| Jianshuo, I'm pretty sure you do not have to learn Shanghai dialect, as not being able to say it does not really lower the convenience level of living in Shanghai now. This time I found Mandarin is much more widely accepted and used than it ever was. Actually I sometimes speak in Mandarin with my friends of Shanghai origin, or use lots of words in Mandarin (the switching between dialects came just so natually).
Of course, speaking in local dialect sounds more fun. It takes some efforts to practise, unless you don't have anything better to do... :D As to those foreigners who live in China for a while but do not learn Chinese, it can be simply lack of interests and necessity. Of course one can live in a foreign country (maybe for business purpose), and be totally uninterested in local cultures. My mom lived in Thailand for 2+ years, and didn't intend to study Thai at all. She studied some Spanish when she's in Panama, figuring that Spanish could be useful. In both cases speaking English was already enough for living comfortably. So for foreigners not intending to get more involved with locals, it is OK to stay within their own language circles, as long as China tolerates English-speaking-only people as it does now. |
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