History Of Shanghainese

Submitted By TampaThomas
Words: 639
Pages: 3
Open Document
Problems Solved are Problems Caused.
Every night before dinner, my mother or grandmother would begin a conversation with me with the question "nong che gu la va?" Which rough translate as “have you eaten?" What you would observe if you were a fly on the wall, was the beginning of a ritual to pass to another generation the dialect known as Shanghainese. All conversation within the house was spoken in Shanghainese. For comparison, in Mandarin the question would be asked "ni fan chi guo le ma?"
More than just the description of a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai and the surrounding region which is rich in pure vowels that separates itself from Mandarin and Cantonese by it stops or affricates, Shanghainese is a culture, an atmosphere, a way of thinking. This sense of pride for local culture partly stems from the collectivist frame of mind that is generational in its roots. These characteristics are rooted in our language and our history. We were taught in the elementary school that we should be proud of the group we are in. It is the group, not just particular individual, and never you alone, that makes each of us strong. I am Shanghainese and proud.
Shanghainese are extraordinarily internationalized. Whenever a comparison is made between the culture of Shanghai and that of other major metropolitan centers in the People’s Republic of China, our international flair serves as the principal distinguishing factor. We are consumerist which is the fancy word for we like to shop. Being stylish, we have a fashion-oriented mentality that incorporates a full range of vices and virtues that are associated with any highly developed commercial sensibility. We have a great sense of professionalism, a know facility at economic calculation, and deep convictions in integrity. This atmosphere for centuries has attractive foreign trade, visitation and adaptation that will always define Shanghai as one of the world’s first global hubs. Shanghainese welcomes, and is proud of immigrants who help build the city to today’s glory.
With the economic engines of prosperity producing wealth for Shanghai, more and more migrants from other parts of People’s Republic of China for school and work which also creates "New Shanghainese" who are accustomed to speaking Mandarin. Due to the national prominence of Mandarin, learning Shanghainese was no longer necessary for migrants, because those educated after the 1950s could generally communicate in Mandarin.
The People’s Republic of China has a common language policy "Putonghua” which focuses
Show More

Related Documents: History Of Shanghainese

Case Study: Compassion Fatigue

A. Saint Mary’s hospital assessed the need for training on an organizational, person, and tasks level by identifying problems in the workplace. On an organizational level, Saint Mary’s determined that there was a need for training based on the “high turnover” which reflects low job satisfaction by the employees. The company also assessed a need for training based on the “poor patient satisfaction” which indicates a high employee error rate and a poor performance by the organization. Furthermore,…

Words 701 - Pages 3

National Prohibition Research Paper

committed crimes linked to the policy of prohibition. This suggests that prohibition failed to reach the aim of reducing the cost of prisons and law enforcement which had been set by the likes of the Anti Saloon League who had suggested that Another problem was that prohibition provided…

Words 1723 - Pages 7

Communication In Ordinary People

In the movie Ordinary People, a family of three has conflicts that could be solved if the is communication between them was better. In addition to the bad communication, the main character Conrad has had emotional issues ever since his brother died in a boating accident. His family has a lot of grief that is not always expressed in healthy ways. There is a plethora of ways the family used other forms of expressing their emotions other than talking about them directly. They used masking and avoiding…

Words 597 - Pages 3

Reactions: Alkane and Alkyl Groups Essay

7 2,5,7-trimethyldecane Chapter 3 15 Solved Problem 3-1 Give the structures of 4-isopropyloctane and 5-t-butyldecane. Solution: 4-Isopropyloctane has a chain of eight carbons, with an isopropyl group on the fourth carbon. 5-t-Butyldecane has a chain of ten carbons, with a t-butyl group on the fifth. Chapter 3 16 Solved Problem 3-2 Give a systematic (IUPAC) name for the following compound. Chapter 3 17 Solved Problem 3-2: Solution The longest carbon chain contains…

Words 1886 - Pages 8

Boxer Rebellion Dbq

in China because they believed that the foreigners were responsible for their problems and that the problems would be solved once the foreigners were removed. In the late 19th century, northern China experienced some deadly natural disasters, including a period of severe floods that was followed by a long drought (Support the Dynasty, Destroy the Foreigners). The area was known for its extreme climate variation that caused economic deprivation and instability. In addition, the peasants there also did…

Words 178 - Pages 1

Idk Man Essay

believe that homelessness is a problem. Policy changes had a large impact on the problem and have been documented in America since 1640. During this time homelessness was seen as a moral deficiency and nobody cared. It is a very complex social issue with many variables and unfortunately, for those experiencing homelessness, the impact of the values of the 1640’s will continue to be pervasive. Albert Einstein once said “the significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking…

Words 523 - Pages 3

F451 Essay

back when he was alive, Jesus was majorly criticized. Jesus represents a mirror image of an abnormal person of society due to the oppression from others because of his different views of religion and his view of love rather than violence. Jesus Christ caused much tension between him and a considerable amount of people around him through his preachings that varied from the popular religions at that time. Even people close to him kept their distance, according to “Jesus Christ”, “ All the Gospels state that…

Words 672 - Pages 3

Romeo and Juliet Essay

family, the Capulets, get into fights often. Prince Escalus has the power to prevent the two families from fighting. However, he simply threatens and does not enforce his laws. After yet another fight, he unjustly banished Romeo causing even more problems. The Prince does not get involved with the situations occurring in his own town, leading to deaths and secretive plans which could of never happened if he took charge. Therefore, the Prince is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.…

Words 836 - Pages 4

Group Decision Making Report Essay

that, thus the overall performance of the company would improve and the company could achieve the goal. However, what if the Yellow Auto Company wanted to increase the market share but the top managers still kept their old management style with many problems? The situation would come to the scenario that the exchanges the employees would get back were the same but they needed work much harder. The employees would not conform to company anymore and they became deviant. According to Friztgerald(2013),…

Words 2595 - Pages 11

Politics introduction to one nation conservtivsm Essay

people were killed as the assault guards displayed their brutality and crushed resistance. Some historians may state that the brutality of the army. Under government caused the failure of the republic because of the embarrassment of their actions. The violent actions caused many deaths within the working class, which effectively caused the lost of support from them. Above all the army were more beneficial to eh second republic rather than opposing them and leading them to failure. This is because…

Words 491 - Pages 2