Dialects making way for putonghua
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-02-02 08:37

There is no need for the Shanghai municipal legislature to take measures to revive the use of the local dialect, according to an article in the Beijing Times. An excerpt follows:

It has been reported that the Shanghai dialect is less used in daily communication now, as more non-locals settle in the city.

And due to fear that it could be lost, some deputies have suggested to the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress that it needs to be revived.

If that is the case, what is the point of our national standard spoken language, putonghua?

The deputies have their own reasons. One argued that the dialect was more than a mere tool for communication. It is, most importantly, the messenger of its respective culture.

So, he noted that the campaign was actually a push for the promotion of Shanghai's culture. Such worries are not necessary.

Population mobility has challenged every local dialect, though to different extents.

In any place, either locals or the non-locals will resort to the generally accepted putonghua when they have difficulties in verbal communication.

So it is only natural that putonghua will take the place of dialects. The promotion of a standard spoken language is a good thing - how can it be considered a danger?

If more people view putonghua as a threat to local dialects, the Chinese Government's plan to promote the language will be curbed.

Not only that, there will be communication difficulties between people who can only speak different dialects.

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