most of the products Shanghai does, but in Shanghai they’re much more readily available. I also feel that it sort of impoverishes the language.
Some things that you can buy in Shanghai’s convenience stores you might have to go to a specialty store for in Beijing. The “-r” suffix can go on the end of words ending in a vowel, -n, or -ng.
Today I discussed the matter with an American co-worker of mine.
He seemed an ideal, objective observer because he lived in Beijing for a year, and now, after staying in Shanghai for a little over a year, is leaving China.
He speaks good Chinese, and he’s a shrewd observer of his surroundings. Beijing is colder, but you don’t feel it too much because everyone bundles up like mad, and central heating is quite widespread.
In Shanghai the buildings are built with the hot summers in mind, and there’s precious little insulation.
Recent research by the British Council puts Mandarin Chinese in the top five most important languages for the UK’s prosperity, security and influence in future years, yet only one per cent of the UK’s adult population speak it well enough to hold a conversation.
Nevertheless, Beijingers are widely regarded as very friendly, and any sense of superiority is exhibited only subtly. This affects their Mandarin, making it less standard.
The Shanghainese are not widely regarded as friendly or as subtle in their snobbery. The Shanghainese, like most places in the south, have much less “rrrr” in their speech, relying instead on other standard variants (e.g. Sometimes I find it amusing (I like hearing actor Ge You talk), but I can’t really take it seriously.
For the second year in a row, none of the keynote sessions at CES will be led by women.
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