There
has recently been much discussion on English-language Chinese websites of the
Shanghai dialect.
Qian
Nairong, a linguist with Shanghai University, explained to Xinhua that all regional dialects now face a challenge: “With rapid social development over recent
years, an increasing number of migrants with different dialects can be found
all over China. However, people are encouraged to speak Mandarin between each
other, threatening the existence of dialects." In addition, he worries that in the era of keyboards, dialects will become extinct as
people type characters with unified pinyin, which is based on Mandarin. To
counter this trend, Qian and his team have developed character input software using
the Shanghai dialect.
Others
are also doing their bit, including a lexicographer who
has compiled a Shanghai dialect dictionary. Apparently, for words relating to
agriculture, now rarely heard in Shanghai, he had to seek the advice of
old-aged farmers.
Meanwhile,
the on-line English-language versions of several Chinese newspapers are
reporting that a new novel, Blossoms (Fan Hua),
by Jin Yucheng, is making waves, partly because it is written in the Shanghai
dialect.
The
novel depicts the lives of Shanghai people in two periods: from the 1960s to
the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, and from the 1980s to 2000. It
consists of many independent stories, which interweave as the lives of the characters unfold.
Why
did Jin choose to write in dialect? He told Global Times: "Chinese literature is getting
monotonous both in language and form. I want to be special with my own
language.” He also pointed out that for writers beyond Beijing, Mandarin is
often a second language: “I found it much easier to write dialogues in my
native language."
This
begs an obvious question: can Blossoms be read outside Shanghai? Jin was careful to ensure that his
language was similar enough to Mandarin to allow readers from other parts of China
to understand him. He told Global Times: "If you
want your works to get read, first of all, it should be understandable for
readers in other regions. It is not to amuse oneself.” He explained to China
Daily that he avoided
some slang and dialect words difficult to express in the written language: "The
language of Blossoms
is not exactly pure Shanghai dialect. You have to think in the context of the
Shanghai dialect and recreate the language so that readers outside of Shanghai
can understand it.” He explained
the task he’d set himself was difficult: “Many things that can be expressed in
(Mandarin) cannot be said in the dialect and I had to write in a roundabout
way. It means more preparation and challenges."
Has
he succeeded in writing a dialect novel comprehensible beyond the dialect’s
boundaries? Zheng Li, an editor
with a Shanghai publishing house, certainly thinks he has, and that he’s done
so whilst retaining an authentic sense of place. He is quoted in China Daily as saying Jin’s readers can: “taste the
intense aroma of the Shanghai flavour.”
Blossoms is not, to my knowledge, available in
English.
