Linguistics project pursues the preservation of pure dialect
May 28, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Minhang recruitment station for the Shanghai dialect preservation project has hunted high and low in the search for local people who speak an unadulterated version of Minhang dialect.
"Local media such as Minhang Weekly as well as neighborhood committees in the district have spared no effort in publicizing this project, and that has helped us a great deal," said Tang Quanli, a staff member at the recruitment site.
The program, launched by the city's Language Work Committee on March 24, aims to record different variations of the Shanghai dialect in 11 areas to track changes and map the locations for the archives of history.
Minhang was asked to find seven pure native speakers from the district's Xinzhuang area, where the Minhang dialect originated.
Strict requirements hampered the search. Minhang has witnessed a big influx of new residents in recent years, and many old-time residents born in Xinzhuang have moved to other districts. Then too, the dialects spoken in outlying areas often fuse with what might be called the "downtown dialect" of Shanghai.
The program in Minhang was focused on residents from Xinzhuang. Residents volunteering from other areas of the district were politely told they didn't qualify, sometimes much to their disappointment.
About 45 initial volunteers were interviewed.
Among them was Chu Bannong, who works as a linguistic specialist for a heritage preservation agency in Minhang. He recalled how he was bombarded with questions when he visited the station to contribute his voice.
"Were you born in Xinzhuang? Do you still live in Xinzhuang? Were your parents and wife born in Xinzhuang? Have you ever lived outside of Xinzhuang for four years or more?"
At first, Chu failed to qualify because he had served in the military for five years in Fujian Province. Living outside the target area for too long was considered a possible diluting factor in the purity of the dialect. Chu was also disqualified because his wife was born in Songjiang District, another area of Shanghai.
The program initially was looking for people born and bred in Xinzhuang, whose parents and spouses were also natives of that area from birth.
But because of difficulties finding ideal candidates in some suburban districts, the program extended the recruitment period a month to May 31 and eased up on some of the criteria - accepting applicants whose spouses come from other areas, and raising the maximum absence allowed away from the district to six years from four.
Bingo! Chu suddenly qualified as a participant.
In a sense it's a linguist helping the cause of linguistics. Chu is a specialist in research of the Wu language, which encompasses all dialects spoken in Shanghai and surrounding regions. He has written several books on the subject.
"Local media such as Minhang Weekly as well as neighborhood committees in the district have spared no effort in publicizing this project, and that has helped us a great deal," said Tang Quanli, a staff member at the recruitment site.
The program, launched by the city's Language Work Committee on March 24, aims to record different variations of the Shanghai dialect in 11 areas to track changes and map the locations for the archives of history.
Minhang was asked to find seven pure native speakers from the district's Xinzhuang area, where the Minhang dialect originated.
Strict requirements hampered the search. Minhang has witnessed a big influx of new residents in recent years, and many old-time residents born in Xinzhuang have moved to other districts. Then too, the dialects spoken in outlying areas often fuse with what might be called the "downtown dialect" of Shanghai.
The program in Minhang was focused on residents from Xinzhuang. Residents volunteering from other areas of the district were politely told they didn't qualify, sometimes much to their disappointment.
About 45 initial volunteers were interviewed.
Among them was Chu Bannong, who works as a linguistic specialist for a heritage preservation agency in Minhang. He recalled how he was bombarded with questions when he visited the station to contribute his voice.
"Were you born in Xinzhuang? Do you still live in Xinzhuang? Were your parents and wife born in Xinzhuang? Have you ever lived outside of Xinzhuang for four years or more?"
At first, Chu failed to qualify because he had served in the military for five years in Fujian Province. Living outside the target area for too long was considered a possible diluting factor in the purity of the dialect. Chu was also disqualified because his wife was born in Songjiang District, another area of Shanghai.
The program initially was looking for people born and bred in Xinzhuang, whose parents and spouses were also natives of that area from birth.
But because of difficulties finding ideal candidates in some suburban districts, the program extended the recruitment period a month to May 31 and eased up on some of the criteria - accepting applicants whose spouses come from other areas, and raising the maximum absence allowed away from the district to six years from four.
Bingo! Chu suddenly qualified as a participant.
In a sense it's a linguist helping the cause of linguistics. Chu is a specialist in research of the Wu language, which encompasses all dialects spoken in Shanghai and surrounding regions. He has written several books on the subject.
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