| Like Li Jingyi said, every province has a PERMANENT modern dialect broadcasting program except Shanghai. Two years ago, there was a commercial in Shanghainese (advertising a local cough drop brand), and within 2-3 days, the Shanghainese was replaced with Mandarin because of "complaints." For a city with 14 million native Shanghainese speakers, there's not a single "in modern times" (and not 19th century story telling) radio station dedicated to Shanghainese (not even a 30 minute program). Not one weather report or local news program is in Shanghainese. AND THIS ISN'T because the Shanghainese don't like their dialect. They are really fond of their dialect, and really identify themselves with it. The reason there's no Shanghainese program in Shanghai is all political (Beijing), and is part of a campaign since the 1970's to eradicate the dialect through silence, and the denial of Shanghainese education. There is no exposure of its modern form through public broadcasting, or any form of mass media. Many youths today think Shanghainese cannot be written using Chinese characters (because "it is so different from Mandarin pronunciation"; most have ridiculously been made to believe that Shanghainese is an uncultured, bastardized, and unorthodox dialect of holy Mandarin).
Mandarin in Shanghai has entirely been an act of UNNATURAL cultural imperialism (imposed by law and discriminate regulation). Shanghainese (and its Wu cousin dialects) has been treated differently from every other southern dialect. What these regulators are saying is that Shanghainese has no future in Shanghai (as the "financial capital of China"), and that NOT EVEN A SINGLE opportunity may be allowed for the dialect to develop its future. I'm not against cultural imperialism if it comes in an unmanipulated environment that provides choices for the residents. The case for Shanghai, however, is designed and decreed cultural imperialism. |
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