“Dialect is disappearing,” said Chang Song-hing

出自香港新聞網 - 樹仁新傳系學生實習習作

• “Dialect is disappearing,” said Chang Song-hing 04-10-2006 00:12 045051 顏靖怡 NGAN, CHING YI

Chang Song-hing, professor of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of the Chinese University of Hong Kong shares his opinion on "Media Language and Dialect" with the students of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Hong Kong Shue Yan College on Tuesday. He pointed out that when a country is implementing a common language, it should not repress dialects at the same time. Otherwise, dialects would gradually disappear and causing serious consequences. “Language has its own rule of development, human has no power to intervene the rule,” he said.

Chang deemed that China’s implementation of common language, Putonghua, forces dialects to disappear gradually . If dialects disappeared, this will cause a great loss in Chinese culture and history. It is because the dialects retain the pronunciation of ancient language, this would help people to have a better understanding of ancestral information. In some areas of China, people launched “rescue dialect movement”, such as in Shanghai, the Shanghai Education Commission made Shanghai dialect songs as part of the kindergarten programs.

Chang believed that language has its freedom to develop. People should not hinder the development of language through political forces. For example, Taiwan government implements Mandarin and represses dialect many years ago. At that time, people speak dialect even liable to a fine. This policy was against by the people. In the contrary, more and more people in Taiwan support speak dialect. This proves that the development of language has its own rule, which is not changeable by human.