Findings during the trip in Toronto

Mengting Liu

I went to Toronto several days ago and I was so impressed by how modern and big Toronto is as an international metropolis (especially how wide and flat the road is). I was also shocked by how different it is compared to Montreal concerning not only the general vibes it gives, but also the language environment. If we say Montreal is a bilingual city where French and English are its official languages, Toronto can also be bilingual to some extent, especially in shopping malls, because Mandarin is EVERYWHERE! When I was walking on the street, I always thought, “Did I just took a 6 hour ride and got back to China?”

With a large amount of Chinese immigrants flooding in Toronto, the society exerts a profound influence on its language. There is no doubt that Chinese culture and language take an indispensable proportion in this multicultural and city. In Yorkdale shopping centre, it is not difficult to find signs written in Chinese. In the MAC cosmetic store, I saw a line of Chinese “魅可樱花全樱绽放系列” follows a line of English which said “MAC Boom Boom Bloom”. Every luxury store in the shopping centre is equipped with at least one shop assistant who is Chinese and provides Mandarin services. This phenomenon, to a large extent, can attribute to the enormous purchasing power of Chinese immigrants or travellers, among whom English may not be the language they are familiar with. I was told that in Vancouver which has more Chinese immigrants because of its more pleasant weather, Chinese people can totally live without using English.

I realize that the protection of French in Quebec is actually protecting the culture. Although I always feel struggled when learning French, I still find it is worthy to do, because it is an essential way to maintain the culture and the uniqueness of Montreal.

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