Language

Whilst living in Shanghai, we have grown easily accustomed to the beautiful sounds of Pǔtōnghuà (普通话).

putonghua; mandarin; common speech (of the Chinese language); standard Chinese (pronunciation)

1 Mandarin (common language)
2 Putonghua (common speech of the Chinese language)
ordinary

Pleco

The standard Mandarin is carried with many accents that have become more definable to our ears as the months move forward.

Of course we are biased, living in Shanghai we are graced with the sweet spoken sounds of Shanghainese.

Listening, speaking and reading Hànyǔ (the romanized spelling of ‘Chinese language’ written in chinese characters as 汉语) – has become part of the cement supporting the foundations of life in China.

The children converse seamlessly in Mandarin Chinese and at times break into Shanghainese depending on what triggers the conversations of the day.

Each day is a language lesson which builds stories that can be transferred from real life events to paper…