Forgotten dialect - by Mandy

I am sure all of you had gained some ideas about language and dialect after our tutorial class. After the lesson, the question that haunted me is that, how can we protect our own dialect?

Recently, i found that there were two Americans who love the Chinese language. They set up a website (phonemica.com) to make Chinese in different places hear Chinese dialects . The “dialect map” has gained popularity and has sparked a public discussion on the decline of Chinese dialects and how to protect them.

As the Chinese government see language as a way to show the citizens' national identity and to ensure Chinese unity, Putonghua became the only official language in China. All schools on China were forced to use Putonghua in teaching. Many dialects disappear gradually.  Yet, they all represent a specific culture  and way of life in that region. Many words and expressions only exist in the certain dialects. Dialects also  create an important cultural legacy, as many regional operas (E.G. Cantonese Opera) and folks are using their own regional language. Therefore, although there should be a common language, regional language should also be preserved.

This is the English version of 帝女花，one of a famous Chinese opera. Try to imagine if Cantonese disappeared, the melody of the opera left, but no one knows how to sing with Cantonese. All those master piece would be lost! Most of  the dialects were handed down by the dialect speakers themselves, so if the dialect disappear, then it will be lost forever. Hence, teaching dialects to the younger generation will be a good method to preserve the dialects!