A ‘glocal’ experience: tourists’ perceptions of English and Cantonese in Hong Kong tourism spaces

This paper examines the relationships among language, tourism, and tourism space. By examining tourism spaces in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), Hong Kong (HK), this study serves two interrelated purposes: (1) to explore how English and Cantonese are presented in the linguistic landscape (LL) of tourism spaces in HK and (2) to investigate the positioning of English and Cantonese and how they are perceived by tourists in the context of tourist attractions. The findings reflect the dual challenge faced by HK, which must maintain a balance between preserving local heritage and traditions while continuing to engage actively with the broader global community amidst top-down political decisions and the growing influence of the Putonghua. On the one hand, the LLs in TST/HK reveal the production and consumption of English and Cantonese in tourism spaces and the ways in which these languages enhance tourists’ experiences. On the other hand, in the context of the increasingly prevalent impacts of nationalism and national language (education) policies, tourism and tourism spaces can serve as an avenue for the construction/reconstruction of heritage identity, a sense of sociopolitical belonging, and unequal power relations, which may shape or reshape the perceived legitimacy and functional distribution of languages in HK.