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Mandarin Regional Differences
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Ari 桑 -
Quote:
I have wanted to post about a related topic for a while. For now, let me just say that here in
Beijing, one is exposed to a wide variety of mandarin pronounciations due to the large numbers
that have moved here from 外地 for school and/or work (and I'm not just referring to the migrant
workers). Ironically, I find the Beijing dialect and especially some of the 东北 pronounciations
to be the most challenging to understand for a non-native learner of mandarin. I have little
difficulty understanding most southern pronounciations.
Totally the same for me. Although because I lived with a dongbei woman for a year, I totally
understand dongbeihua, and find that more natural the beijinghua, but I still usually opt for the
southern pronounciation.
I get the feeling that because most teachers of westerners are uppermiddle class northerners, that
way of speaking has become what is expected of westerms. But, seriously, if someone wanted to
really get into the beijing accent, and embraced it with open arms, lots of people wouldn't
understand him.
Like what you said DrZero, when in the south, I've found that not only is it annoying to use
erhua, but most southerners have a damn hard time understanding erhua when its being spoken by a
non native (and maybe by natives too, depending on the individual)
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atitarev -
When I speak with erhua (by habbit) with Southerners, Taiwanese of HKers, I only get commended for
my accent.
Perhaps, it's because I am not in China.
Ari 桑 -
I think it depends on the individual and what kind of social environment they live in. People who
live in smaller places, outside of the big cities, have alot less exposure to erhua, and so often
have a hard time understanding it. They probably understand 一点儿 and 玩儿 but probably
don't understand 水儿 屯儿 and so forth.
Oh, I have a question. Are 干吗，干吗呢，干吗呀，干啥 etc all northern things? I find
that people in the south are sometimes puzzled when I say these things, and I was never sure why.
atitarev -
Sorry, not about 干吗.
Chinese people say that foreigners are usually expected to speak either English or standard
Mandarin in China because many Chinese would, at least attempt to answer back in standard Mandarin
when speaking to foreigners. I think, it's only worth familiarising with smaller dialects for
comprehension only. Cantonese is perhaps an exception in Hong Kong/Macao, which is not only used
by the majority but also by media and is considered standard there.
I am not insisting on my point of view, some people say it's better to use Shanghaihua when in
Shanghai.
cdn_in_bj -
Quote:
Oh, I have a question. Are 干吗，干吗呢，干吗呀，干啥 etc all northern things?
干吗 is also used in Taiwan.
干啥 I recognize as being 东北话.
Quote:
I am not insisting on my point of view, some people say it's better to use Shanghaihua when in
Shanghai.
I also heard that this used to be the case but things have changed. I visited Shanghai a year ago
and everyone I encountered spoke mandarin and not only that, was extremely courteous in doing so.
Maybe things are different if one is living there vs. just visiting. In any case, I have yet to
encounter such polite taxi drivers anywhere else in China (including HK).
Ari 桑 -
I think its also just fun to do something different. In terms of shanghaihua, for sure. I went
there with my boyfriend once, and he's a beijingren, and he sometimes had a super hard time
understanding people.
atitarev -
Of course, it's fun to learn something new or different. I just think, Mandarin would be priority
#1 anywhere in China, except HK and local dialects, if you can find time and resources. Not
knowing Wu in Shanghai may be a hurdle in SOME jobs but I know there are Chinese people (I know
some personally) who live and work in Shanghai without knowing the dialect. They pick up dialectal
words and accent when they stay for some time, of course.
I heard and read a lot about Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong and have no idea about some other
large cities in the South. Do you need to speak a dialect to get a job?
Ari 桑 -
I spose it depends on the job. I'd like to get a simple job in the nightlife, working at a club or
bar. For that, I suppose localisms are great. If you want to be in big buisness, then I'm sure
standard madarin is prefered.
Lu -
I don't think foreigners are expected to speak the dialect, for any job that they would be
considered for. I'd say a foreigner who does speak the dialect, even if it's only a few words,
would be seen as a curiosity. (Even a simple phai-se (sorry) sometimes surprises people here. Wah,
you speak Taiyu! No I don't...)
anonymoose -
It is not at all necessary to speak shanghainese in Shanghai. Everyone apart from the elderly,
mostly past retirement age anyway, speaks mandarin, and many people in Shanghai are from other
areas and cannot speak shanghainese.
Having said that, IF you do speak shanghainese, particularly as a foreigner, you can have a great
time seeing how people react when you start speaking it. I can't speak much shangainese yet, but
enough to startle a few people. It is also funny sometimes when I speak shanghainese to a
外地人 by accident. They just stare at me thinking this 老外's mandarin is so crap I don't
have a clue what he's saying.
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