I read very recently an interesting article about the Shanghainese dialect.
Just when I thought my Mandarin was getting better, and even in this day and age of Mandarin truly being the common language in China, I realize that speaking Shanghainese still has its benefits.
Everything in the article I've found, in my limited time here, to be more or less true -- the Shanghainese do think of themselves with an air of superiority; while not arrogant, very much perceivable still. Yes, Mandarin is now the language taught in the schools, and speaking Mandarin isn't a problem for me going about my daily life, but still, they look at you as an outsider, and so they might not give you the best deals, etc.
When I was hunting for an apartment, the agent that my company introduced me to spoke Shanghainese exclusively to the landlords as we were touring the various offerings, and he wasn't even native to Shanghai himself, so that extra 'edge' in diffentiating yourself from the masses of other waidiren moving here from all over China to try and make a living must at least amount to something tangible.
Even putting practicalities and social niceties aside, I've always relished the intellectual challenge of learning new languages -- even in my short visit to Mongolia in 2003, I tried to learn some greetings and piece together simple sentences in Mongolian. Since I'm here for at least a year or two, I feel that it's only proper I at least learn the local dialect here sometime. Of course, I'll never be perfect, but knowing the Chinese, even taking the effort makes people appreciative.
And to my Shanghainese friends (Kevin, clieu, ...) come back to your roots and join me out here, so you can help me out!! ;)
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