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pratyeka
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 18
Location: Sydney, Australia.
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 Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2003 5:02 am Post subject: Anyone in Shanghai? |
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I'll be there for at least a year, starting shortly (ie: couple of months away)... if anyone's got a clue about local opportunities for part time work either in computing or teaching, I'd love to hear from you.
I'm thinking about sticking around after the first year, in which case I'd be looking at a full time position. Are there many foreign companies scouting for people on the ground here? ... or are such positions few and far between?
I have worked previously in Taiwan, Singapore, etc., lived in China for 6 months last year and can speak quite passable 'intermediate' Mandarin, though not a word of Shanghainese. 
Kickbacks payable in alcohol or cash for decent positions .....  |
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MyTurnNow
Joined: 19 Mar 2003
Posts: 860
Location: Outer Shanghai
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| Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2003 7:55 am Post subject: |
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Best place to look is http://www.thatsshanghai.com
Part-time stuff is typically easy to find.
A lot of companies recruit foreigners for business, technical, and other non-teaching jobs in this area, but they nearly almost always require fluent Mandarin...i.e. able to conduct business or discuss high technology in it.
MT |
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Minhang Oz
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 610
Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin
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| Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2003 8:25 am Post subject: |
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A good site for serious jobs in Shanghai is www.shanghaijob.net which is frequently updated, and caters for a range of employment profiles. Once here you'll find contacts and networks. A lot of expat business is done the Chinese way; connections.
Although Shanghai dialect is the everyday speech of many people, all but the very old and uneducated can speak Putonghua. There's so many migrants from different parts of China here now, it could be a vanishing dialect. |
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wOZfromOZ
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
Posts: 272
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2003 11:35 am Post subject: |
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....moz....
vanishing dialect ............you are kidding mate aren't you ....
...dao jiang hu!!! rrr
wOZfromOZ! ..."hey" |
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Minhang Oz
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 610
Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin
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| Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2003 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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I dunno Woz
The UK used to be dialect rich, now its mostly some variations in accent. I know the Welsh still have their own newspapers and TV, but what's the future of their language? How many people use it on a daily basis? I'm of Cornish heritage and that language is a museum curiosity, with no native speakers left.
My son's in childcare, and everything there is in Putonghua, which is 50% plus of what I hear in the streets. I know when its Shanghaihua because I don't have a clue what they're saying. Of course the dialect has a strong hold for now, but it could be different in a few generations. My better students use Mandarin between themselves-they say the local dialect is a street language, and no good for expressing more complex ideas.
So, with increasing education levels, and the iron rule of TV, Shanghaihua will increasingly become the language of the market place, and the old housing areas: and these are being knocked down at a rate of knots.
Maybe someone with some actual knowledge on this could offer an opinion! |
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struelle
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2003 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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vanishing dialect ............
...dao jiang hu!!! rrr |
 Good one! Yeah, it's hard to say about what'll happen to the future of Shanghaihua. It's mostly used by the middle-aged and older generation in daily life such as markets, food stalls, and other places "on the street". In older SOE businesses, it's spoken all the time during lunch breaks, etc. However, I've also heard it commonly used by the younger folk, including our Chinese teacher colleagues. As well, I've heard it used all the time among students when we go to parties, KTV, etc. Surprisingly (or maybe not), other students who aren't from Shanghai can be excluded in these conversations. So the young people can speak the dialect, but practically all learn and use Mandarin in schools.
Perhaps Shanghaihua is used for informal situations. I've seldom heard anyone use it in business situations, and friends tell me it's really unprofessional to do so, especially greeting customers. More and more public service employers are required to learn Mandarin, and the reason is simple. More people from outside of Shanghai live and work here. Also,
My guess is that Mandarin and English will be the dominant languages for business use in the city, while Shanghaihua will still be used informally among locals. It's like that in other places of China with their dialects, maybe with the exception of Guangdonghua.
It's possible that Shanghaihua could attain a status on par with Mandarin, but I hope it doesn't because the sound of the dialect is really hard on the ears. Mandarin sounds very soft and pleasant, but when you hear people speak in Shanghainese it sounds like they're biting each others' heads off  Maybe it's the nature of the dialect or the edgy 'New York' lifestyle, but the way locals speak sounds like they're having a constant argument!
Anyhow, just some thoughts.
Steve |
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