| Choosing a Chinese dialect is based on opinion. People will make bias decisions for which dialect is a better one or a better sounding one, from the basis of which area they are from. In a sense, that is their pride and a way to distinguish themselves from others. Why do you want to learn a language? For most people is it to communicate. There are so many languages in the world, and different forms of the language based on slang and accent. What makes a person's dialect better than others? There is no judgement for which dialect is better, but based on discrimination and pride for oneself. Each dialect is different, some dialects may be more similiar to others, but they are all different from each other. Shanghainese and the surrounding area are evolved from the Northern Wu language, but that does not mean that they are exactly the same. Guangzhou dialect, is spoken mainly in Guangzhou Province, and within the Guangzhou dialect there are also differences from the area you are from. Cantonese is more referred to the language used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou. The surrounding areas, for instance TaiShan and their dialect even has different forms called SiYi language used in Enping, Kaiping, and Xinhui. I could go on and on, but there are way too many dialects spoken in China, therefore the country uses Mandarin as the universal language to communicate with the different areas. Although not all of the population can speak mandarin, but the majority can. So what dialect to learn? Learn the dialect that is the most appropiate for your needs. |
Mandarin or Shanghaiese?