| I have been reading more and more and discovering things about China. There are definitely too many different dialects there to make living adjustment relatively easy. The people in Beijing speak differently than the people in Shanghai who use the Shanghainese dialect. it is not like this traveling around the United States where almost everyone speaks, reads, writes and understands English (except for some illegal aliens etc)
look at what Kathia wrote about the different dialects: "hi, i'm considering moving to shanghai for 6 months to a year for the same reason (study chinese). i know a lot of questions and opinions have been expresed about beijing and shanghai but i would like to know if anyone could provide me a varied type of info. i am from malaysia and of chinese origin. i speak cantonese, mandarin and hokkien/fujian. as a child i spent a few years in taiwan and picked up spoken mandarin from there. however, i cannot read chinese but have no problem understanding the different dialects and speaking mandarin in a standard putonghua accent. taking an intensive chinese course in china is just so i can begin to read and write the language i have been speaking for this long. therefore, i'd like to know if studying in shanghai (where shangainese is prevalent) will pose a problem in terms of just reading and writing? (i don't suppose so?) also, in what way is the programme in Fudan Uni lousy? please advise. thank you. Posted by: kathia on July 18, 2004 09:48 PM " I think China needs to do something to make a uniform national language a reality throughout all of China. I know that Mandarin technically is the national language but the Shangahinese still prefer to use and speak in their own local 'Shanghainese dialect. why should I spend time and money taking a Chinese speaking course in Mandarin over here just to travel to Shanghai and get hit with a strange dialect I can't speak and understand????? Learning French is not like this--French is French all over France. Learning German is the same way in Germany. |
Where to Study Chinese, Beijing or Shanghai?