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In Shanghai, Shanghainese v. Mandarin | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| JacobTM Groupie United States Joined 5599 days ago 56 posts - 67 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 22 31 May 2011 at 3:14am | IP Logged | |||||
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I'm considering moving to Shanghai, and I would like some info on Shanghainese and
Mandarin in Shanghai. I don't speak either language, but have read that Shanghainese is the main spoken language of Shanghai, though Mandarin is used in education. So what is the situation like on the ground? Does everyone speak both and prefer one, or are there significant numbers of people who are monolingual? Thanks, Jacob 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 2 of 22 31 May 2011 at 8:05am | IP Logged | |||||
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Pretty much everyone in Shanghai can speak Mandarin and not everyone can speak Shanghainese. Unfortunately, most people who go to Shanghai don't bother to learn Shanghainese and as the city has seen huge numbers of people move in, Mandarin is the main language. I'd encourage you to learn Shanghainese to help combat this trend and to help a dying language (it's not going to die anytime soon, but it's still dying), but from a practical standpoint, Mandarin is the better alternative, just like everywhere else in China, and Shanghainese, together with all the other non-Mandarin dialects, will be less and less important every day.
I write this without ever having set my foot in Shanghai, but the trend is national. Still, maybe someone else is better informed about SH specifically. 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| irrationale Tetraglot Senior Member China Joined 6051 days ago 669 posts - 1023 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog Studies: Ancient Greek, Japanese | Message 3 of 22 31 May 2011 at 8:24am | IP Logged | |||||
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I've been to Shanghai a few times.
I see that you haven't yet learned a Chinese language. Without a doubt, you should learn Mandarin, that is a given. Mandarin is used everywhere and understood by virtually everyone in my experience, and obviously it is used all over China. Another reason for this is that all the books on other Chinese languages I have seen (besides Cantonese) are in Mandarin Chinese. I have a few books on Shanghainese myself, bought in China, and of course all are in Mandarin. That being said, when you are in Shanghai, you will hear a lot of Shanghainese. Especially the elder locals will speak Shanghainese to the exclusion of speaking Mandarin. A lot of it is also mixed with Mandarin. People do not expect foreigners to speak Mandarin, and if they met someone who spoke Shanghainese, they would probably be dumbstruck. I am not aware of the language politics with "dialects" in China, since sometimes these issues can be sensitive. I am not sure of the ramifications or reactions (positive or negative) to a foreigner speaking Shanghainese, perhaps someone else can say more. Regardless, as long as they flat out refuse to speak to you in Shanghainese (I find that really unlikely) your chances to practice Shanghainese will definitely be numerous, and there are a few Shanghainese channels even on TV, so I say go for it after you learn Chinese, and you expect to be in Shanghai for a while. As a side note, Shanghainese is a Wu language, so it would help out even partially understanding some of the other surrounding languages in Zhe Jiang province. Edited by irrationale on 31 May 2011 at 8:25am 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 4 of 22 31 May 2011 at 9:16am | IP Logged | |||||
My experience in Guangdong was that even a few words of Cantonese would produce a squeal of happiness. I've heard that the response in Shanghai with Shanghainese is the same. ChinesePod, a Shanghai-based company teaching Mandarin, has a few Shanghainese lessons, but I haven't listened to them, though I can vouch for the quality of their Mandarin lessons. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| JacobTM Groupie United States Joined 5599 days ago 56 posts - 67 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 5 of 22 31 May 2011 at 5:27pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Let's imagine I'm out with a group of young professionals and/or University students in
Shanghai. Will they be speaking amongst themselves in Mandarin or Shanghainese? What is the normal language of young Shanghai people when they're at a restaurant, a bar, a café, etc.? Thanks, Jacob 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| irrationale Tetraglot Senior Member China Joined 6051 days ago 669 posts - 1023 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog Studies: Ancient Greek, Japanese | Message 6 of 22 01 June 2011 at 6:44am | IP Logged | |||||
I would say that if they are all local people, they would speak either Shanghainese or a mix of Shanghainese and Mandarin. This is a guess, since I have never been in that exact situation. Anyway, the immediate goal is clear; learn Mandarin..right? Might as well get started now, you've got a long road ahead of you. Edited by irrationale on 01 June 2011 at 6:45am 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 7 of 22 01 June 2011 at 8:04am | IP Logged | |||||
I suspect the same. However, I also suspect that they're probably not all locals. There's a recent thread where one of the HTLALers went to Guangzhou and found that only three out of ten people he talked to could speak Cantonese. I can't imagine the situation would be better for Shanghainese in Shanghai. To find large numbers of Shanghainese speakers, you probably have to go outside of Shanghai. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| irrationale Tetraglot Senior Member China Joined 6051 days ago 669 posts - 1023 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog Studies: Ancient Greek, Japanese | Message 8 of 22 01 June 2011 at 8:20am | IP Logged | |||||
True, especially if we are talking about university students. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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