This work is written by Ruiheng Lyu, Nov. 2023. A colleague on the same project.

This work is also part of a larger project to discover the causes of the diminish of Shanghai Dialect. The rest of the works are listed below:

• Language Planning and Policy (This article)
• Internal Migration
• Linguistic Feature and Language Barriers
• Economic
• Ideology

Introduction

During a city’s development, a multitude of interrelated factors determine the outcome. Among these factors, the role played by the language spoken in a city is frequently overlooked as a seemingly irrelevant element compared with other more visible factors such as economic activity, urban planning, and infrastructure provision. Nonetheless, language is an important constituent of a city’s culture and facilitates the advancement of a city tangibly. In a city where a variety of languages or dialect groups form part of the fabric of society, language reflects the diversity and the cultural fertilization of urban life.

Background

As Shanghai transforms into a cosmopolitan metropolis, there's a growing emphasis on Mandarin Chinese, the national language, as the lingua franca for social, economic, and educational interactions. This shift is natural in metropolitan areas seeking broader integration and economic advancement, leading to the marginalization of regional dialects like Shanghainese. Education policies and institutional practices strongly advocate for Mandarin proficiency. Schools primarily teach in Mandarin, and the curriculum focuses on standardized Chinese, thereby limiting the exposure and importance given to local dialects. Consequently, younger generations grow up with reduced proficiency in speaking and understanding the Shanghai dialect, leading to its gradual decline within families and communities. The media landscape also significantly contributes to the diminishing presence of the Shanghai dialect. Mainstream media platforms predominantly use Mandarin Chinese, further marginalizing local dialects. Movies, television shows, and online content rarely showcase or promote the Shanghai dialect, contributing to its decline in everyday conversations and cultural expression. The social stigma surrounding regional dialects also plays a role. Speaking the Shanghai dialect in certain formal or prestigious settings might be perceived as unrefined or uneducated. As a result, individuals may consciously choose to use Mandarin, contributing to the fading relevance of their native dialect in public spaces. The impact of migration and demographic changes also cannot be overlooked. Shanghai, being a hub for migration within China, witnesses an influx of people from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The resulting linguistic diversity, while enriching in its own right, often leads to the gradual dilution of the local dialect as residents adapt to a more common language for communication, usually Mandarin. Preserving the Shanghai dialect amidst these challenges requires a concerted effort from various stakeholders. Efforts to promote bilingualism, where both Mandarin and the local dialect are given importance, can help maintain linguistic diversity while ensuring proficiency in the national language. Cultural initiatives, including literature, arts, and media productions in the Shanghai dialect, can rekindle interest and pride in the local language among younger generations. The decline of the Shanghai dialect is a multifaceted issue shaped by urbanization, educational policies, media influence, social perceptions, and migration. Preserving this unique linguistic heritage demands a balanced approach that acknowledges the importance of the national language while valuing and promoting the rich cultural tapestry embedded within local dialects like Shanghainese.

How the economy affects the Shanghai dialect

According to a study conducted by Li Wei, economic globalization has a significant impact on the erosion of regional languages, including the Shanghai dialect. (Feng, 2007) This happens in unprecedented economic development and mass migration contexts, such as Shanghai. The article evaluates migrant workers' comprehension and fluency of the Shanghai dialect and instruments their dialect fluency by determining whether the workers' hometowns were in the Wu dialect region and the distance between those hometowns and Shanghai. The paragraph determined that in OLS regressions, the returns to dialect result from endogeneity bias. After using IV (instrumental variable), dialect fluency was shown to significantly impact one's income in the service industry, in particular affecting sales jobs. In manufacturing and construction jobs, migrants with higher dialect fluency tended to be self-employed to earn more income. By distinguishing between listening and speaking abilities, the author finds that auditory comprehension does not significantly increase one's earnings, while oral fluency does. Since residents in Shanghai can understand Mandarin, migrants who can understand Shanghainese won't have difficulty in the information exchange. Therefore, the researchers’ results confirm that dialect is a channel through which people expose their identity. Speaking the local dialect is a way for migrant workers to integrate into the local society and reduce transaction costs in the labor market. (Chen et al., 2014) Nowadays, there are a lot of new Shanghainese who work in high-rises. These people look down on the old local Shanghainese. They tend to believe the local Shanghainese is poor and old-fashioned. As a result, the locals called the new Shanghainese “country pumpkins”. (Gao, 2015)

Analyze the economic effects

Shanghai, a global economic powerhouse, thrives on its status as a financial, commercial, and industrial hub. In this context, the role of language becomes pivotal in facilitating commerce, trade, and interpersonal communication. Mandarin Chinese, as the national language and lingua franca, takes precedence in official and business interactions, driving the preference for a standardized language in the economic sphere. Consequently, the Shanghai dialect, despite its historical significance and cultural richness, is gradually relegated to informal and familial domains. Business transactions, negotiations, and official communications predominantly occur in Mandarin. Companies, both local and international, prefer Mandarin proficiency among their employees to ensure seamless interactions and collaborations. Over the last two decades, the state’s language policies were accompanied by city-wide urban redevelopment. Under the logic of urban political economy and the real estate market, the Shanghai dialect speech community was dispersed geographically to neighborhoods of mixed-origin residents. (Xu, 2016)This preference naturally influences educational institutions to prioritize Mandarin in their curricula, nurturing a generation more adept in the national language than in their native Shanghai dialect. The diminishing use of the Shanghai dialect in economic spheres also affects cultural industries. While the dialect contributes to Shanghai's unique cultural identity, its fading presence in media and entertainment narrows the market for cultural productions centered on the dialect. This limits the economic viability of endeavors celebrating the linguistic heritage of Shanghai. However, it's important to note that the economic impact of the declining Shanghai dialect is not solely negative. The prominence of Mandarin as a unifying language facilitates integration within China and with the global market. Mandarin proficiency enhances employability and opens up opportunities for Shanghai residents in national and international arenas, contributing positively to the city's economic growth and competitiveness. Nonetheless, preserving the Shanghai dialect is crucial, not just for cultural reasons but also for sustaining linguistic diversity, which can be an economic asset in its own right. Bilingualism, where both Mandarin and the local dialect are valued, can foster a workforce adept in diverse languages, potentially opening doors to a wider spectrum of business opportunities, especially in sectors that benefit from cultural authenticity and local connections. In conclusion, while the decline of the Shanghai dialect aligns with the economic necessity of a standardized language for commerce, its erosion underscores the need for a delicate balance between linguistic diversity and economic pragmatism. Upholding the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Shanghai dialect can contribute to a more nuanced and enriched economic landscape, nurturing a city that thrives on both its global connectivity and its local cultural roots.

Conclusion

Language has played a significant role in the urban development of Shanghai and will continue to visibly affect the trajectory of the city. Although the Shanghai dialect can be a source of frustration for visitors and immigrants, it nonetheless constitutes an essential part of the culture. The Shanghainese words of Pidgin English origin helped form a receptive attitude towards the world. The Shanghai dialect offers lower-class migrant workers an opportunity to climb social ladders and upper-class migrants a means of better integration. Mandarin connects Shanghai with the rest of the country whereas English makes Shanghai accessible to the rest of the world. Multilingualism has presented Shanghai with a wide range of opportunities that would otherwise have been unavailable. As the city attains more global significance, the Language and Development of the City’s linguistic environment is bound to become more complicated with a larger variety of languages. It is therefore critical to maintain and enhance this booming multilingualism in Shanghai.

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