Mandarin in Shanghai

I never had problems being understood in Hong Kong between Mandarin and English. However, people didn't always speak Mandarin back to me.

Thanks Changye.I was aware there were some differences [mainly knew of the r sound added at the end sometimes around Beijing] in Mandarin ,and knew of Shanghainese,but didn't realise that Mandarin was so secondary to that and hadn't considered things in this light.Helpful explanation as always.

Thanks RJ also :)

Hi bababrdwan,

I'm not sure if Shanghainese speak Mandarin slowly for you, but I guess their Mandarin is more simple, clear and (hopefully) textbookish compared to that spoken by Bejing people. At least, there is no "儿化" in Shanghainese Mandarin.That said, there is a possibility that some people might unconsciously mix some Shanghainese vocab with Manradin vocab!

Incidentally, I've never been to Shanghai, hehe.

chanygye,

Interesting comment.Is this because if it's a second language in Shanghai,they will therefore be more inclined to speak slower/have more patience/have  a more limited vocab,and perhaps also the more formally taught version ?

You will probably have less difficulty communicating in Mandarin in Shanghai than in Beijing, because Mandarin is, more or less, a second language for Shanghainese people (and you). On the other hand, you have to struggle with REAL Mandarin spoken by local people in Beijing.

In Hong Kong they speak Cantonese but everyone learns Mandarin in school (english too).

Those born and raised in SH speak a local dialect but again, everyone learns Mandarin in school and it is how they communicate with the many people in SH that are from other parts of China. From what I have seen, Mandarin will serve you well in both places.