2017) with a history of more than 2200 years (e.g., Luo, 2006; State Council, 2017; You amp; Zhou, 1985), the Cantonese dialect is unique as its distinct linguistic characteristics, such as pronunciation, expressions, and slangs (Chen, 1990), are much different from other regional dialects and Putonghua (the official language of China, based on Mandarin, which has been popularized nationwide by the Chinese state [State Council, 2017]). For instance, Putonghua has four lexical tones while the Cantonese dialect has nine lexical tones. Furthermore, Cantonese has a very different intonation pattern from Putonghua (Ma, Zhu, amp; Tong, 2006). To people from other dialect regions in China, Cantonese can be hard to understand. On the other hand, there is a large and stable population of Cantonese dialect speakers of about 70 million people globally, and 40 million of them reside in Guangdong Province, especially in the Pearl River Delta region (Peoples Government of Guangdong Prov

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Understanding Chinese tourists perceptions of Cantonese as a regional dialect

原文作者 lu,YF；Chen,GH;Huang,SS;Bao,JG

摘要：This study aimed to offer an in-depth understanding of Chinese tourists perceptions of Cantonese as a regional dialect. Using two samples of Chinese tourists (sample 1: n = 134; sample 2: n = 331) at popular tourist attractions in Guangzhou, China, four dimensions of Chinese tourists perceptions of the Cantonese dialect, namely, local characteristics, captivation, functionality, and dialect understanding, were identified and confirmed. Furthermore, functionality, dialect understanding, and local characteristics were found to influence tourist satisfaction; local characteristics and captivation predicted revisit intention; and captivation and dialect understanding affected recommendation intentions. Slight differences in dialect perceptions were identified between Chinese tourists who had knowledge of the Cantonese dialect and those who had no knowledge of the dialect at all. Destination marketing and management implications were provided

关键词：Dialect perceptions Cantonese as a regional dialect Chinese tourists Satisfaction Revisit intention Recommendation intentions

1. Introduction

In a globalized world, language and tourism appear interrelated (Frank, 2016). Language plays an important role in shaping tourist experience (Thurlow amp; Jaworski, 2011). Prior research has mainly taken an intercultural/cross-linguistic perspective to study tourists perceptions of the language(s) in a destination. Two research streams are identified in the extant literature. The first stream posits that tourists perceive destination language as a communication barrier due to linguistic distances (House, 2003; Tang amp; Van Heuven, 2009), and subsequently inconveniences. Under such a circumstance, tourists would consider such inconveniences in evaluating the destination (Pearce amp; Schauml;nzel, 2013), which may in turn negatively affect their future behaviours toward the destination. However, the second stream suggests that tourists normally attribute the language(s) spoken in a destination to a symbol of local identity (Whitney-Squire, 2016), as well as a way of enabling an in-depth and authentic cultural experiences (Hall-Lew amp; Lew, 2014; Huisman amp; Moore, 1999). In this sense, some studies explored tourists perception of the language landscape (Yan amp; Lee, 2014). However, little research has been done to examine language as a possible component of destination experience. The language landscape in China is much different and more complicated than other countries in the world. In China, despite the variety of spoken languages (State Council, 2017; You amp; Zhou, 1985) used by other ethnic groups, the Han Chinese language (Hanyu) has the largest number of speakers in China. This is because the Han Chinese population accounts for the majority (91.51%) of the total population (State Council, 2017). Additionally, other minority groups (e.g., Hui, Man, and She) also speak Hanyu (State Council, 2017). More importantly, Hanyu has a variety of regional dialects systems, some of which evolved from the original ancient Han language (Hamed, 2005). These regional Hanyu dialects, in their spoken forms, differ greatly from one another in language features such as pronunciation, expression, and slang (Zhan, 2002). It is widely accepted that there are ten major regional dialects in China (State Council, 2017). Due to the aforementioned differences, it is often difficult and sometimes impossible for people from different dialect-speaking regions to understand and communicate with each other effectively (You amp; Zhou, 1985). Within the rapidly expanding Chinese tourism market, domestic travels are still dominant in market share in China (China Tourism Academy [CTA], 2017). In 2016, mainland Chinese made 4.44 billion domestic trips, accounting for 97.3% of the whole national tourism market (including domestic and outbound). Domestic tourists often visit destinations where local residents and tourism practitioners speak local Chinese dialects or minority languages. Consequently, domestic Chinese tourists are inevitably exposed to local Chinese dialects during their trips. To most tourists, local dialects may sound unfamiliar, but are not as different as what a foreign language may sound when theytravel to a different country. Therefore, it is important to investigate how domestic Chinese tourists perceive the local dialects in a domestic destination, and in turn how such perceptions influence their trip satisfaction and future behavioral intentions. The Cantonese dialect (Yueyu) is chosen for the current study, as it can be both “unfamiliar” and “familiar” to domestic tourists. On the one hand, as one of the ten major Chinese dialects in China (State Council, 2017) with a history of more than 2200 years (e.g., Luo, 2006; State Council, 2017; You amp; Zhou, 1985), the Cantonese dialect is unique as its distinct linguistic characteristics, such as pronunciation, expressions, and slangs (Chen, 1990), are much different from other regional dialects and Putonghua (the official language of China, based on Mandarin, which has been popularized nationwide by the Chinese state [State Council, 2017]). For instance, Putonghua has four lexical tones while the Cantonese dialect has nine lexical tones. Furthermore, Cantonese has a very different intonation pattern from Putonghua (Ma, Zhu, amp; Tong, 2006). To people from other dialect regions in China, Cantonese can be hard to understand. On the other hand, there is a large and stable population of Cantonese dialect speakers of about 70 million people globally, and 40 million of them reside in Guangdong Province, especially in the Pearl River Delta region (Peoples Government of Guangdong Prov

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