What interesting things have you experienced related to dialects?

I think dialects are the soul of Chinese. While promoting Mandarin, we should also promote dialects. Dialects contain the soul and lifestyle of various places in China.

After I went to college, my roommates came from many places, and they were exposed to many dialects. I live in Shandong, so my roommates are all from Shandong, but even so, our dialects are very different.

I am from Jining. You may not know it, but when it comes to Qufu, more people may know it. Besides, more people know about Confucius’ hometown. The characteristic of our dialect is that we don’t have a flat tongue, and there is no distinction between 4 and 10, so my roommates often make fun of me because of this.

We also have a special word. You all know the meaning of elegance, and you also know that Confucianism is what Confucius advocates. But Confucianism actually has a bad meaning among us. It means that people are childish, and more childish than childish. I don’t know how to explain it.

I also have a roommate in Jinan, which is the capital of Shandong Province and Daming Lake. Daming Lake is the Xia Yuhe beside Daming Lake! She likes to give hints when talking, such as why she pinches her, how she pinches her like this, etc. I remember one time the topic on Weibo was: What are the habits that are deeply influenced by roommates? At that time, our dormitory collectively said, what is this?

Also, when she said she couldn’t see clearly, she said she couldn’t see the crowd, so when class started, people in our dormitory would yell together, why don’t you see the crowd, listen, don’t listen. This is our dormitory’s own culture!

Although dialects may not be understood by everyone, dialects are the soul of a city. Dialects tell us not only the story of a place, but also many interesting stories! Therefore, future children must be taught to speak Mandarin.