Zhangjiagang

aranagazoo
April 21, 2011, 07:38 PM posted in General Discussion

Dear Chinesepod community,  I have just been accepted to teach English at the Zhangjiagang Foreign Language School.  My question is, I was reading about the city and is it true that the Wu dialect is spoken there, and if so, how different is it from Mandarin and how frequently spoken?  I was a little crestfallen when reading that because my main goal in coming to China was to practice my Mandarin skills....Any input would be wonderful, thanks so much!

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johnb
April 22, 2011, 01:41 AM

People in Zhangjiagang definitely speak a Wu dialect, and it's completely different from Mandarin (to get an idea, you can listen to our Shanghainese lessons -- the Wu they speak in Zhangjiagang will be different, but the distance between it and Mandarin is similar). Of course, most everyone will also speak Mandarin, especially to a foreigner. 

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aranagazoo
April 28, 2011, 12:30 PM

Thanks so much John!  I will take a second look at the Shanghainese lessons to get a better feel for things!