Hu Yu: Preserving Shanghai’s Dialect

There are more than 7000 languages in the world, and around one disappears every 14 days. (Crystal) A linguistic phenomenon, languages are considered to disappear when they lose the majority of native speakers and exist as interests of linguists and enthusiasts only. (Wurm) A Chinese dialect unique to the city of Shanghai, Shanghainese, or Hu Yu, now faces the danger of a near-future extinction with its predominantly senior user base and low level of proficiency among young speakers. Recent years have witnessed the rise in local interests and attention to preserving the Shanghai dialect. Still, limited awareness of language preservation as a global phenomenon restricts the search for effective solutions to the issue. By looking at examples on a global scale, this paper argues for popular culture as an important space for language preservation. Achieving this, however, would not be possible without the presence of a corresponding primary education scheme encouraging Shanghainese use at a young age, which goes hand-in-hand with popular culture to expand the potential of the dialect’s future survival.

Shanghainese holds fundamental importance as a miniature representation of the city’s Haipai culture. Core values of Haipai are condensed into the term Hai Na Bai Chuan, which translates into “all rivers run into the sea.” With the sea being Shanghai’s local traditions and rivers representing outside influences, Haipai refers to an avant-garde mix of cultural values that is inclusive and open to all. Reflecting the essence of Haipai, Shanghai’s dialect includes words and phrases derived from both the English language and traditional Chinese idioms. The phrase Si Men Ting, for example, is directly translated from the English pronunciation of “cement” and refers to the same subject. Another example would be the commonly used phrase Ah-la, an idiom derived from the nearby Ningbo dialect and used as the pronoun “we.” The roots of this blend of languages and culture can be traced back to the city’s colonial days in the late 19th century when it became the melting pot of both eastern and western culture following the Anglo-Chinese war. With bustling foreign concessions and local ancient towns, the massive inflow of languages from both within China and around the world meshed to form the Shanghai dialect that is spoken in every Long Tang (a traditional Shanghainese neighborhood) of the city. More than a form of communication, Shanghainese is a condensed story of the city’s splendid Haipai culture that shapes its distinctive identity.

The significant plunge in young Shanghainese speakers’ proficiency rate is a major threat to the dialect’s future. On the one hand, the decreasing Shanghainese proficiency rate is due to a policy level change that established the dominance of Mandarin Chinese. Shanghainese and Mandarin Chinese were able to coexist following the latter’s initial introduction by the Chinese government in 1950. However, the issue with bilingualism is its tendency to develop a volatile imbalance between a dominant and subordinate language, especially over two generations of users. (Garzon) Aimed to “smoothen Chinese society’s development as a whole” by eliminating communication difficulties between domestic regions, the Chinese government’s early 2000 “speak mandarin” campaign successfully established Mandarin’s dominance in Shanghai on a policy level. Adults were encouraged to use Mandarin Chinese in public settings such as restaurants, public transportation, and civil services. (Pan) In the following decades, the push for Mandarin use among children was fatal for Shanghainese’s development. Instead of speaking the Shanghai dialect in classrooms, schoolchildren were told to start communicating with each other in Mandarin. (Pan) The existence of a language is most certainly an inherited practice. If the succession of a language faces prolonged political obstacles between generations, a future decline in its proficiency is inevitable as adjustments would have to be made amid communication difficulties. As more people were encouraged by the government’s policy to pick up Mandarin, especially among toddlers and the young, Shanghainese quickly slid into a subordinate position in all forms of usage.

A walk down the street of Shanghai today would show most young people communicating either entirely in Mandarin Chinese or a creole language that mixes Mandarin and Shanghainese phrases. Referred to by locals as Yang Jin Bang — another old Shanghainese term derived from the English word “pidgin” — the Mandarin-Shanghainese creole is especially popular among the young generation as fluency of the dialect continues to decline due to a lack of regular practice. According to a recently published study, only 26% of participants under the age of 18 claim to be fluent in Shanghainese — a significant decrease from nearly 60% of respondents between ages 30–35 years old. (Gui and Zhou) As the figure suggests, fluency of Shanghainese among its young speakers no longer supports the dialect as an effective form of communication. One Shanghainese speaker would often initiate a conversation with another person who understands the lingo, and they would soon switch the conversation to Mandarin as neither speaker can convey their messages. The low Shanghainese proficiency rate portrays the future absence of a user base that would be sufficient to support the dialect’s popularity. If not addressed in time, the fast corroding presence of Shanghainese would escalate into a complete extinction soon.

It should also be acknowledged that whether one claims to be fluent does not directly translate into the actual frequency of using Shanghainese. In practice, many Shanghainese speakers are hesitant to conduct conversations in the dialect facing its shrinking presence. The lack of willingness to speak the dialect is especially significant in social settings. As a study shows, the average percentage of time Shanghainese is used to communicate with strangers is well below 20% across participants from all age groups. (Gui and Zhou) The reluctance to use Shanghainese in social settings highlights the dialect’s gradual decline into an outcast position in the lives of many speakers. As a city with over 40% of residents registered as “non-local,” the use of Shanghainese was once considered discriminatory against the city’s immigrants. (Shen) Unable to identify whether another party understands Shanghainese, many fluent in the dialect refuse to use it in public to avoid unnecessary troubles. The vision of Shanghainese as a burden in public rather than a convenient way of communication explains most speakers’ decision to abandon the dialect in their lives completely.

A method that has been widely tested around the world, increasing the teaching of Shanghainese at schools can be one way to nourish a young speaker base on the dialect. Many communities have increasingly looked to revitalize their languages by supporting more young speakers through schools and education. (Romaine) Immersion schools in Quebec, for example, are bilingual with English and French as the main languages of instruction, and have been proven to sustain the French language with a steady supply of young, fluent speakers. According to figures published in Canada’s 2016 census program, the number of Canadians able to communicate in French has increased by nearly 400,000 people since 2011. (Government of Canada) As Canada’s immersion programs demonstrate, education provides a systematic basis for the use of languages. Opposite to the Chinese government’s “speak mandarin” campaign, children can reform the habit of using Shanghainese in their lives through education as a primary step. As many scholars point out, successful language immersion programs are reliant on the availability of fluent teachers. (Romaine) With the abundance of local teachers who grew up with the minimal influence of Mandarin Chinese and are still proficient in Shanghainese, Shanghai has the chance to push for dialect education at schools on a large scale to increase the future usage of the dialect. Examples of dialect education could be providing introductory courses to schoolchildren or completely using the dialect as a language of instruction, as in the case of Quebec. If using the dialect can become a natural practice for students at a young age, usage of the dialect should naturally expand into other aspects of life after their graduation.

On top of policy changes, the lack of Shanghainese exposure in popular culture is arguably the biggest factor pushing the dialect down the abyss of history. As one of the most globalized metropolises globally, Shanghai’s popular culture sees a mix of influences from every corner of the planet. From Japanese anime’s heat among Generation Z Shanghainese teenagers to the rise in popularity of America’s hip hop culture, the young generation of Shanghainese grew up with more exposure to foreign languages than the city’s dialect. Many young Shanghainese users now reveal an apparent resentment towards the language, as it carries a connotation of representing the “old-school” Shanghai rather than what is considered to be cool and popular. (Shen) The original language of video content on Bilibili — the Chinese version of Youtube — shows English and Japanese falling just a little behind creators using Mandarin Chinese. As Garzon argues in her work, the ultimate step to a language’s death is young people’s lack of motivation to gain proficiency. (Garzon) Immersed in a language environment where the dialect completely deviates from mainstream media and culture, it is increasingly hard for the young generation of Shanghainese users to view the mastery of the dialect as an important skill.

Therefore, the ultimate focus of Shanghainese’s revitalization should be on establishing a modern and popular image of the dialect. With the education of Shanghainese providing an elementary step for young speakers’ exposure to the language, a popular image should be next to increase the dialect’s influence beyond school campuses. Creating a need to use Shanghainese in real-world contexts is critical. If the scope of Shanghainese cannot expand beyond an educational level, any effort to push for its presence at school would fail to revive the dialect’s use on a large scale. As many users would have already been familiar with the dialect from school, exposure to Shanghainese in popular culture would generate an environment that turns people in favor of the dialect and thus increase its usage.

To achieve this, past experiences worldwide point to music as one potential solution. In New Zealand, indigenous groups such as the Ngawai have attempted to use pop music as a hook for young Māori audiences. (Wiremu) The Triple-J music station in Australia is another example that shows the promotion of indigenous Australian languages to a predominantly young audience group through popular music genres. More easily accepted by young people as a way to appreciate culture, music creates a connection between languages and popular culture and keeps endangered languages in contact with the world. Although the actual usage of indigenous languages in Oceania is little to none facing the dominance of English, indigenous songs such as Māori pop singer Hinewehi Mohi show the possibility of reverse appropriation by using a tone unique to the Māori culture in his works. As Mohi demonstrates, the dominance of a language does not prevent a minor language’s popularization by presenting its beauty. Therefore, the connection between local languages and popular culture appears to be feasible.

Considering the examples above, Shanghainese rap has the potential to become the dialect’s savior by reinserting young people’s passion into the city’s language and culture through music as a medium. Serving as a bridge between the more “old school” side of Shanghai represented by the dialect and the rising popular culture, Shanghainese rap can become a future name tag of the dialect and eventually push for an increase in the number of young speakers who are willing to communicate in the language. As a top hit by local producer Keyso Shou goes, “Speaking Shanghainese is our identity, one that not even Alzheimer can remove.” With lyrics in Shanghainese that express artists’ pride in the city, producers like Keyso made their works the perfect medium to communicate concerns over the dialect’s future to younger audiences. Learning from the methods adopted in Oceania, a first step to increasing Shanghainese rap’s exposure could be government funding of an exclusive radio station, as car play radio remains a big part of many Shanghai households’ everyday lives. Boosting the “hype” of local producers on social media would be another fundamental step. Despite writing outstanding works, most Shanghainese rap producers receive only little to no media attention. To make way for the works of local producers and their messages on the dialect to enter the lives of young Shanghainese people would be a priority that the city should strive to achieve together.

The preservation of Shanghainese requires thorough consideration and precise solutions. Considering the language preservation and revitalization process around the world, Shanghainese should look to popular culture as a potential solution. Although policymakers argue the encouragement of Shanghainese use in daily conversation is adequate in its preservation, it must be pointed out that exposure to the language in popular culture and education should go hand in hand to insert young generation Shanghainese speakers with more confidence in their dialect. There is still a chance to nourish a young speaker base of Shanghainese that will help sustain its future development, but it is paramount that corrective actions be taken soon. As the government’s “speak mandarin” campaign shows, it doesn’t take one generation for a dialect to be on the verge of extinction. With the right solution, it shouldn’t take more than one age group to revive the Shanghai dialect.

Works Cited

Crystal, David. Language Death. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

GARZON, SUSAN. “The Process of Language Death in a Mayan Community in Southern Mexico.” International Journal of the Sociology of Language, vol. 93, no. 1, 1992, 10.1515/ijsl.1992.93.53. Accessed 25 May 2021.

Government of Canada. “Census in Brief: English, French and Official Language Minorities in Canada.” Www12.Statcan.gc.ca, 2 Aug. 2017, www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98–200-x/2016011/98–200-x2016011-eng.cfm.

Gui, Tianao, and Yan Zhou. “A Survey of Shanghainese Dialect: Its Current Situation and Future.” Journal of Student Research, vol. 10, no. 2, 1 July 2021, 10.47611/jsrhs.v10i2.1505. Accessed 15 Feb. 2022.

Haixia, Pan. “Proud Shanghainese Asked to Speak Putonghua.” Www.chinadaily.com.cn, 29 Sept. 2005, www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/29/content_481714.htm. Accessed 30 Apr. 2022.

Romaine, Suzanne. “Preserving Endangered Languages.” Language and Linguistics Compass, vol. 1, no. 1–2, Mar. 2007, pp. 115–132, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1749–818X.2007.00004.x, 10.1111/j.1749–818x.2007.00004.x.

Shao, Qing, and Xuesong (Andy) Gao. “Protecting Language or Promoting Dis-Citizenship? A Poststructural Policy Analysis of the Shanghainese Heritage Project.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, vol. 22, no. 3, 14 Mar. 2018, pp. 352–364, 10.1080/13670050.2018.1451482. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.

Shen, Qi. “Saving Shanghai Dialect: A Case for Bottom-up Language Planning in China.” The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, vol. 25, no. 5–6, 20 Sept. 2016, pp. 713–722, 10.1007/s40299–016–0312–3. Accessed 24 Oct. 2021.

Wurm, Stephen A. “Language Death and Disappearance: Causes and Circumstances.” Diogenes, vol. 39, no. 153, Mar. 1991, pp. 1–18, 10.1177/039219219103915302. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.