Originally Posted by
moondog
I think Cantonese is definitely here to stay, but you got me thinking about Shanghainese as an example of Chinese dialects that are no longer widely used. I learned enough to get by when I first came over here in the 90s because a lot of locals (especially older people) still spoke it then. Fast forward two generations, and I rarely hear it, let alone use it.
Hard to say. While the number of Cantonese speakers in greater China is large (10s of millions), it is said to be fragile and could disappear in a generation. I can't find where I read about it (something about languages disappearing)
I honestly don't know what the degree of fluency Chinese speakers in China and others parts of Asia have for their regional/ancestral dialect, especially among the young. I believe that Singapore has managed to destroy (or discourage) non-mandarin dialects by eliminating public broadcast of non-mandarin Chinese programming. The children who go to Chinese schools in Malaysia (from my casual observation driving around the country) speak Mandarin.
Even where I am there are astonishing 2 (wholly) Chinese language channels on and all the non-H.K. ones are in mandarin. Part of the reason is that Mandarin speakers now outnumber Cantonese speakers in the country. I see that in Chinese-operated shops where I (and others) have to communicate in English where previously, Cantonese was used.
It's one of the outcomes we won't know for a couple of decades.