A dialect can survive by itself |
http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/12/14 11:20 上海英文星报 |
China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) recently issued a notice banning domestic radio and TV stations from translating foreign radio and TV programmes into any local dialect. The notice said that such dialect translation contradicts the national initiative to promote Putonghua, or Mandarin, around the country. Foreign programmes that have been translated into dialects must be removed from television and radio immediately. The notice evoked a mixed response from experts and audio and video producers, as well as the general public. Many voiced their concerns about the fate of local dialects, with some even expressing the worry that all local dialects would disappear before anyone realized it. China has always been a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-dialect nation. It is hard to guess how many dialects exist, but they can be roughly classified into one of the seven large groups: the northern dialect, Wu dialect, Xiang (Hunan) dialect, Gan (Jiangxi) dialect, Hakka dialect, Min (Fujian) dialect and Yue (Guangdong) dialect (or Cantonese). These dialect groups are largely mutually unintelligible. When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the government began promoting Putonghua (the common language based on Mandarin) so that all Chinese citizens could communicate with other Putonghua speakers from other parts of China. In the context of social and economic development, the use of Putonghua is becoming more and more widespread, while the use of local dialects is decreasing and becoming less widespread. This is, indeed, a positive sign of social progress. Nevertheless, there is some concern that - in the long run - local dialects and accents are likely to be diluted to death. Dialectal differences are the result of a long geographical separation and lack of adequate communication facilities in ancient times, and have little significance in modern society. If local dialects are unduly emphasized, localism and regionalism will become more pervasive and more serious. If local dialects were used as the medium of instruction in schools, or if government officials dealt with the public in local dialect or dialects were commonly used in radio and TV programmes, what would become of our society and our country? It makes sense for SARFT to require broadcast media to use Putonghua, and it is right that government officials speak Putonghua on public occasions. As the common national language, Putonghua is not identical to the northern or Beijing dialect because it has also absorbed features from other dialects, Classical Chinese and other national languages, making it richer and more complete, more standardized and of a more public nature than any individual dialect (including northern dialect). The common national language serves the whole nation, while a dialect is based on a particular geographical area, serving people in this particular area. To facilitate the process of social unification and cultural modernization, we should spare no effort in promoting Putonghua as the common national language, particularly for formal and public occasions. Putonghua should be more widely used in public and private places, while the use of local dialects should be restricted. Putonghua should be the medium of administration in all government departments, the medium of instruction in schools, the language used for broadcasting and the language used in public services, since this not only is required for economic development, but also is the need of a civilized society. Popularization of Putonghua and standard Chinese characters does not mean stamping out the use of the various local dialects. Dialects can develop freely in their natural environment. One of the characteristics of languages is that they do not remain static but instead change over time. This is pretty much the same case with dialects. From a long-term perspective, dialects should not and would not be wiped out. There is no need for any purposeful and deliberate attempt to protect dialects. Just let dialects take their natural course. The best way to protect a dialect is to use it in daily life and pass it down from generation to generation. By Cai Shangyao |