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Introduction

Linguistic diversity has been an international focus, attributed to the increasing interconnectivity and mobility of people around the world. In order to promote understanding across languages and cultures, the International Mother Language Day is set by the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO on a yearly basis since 2008. Living in a multilingual city, such as Hong Kong, gives us the opportunity to reach out to people from all walks of life and different origins. We hope to join this initiation by the United Nations on a local level to investigate the state of multilingualism in Hong Kong. Shanghainese came to our interest with the omnipresence of Shanghainese cuisine and people around us, but the absence of the language (Shanghainese) spoken to our ears.

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Socio-historical Background Information of Shanghainese

The project focuses on the Shanghainese community in Hong Kong, particularly the issue of language shift in Shanghainese families which live in Hong Kong. For this research project, we hope to raise awareness of Shanghainese as a minority language in the city and probe into the possibility in its continuity across generations. Through stories of Shanghainese families which are rooted in Hong Kong over generations, we compare and examine the situation of language shift, and their adaptation to more dominant languages in Hong Kong (whether Cantonese, English or Mandarin). We discuss the current situation of and motivations behind language shift (or possibly even extinction of Shanghainese in Hong Kong). It is also our focus to investigate language maintenance and ethnolinguistic vitality of Shanghainese in certain domains, for instance, in cuisines and food culture. Integrated with first-hand stories which are fresh from the field and secondary sources giving a deeper taste of the factors behind the phenomenon that are discussed, we hope to portray a fuller picture of Shanghainese in Hong Kong through this website. Have a pleasant surf and your comments will be more than welcomed!

MEET THE TEAM

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Fun Facts

I) Frozen in Shanghainese

儂聽明白伐? 'Do you understand?'

II) Some phrases in daily conversation

III) Guessing game (slangs)

Answers: 1 (b), 2 (c), 3 (b), 4 (a), 5 (a)

IV) Foodie Time! Shanghainese cuisine

Xiao Long Bao (小籠包)

These steamed dumplings are filled with juicy minced pork and addictive sweet soup. It is called Xiao Long Bao (小籠包), literally 'small basket dumpling', because of its one mouthful small size and bamboo basket.

Chinese Mitten Crab (大閘蟹)

Chinese Mitten Crab is originated from Shanghai. It is prized for its rich coral and is best served in autumn.

Hong Shao Rou (紅燒肉)

This dish is soy sauce braised pork belly, it comes in sweet with the right fat to meat ratio. Even Chairman Mao Zedong is a big fan of it! Simply classic.

Mung Bean Pie (綠豆餅)

This is a Shanghainese street snack. It is stuffed with sweet mung bean paste and goes extremely well with a cup of hot tea.

Red Jujube Rice Cake (紅棗湯圓)

This is by far our favorite Shanghainese dessert! Red jujubes are stuffed with mochi and served in hot sweet soup. Chewy and delicious, they can definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.