槟城_PULAU PINANG

一向有东方之珠的称号，是东方城市中最如诗如画及最浪漫的城市之一。它位于马来西亚道西北的海岸边。槟城这名字，乃取自当年遍布在该岛上的槟榔树而来的。槟城是马来西亚的自由港和第二大城市，并有"印度洋绿宝石"之称，既有美丽的海滩与原野风光，又有众多的名胜古迹。槟城也被称为美食天堂。槟城，于1786年时被英国殖民政府开发为远东最早的商业中心，今日的槟城，已经是一个反映东西方独特情怀的熙熙攘攘之大都会了。
岛上最高的槟城山，海拔830米，可乘登山缆车直达山顶，在山顶尽览全岛和海峡的景色。岛上有中国式的极乐寺、缅甸式的卧佛寺，也有马来西亚最大的海港城市乔治镇和东南亚第一、世界第三长的跨海大桥。

因槟城是自由港，和新加坡、香港一样，也是购物者的天堂，市内居民也以华人为多。由于受英国的影响，市内的建筑物欧洲风味很浓，名胜地点也很集中。

★东方之珠=槟城州是由槟城岛及半岛威省的共同组成。两块土地是由全长13.5公哩的槟威大桥所连接左一起，这座桥也是亚洲最长的桥梁之一。此外，这里亦有通往威省的渡轮服务。
位于槟城岛的乔治市是该州的首府，这是一座富有历史传统的城市，如今它已经被规划及发展成现代化的都市了。槟城的某些地区还保有过去非常古老及典雅的足迹，例如：狭窄的街道、三轮车、庙宇及业者辛勤搬运货物等景象，这些似乎是属于被遗忘的时代之景象。

槟城亦是新、旧货品的购物天堂，旅客可在此购得价廉物美的货物。举凡各类照相机、各种类的电子及电器产品、服装、峇迪布料、纪念品、古文物及玩具饰品等，皆可以很低廉的价格买到。槟城岛也以其美食闻名于本区域，食物种类从娘惹美食到小档口的油饭、炒粿条（河粉）及槟城叻沙等，其食物风味和其他州属有很大的差别。

★历史=槟城是于1786年，由FRANCIS LIGHT 莱特海军上校所发现的。莱特上校是在答应吉打苏丹，英国将保护吉打免于暹罗的侵略后，代表东印度公司接收槟城的管辖权。当莱特抵达时，这里还是人烟稀少的岛屿。有故事流传谓，当年莱特以大炮将金块射进内陆去，来鼓励工人协助开发这片土地。
他将该岛重新命名为威尔斯王子岛，事因征得这座岛屿时，适逢王子生日。他很快的将乔治市发展起来，不久，他亦占取了邻近大陆的一片土地，后来被称为威省。莱特将乔治市发展为免税港口，他并且鼓励移居本地的住民，尽量开垦土地，这座原本荒芜无人烟的岛屿，在莱特的带动之下，其人口于世纪之交竟然多达一万人。

1805年，槟城成为孟卡的臣属地。它过后被升级为第四印度殖民政府，拥有和马德拉斯及孟买相同的行政架构。 1826 年，马六甲及新加坡的管辖权转移到槟城，海峡殖民地于焉成立。经济发展得非常迅速，1816年乔治市设立了第一所以英文为教学语言的学校。

★经济=槟城的经济是以贸易、工业、旅游业及农业相混合的经济体。高科技工业在此设厂，以生产电脑周边的配备、电路板或晶片等。槟城被尊称为东方矽谷，因为这里有许多国际著名的电子公司之工厂。
一切和旅游业有关的服务业，槟城也发展的很好。槟城已经是最主要的旅游景点，它并且还是亚洲最主要的开会、大型会议及展览中心。槟城是亚洲首屈一指的会议、激励、大会及展示（MICE CENTRES）中心。

在农业方面，这里有部份土地供种植油棕、稻米、橡胶及水果。槟城港口是属于深水港口，它将马来西亚连接到全世界200个港口去。

★语言=典型多语社会，大致可分为四种：
1. 马来语，乃大马国语，分为正宗马来语和巴刹马来语；后者流通于集贸市场（即所谓巴刹）的族际通用语，混有汉语方言、英语、淡米尔语成分。
2. 英语，大马的通用语，包括正宗英国英语和非正式『槟城英语』。
3. 华语，华族通用语，明显带有当地口音的普通话域外变体。
4. 淡米尔语，大多数新马印度人的母语。
5. 汉语方言，多为福建话，已形成槟城特色，也有粤语、潮州话、客家话等。依场合而会运用不同语言进行交谈，有所谓「语码转换」的现象。日常生活中华人使用「槟城福建话」 (Penang Hokkien)，称得上是一种属于本土的语言。它不同于中国福建话的任何一种次方言，因为不仅是多种福建话的融合，同时从马来语、英语、汉语其他方言中吸收不少成分。但不大适于表达科学术语，一个讲槟城福建话的人在需要表达一些科学概念时，会自然转换其他语言，通常是华语或英语。

* 除了学校教学，槟城的地名，店名或人名使用中国大陆的汉语拼音并不多。人名拼写方法为拉丁字母按照方言进行拼写。他们称之为英文名称。从名字的拼法可以辨认出福建人还是广东人或客家人。

* 因此同一个姓会有不同拼法。例如同样姓「蔡」，有Chuah和Chai两种拼法；「陈」则有Tan,Chan,Chin等不同拼法。更极端的情况是，因为注册地不同，同家同姓在护照或身份证上可能会有不同的拼法。

History of Penang

Prior to the English, Penang was originally part of the Malay Sultanate of Kedah . It's known as a harbour for pirates at that time. In 1786, Francis Light established Penang the first British trading post in the Far East . Light had persuaded the Sultan of Kedah to cede Penang to the British East India Company in exchange for military protection from the Siamese and Burmese armies who were threatening Kedah. On 11 August 1786 , Captain Francis Light, known as the founder of Penang, landed in Penang and renamed it Prince of Wales Island in honor of the heir to the British throne. In 1790, when Sultan Abdullah of Kedah heard that the British would not give protection, he formed an army to get rid of the Dutch and the English. He assembled his men at Prai to retake the island of Penang but was defeated. Captain Francis Light had carried out night raids on the enemy's fortress. In 1791, Sultan Abdullah signed a treaty with the British handing over Penang Island to the British. Light promised to pay the Sultan 6,000 Spanish dollars annually. Today, almost two centuries later, the Penang State Government still pays RM 18,800.00 to the Sultan of Kedah annually.

To encourage settlers, the port was accorded a duty-free status and new arrivals were allowed to claim as much land as they could clear. From virtually an uninhabited island, the population grew to 10,000 by the end of the century. Penang became a trading post for tea, spices (clove and nutmeg from local plantations), china, and pepper from Acheh and textiles from India . Later on, the regional trade grew to include tin, then rubber. It became a crossroad of great civilizations, a melting pot of the east. Traders and settlers came from the Europe, India , China , the Malay Archipelago, Thailand and Burma . In 1826, Penang, along with Malacca and Singapore , became part of the Straits Settlements under the British administration in India , moving to direct British colonial rule in 1867. The Second World War broke out on December 8, 1941. The Japanese invaded Malaya . Penang was bombed and the British fled to Singapore . The year 1942 saw Penang living in fear. The days of the Japanese Kempettai were the days of horror, torture and executions. In September 4, 1945, the Japanese surrendered to the British Forces. In 1946 it became part of the Malayan Union , before becoming in 1948 a state of the Federation of Malaya , which gained independence in August 31, 1957 . Penang became one of its 13 component states. George Town , which has the oldest municipal history in the country, was awarded City status by royal charter on 1st January 1957. In 1963, it became part of Malaysia when Sabah and Sarawak came into the group.

Today, Penang state is the third-largest economy amongst the states of Malaysia , after Selangor and Johor. Manufacturing is the most important component of the Penang economy, contributing 45.9% of the State's GDP (2000). The southern part of the island is highly industrialized with high-tech electronics plants (such as Seagate, Avago, Dell, Intel, AMD, Motorola, Agilent, Hitachi, Osram, Bosch, Altera and other multinational company) located within the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone. In January 2005, Penang was formally accorded the Multimedia Super Corridor Cyber City status, the first outside of Cyberjaya , with the aim of becoming a high-technology industrial park that conducts cutting-edge research. http://www.explorepenang.com/ENG/AboutPenang/HistoryofPenang.asp