2022-01-25 08:02:04
Two years ago, Qi Jiayao visited his mother’s
hometown of
Shaoxing in eastern China. When he tried to speak to his cousin’s children in the
local dialect, Qi was surprised. “None of them was able to,”
recalls the 38-year-old
linguist, who now teaches Mandarin in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
hometown（名詞）：家鄉
Shaoxing：紹興
local（形容詞）：本地的
dialect（名詞）：方言
recall（動詞）：回憶起
linguist（名詞）：語言學家
The
decline in local dialects among the younger generation has become more
apparent in recent years as China’s president, Xi Jinping, has sought to
strengthen a
uniform Chinese
identity. Mandarin is now being spoken by more than 80% of China’s population, up from 70% a decade ago. Last month, China’s
state council vowed to increase the
figure to 85% within the next four years.
decline（名詞）：衰落
apparent（形容詞）：明顯的
strengthen（動詞）：強化，加強
uniform（形容詞）：名詞形態時可指"制服＂，但呢度意思係"統一的＂
identity（名詞）：身份
state council：國務院
vow（動詞）：立誓
figure（名詞）：數字
But the
popularisation of a
standard national language is often
at the expense of regional languages, including dialects of the Han majority and ethnic languages such as Mongolian and Uyghur. In Inner Mongolia, for example, local regulations in 2016 allowed ethnic schools to use their own language for teaching. This policy was
aimed at developing students’ linguistic skills and
cultivating bilingualism. But four years later it was
reversed to
favour Mandarin, a move that
sparked protests from the ethnic population.
popularisation（名詞）：普及
standard（形容詞）：標準
at the expense of（phrase）：以…為代價
regional（形容詞）：區域性的
aim at（phrasal verb）：目的在於，旨在
cultivate（動詞）：可以指"栽培，種植＂，但呢度意思係＂培養，培育＂
bilingualism（名詞）：雙語能力
reverse（動詞）：（使）倒轉
favour（動詞）：偏袒
spark（動詞）：引發
It is not just ethnic languages that are being affected. In 2017, a
survey circulated online showed that among the 10 dialect groups, Wu Chinese, which includes the Shanghai dialect and is spoken by about 80 million people in the eastern part of the country, has the smallest number of active users aged between six and 20. It
prompted concern among linguists in the region.
survey（名詞）：調查
circulate（動詞）：流傳
prompt（動詞）：引發
concern（名詞）：關注
In Shanghai, where Qi grew up, activists have
campaigned to
encourage use of their dialect for many years. In 2020, a local political
representative urged the Shanghai government to
invest in
promoting the local dialect. The government responded by upgrading the local
Huju opera annual festival to a
municipality-level activity. This success encouraged Qi. But he is
realistic about how much activists can
accomplish. In 2014, the TV programme Shanghai Dialect Talk on Shanghai Doco TV was
taken off air after the government
insisted on the use of
standard Mandarin for the
channel to be
broadcast nationally. Chinese laws
prevent satellite TV channels from broadcasting in local dialects.
campaign（名詞）：活動，運動
encourage（動詞）：鼓勵
representative（名詞）：代表
urge（動詞）：敦促
invest（動詞）：投資
promote（動詞）：推廣
Huju：湖劇
opera（名詞）：歌劇
municipality（名詞）：市，自治市
level（名詞）：層面
realistic（形容詞）：實際
accomplish（動詞）：實現，做到
take off（phrasal verb）：可指"起飛＂，但呢度意思係＂下架，唔俾再播＂
insist（動詞）：堅持
channel（名詞）：頻道
broadcast（動詞）：廣播
prevent（動詞）：防止
satellite（名詞）：衛星
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/16/chinese-dialects-in-decline-as-government-enforces-mandarin
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