Chinese dialects fading on Xi's watch : vimarsana.com

Two years ago, Qi Jiayao visited his mother’s hometown of Shaoxing in eastern China. When he tried to speak to his cousin’s children in the local dialect, Qi was surprised.
“None of them was able to,” said the 38-year-old linguist, who teaches Mandarin in Mexico.
The decline in local dialects among the younger generation has become more apparent in recent years as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has sought to bolster a uniform Chinese identity.
Mandarin is now spoken by more than 80 percent of China’s population, up from 70 percent a decade ago. Last month, China’s State Council promised to

Related Keywords

Mexico , Berkeley , California , United States , Mongolia , Shanghai , China , Huju , Guangdong , Inner Mongolia , Nei Mongol , Beijing , Shaoxing , Zhejiang , South Korea , Fang Xu , Jiangsu , Sichuan , Gansu , Han , Chinese , Mongolian , Mao Dun , Qi Jiayao , Deng Xiaoping , China State Council , University Of California , Union University , Chinese President Xi Jinping , State Council , Shanghai Dialect Talk , Sichuan Province , Mandarin Chinese , Beijing Union University , 台北時報 , The Taipei Times ,