One thing that struck me about Sydney almost immediately, is its diversity. People from different countries and cultures flow in and out of its public spaces like ants after rain. I thought it's a good opportunity for some list-making.
First: the number of times I heard and could identify different languages in one day in Sydney. (Sadly I won't know the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin, or Bulgarian and any number of Eastern European languages, so my list is very limited to what I CAN in fact distinguish easily!)
I was surprised at the high frequence of French. But maybe my ears just pick it up easier.
On the other hand, I expected to hear much more Italian. All my research indicated that there is a very large Italian community in Australia. I'm beginning to wonder if my method of identifying Italian is maybe faulty.
Only one person was singing La donna e mobile as he walked past.
The next list is very similar. This was compiled in the span of around three hours over lunch-time. Restaurants and any other shops related to food, with an obvious foreign connotation.
The Fruitologist sneaked through on the list as it really tickled my interest. Would they perhaps advise customers that an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay?
Now off to look for a French Pattiserie, Italian ice-cream and Belgian waffles!
First: the number of times I heard and could identify different languages in one day in Sydney. (Sadly I won't know the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin, or Bulgarian and any number of Eastern European languages, so my list is very limited to what I CAN in fact distinguish easily!)
 |
| List of Languages |
I was surprised at the high frequence of French. But maybe my ears just pick it up easier.
On the other hand, I expected to hear much more Italian. All my research indicated that there is a very large Italian community in Australia. I'm beginning to wonder if my method of identifying Italian is maybe faulty.
Only one person was singing La donna e mobile as he walked past.
The next list is very similar. This was compiled in the span of around three hours over lunch-time. Restaurants and any other shops related to food, with an obvious foreign connotation.
 |
| List of International Cuisine spotted |
The Fruitologist sneaked through on the list as it really tickled my interest. Would they perhaps advise customers that an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay?
Now off to look for a French Pattiserie, Italian ice-cream and Belgian waffles!
Location:Pott's Point, Sydney
Greek?????
ReplyDeleteYep, heard a lot of Greek yesterday on the train. Maybe that will tune my ears for it a bit better - was also expecting to hear more Greek.
ReplyDeleteBut the list was already drawn up then :)