Hu Yu: Preserving Shanghai’s Dialect
There are more than 7000 languages and dialects 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 only as interests of linguists and enthusiasts. (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 preserve the Shanghai dialect, but limited awareness of language preservation as a global phenomenon restricts the search for effective solutions to the issue. Indeed, dialect preservation in mainstream Chinese scholarships is often considered to be a local or national issue, which leaves the abundance of experiences and knowledges on language preservation from around the world underused. While it is important to consider cultural and policy insights from a national perspective, this paper argues the consideration of language preservation under a global context as critical in expanding the potential for Shanghainese’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 literally 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 open and inclusive. 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, which is an idiom derived from the nearby Ningbo dialect and is used as the pronoun “we.” Roots of this blend in 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 together to form the Shanghai dialect that is spoken in every Long Tang (a small 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.
A significant plunge in young Shanghainese speakers’ proficiency rate is a prominent threat to the dialect’s future. A walk down the street of Shanghai today would show most young people communicating either completely 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 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 the near 60% of respondents between ages 30–35 years old. (Gui and Zhou) As the figure suggests, fluency of Shanghainese among young speakers does not support the dialect as an effective form of communication. It is often the case that one Shanghainese speaker would initiate a conversation with another person who understands the dialect, and the conversation would soon be switched to Mandarin as neither speakers can convey their messages clearly. Low Shanghainese proficiency rate portrays the future absence of a user base that would be large enough to support the dialect’s popularity.
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 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 under social settings highlight the dialect’s gradual decline into an outcast position that no longer supports its role as most speakers’ first language option. As a city with over 40% of its residents registered as “non-local,” the use of Shanghainese was once even considered a discriminatory act to the city’s immigrants. (Shen) Unable to identify whether another party understands Shanghainese, many who are fluent in the dialect refuse to use it in public to avoid unnecessary troubles. The vision of Shanghainese as more of a burden in public than convenient way of communication explains most speakers’ decision to abandon the dialect completely in their lives.
Decreasing Shanghainese proficiency rate is on the one hand 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. The issue with bilingualism, however, 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) The push for Mandarin use among children was fatal for Shanghainese’s development in the following decades. 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 obstacle 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.
On top of policy changes, the lack of Shanghainese exposure in popular culture is arguably the biggest factor that is pushing the dialect down the abyss of history. As one of the most globalized metropolises in the world, 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 own dialect. Many young Shanghainese users now reveal a clear resentment towards the language, as it carries a connotation of representing “old-school” Shanghai rather than what is considered to be cool and popular. () Original language of video content on Bilibili — the Chinese version of Youtube — shows English and Japanese falling just a little behind Mandarin Chinese. As Garzon argues in her work, the ultimate step to a language’s death is young people’s lack of motivation in gaining proficiency. (Garzon) Immersed in a language environment where the dialect completely deviates away from mainstream media and culture, it is increasingly hard for young generations of Shanghainese people to view the mastery of the dialect as important.
The ultimate focus of Shanghainese’s revitalization, therefore, should be on establishing a modern and popular image of the dialect. A minor but rapidly expanding genre, Shanghainese rap has the potential to become the dialect’s savior by reinserting young people’s passion into the city’s language and culture. With lyrics in Shanghainese that express artists’ pride in the city, local rap producers made their work a perfect medium to communicate concerns over the dialect’s future to younger audiences. Music tends to be more easily accepted by young people as a popular way to appreciate culture. 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. Increasing Shanghainese rap’s exposure, therefore, has the potential to encourage more to learn about the dialect and eventually push for an increase in the number of young speakers who are willing to communicate in the language.
A method that has been widely tested around the world, increasing the teaching of Shanghainese at schools can be another way to boost the dialect’s speaker base. Communities around the world have increasingly looked to revitalize their languages by nourishing a young user base through schools and education. (Romaine) Immersion schools in Quebec, for example, are bilingual using English and French as main languages of instruction and have been proven to sustain the French language with a steady supply of young, fluent speakers. Ultimately, a language will be preserved as long as a large enough community uses it for communication on a regular basis. With the abundance of local teachers who grew up with 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. Sharing similar conditions with Quebec as the Shanghai dialect still has a considerable presence among its older speakers, it is not too late to encourage
Although some policy makers argue the encouragement of Shanghainese use in daily conversation as adequate in preserving the dialect, it must be pointed out that the preservation of Shanghainese requires thorough consideration and precise solutions. Taking into account the language preservation and revitalization process around the world, the future of the Shanghainese dialect isn’t all pessimistic. Through the exposure of the language in popular culture and education, there is still a chance to nourish a young speaker base of the dialect that will help sustain its future development. However, it is paramount that correct actions be taken in the near future. As the “speak mandarin” campaign shows, it doesn’t take one generation for a dialect to be on the verge of extinction. With the right solution, so shouldn’t it take more than one age group for the Shanghainese dialect to be revived.
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