China News Service, Xi'an, March 27th: Dialect "out of the circle" is favored by "Generation Z": Why did "local flavor" become a new social "voice"?

  Author Yang Yingqi

  "Calling yourself 'hungry', complimenting delicious food with 'louzalie'..." Even after leaving Xi'an, Liu Ying, a girl from Northeast China, still has a fresh memory of the local dialect.

"I found the dialect to be catchy and very 'contagious'. Friends are also often 'overwhelmed' by the way they chat with different accents."

  Different from Putonghua, which is full of words, local dialects have recently won the favor of young people with their "local flavor" pronunciation and unique words.

As more and more "dialect stalks" become popular on the Internet, expressions with dialect characteristics have become an indispensable "voice" in the daily social life of today's "Gen Z".

  "The Tianjin dialect of 'listen to say goodbye (Uncle)' not only brought fire to 'Tianjin Uncle', but also made more friends fall in love with Tianjin." Tianjin girl Zhao Qi told reporters that the "dialect terrier" came out of the circle because of its The charm of its own local characteristics, "For example, mops, some places are called 'mops', and some places are called 'mops'. It is the freshness of the same thing but different names, which adds a lot of fun to our communication."

  For Deng Yuanrui, a "post-95" who lives in Russia, the local accent brings her the gratification of "meeting a stranger in a foreign land".

"One time, a fellow villager uttered a common dialect that only the two of us could understand. At that moment, my heart was filled with a strong sense of belonging."

  With the diversification of communication media, the spread of local dialects is no longer limited by geography and space.

"We use 'voice' to get to know each other and approach each other, and through this, we see a bigger world." Deng Yuanrui believes that dialect not only "endorses" the character of the local people, but also connects with the local culture. The dialect, the more deeply I feel and impressed with this place.”

  According to a survey conducted by the China Youth School Media for college students in 2021, 81.11% of people clearly stated that they like the dialect of their hometown, 76.2% of them will unconsciously "Amway" their hometown dialect to the people around them, and nearly 80% of the "Gen Z" "Then expressed his willingness to speak for his native dialect.

  In recent years, film and television dramas with dialects such as "Taiwan" and "Shan Hai Qing" have been popular, making more and more young people feel the charm of dialects, and many foreign youths are also eager to try Chinese dialects.

African boys who studied in Shaanxi bravely sang "Songs of Xi'an People" in Shaanxi dialect and became popular on the Internet; "post-00" girls taught foreigners Shanghai dialect, which attracted heated discussions; netizens dubbed works in dialects on social platforms. The imitation and learning of Chinese dialects has become a common trend of "Generation Z" both at home and abroad.

  "As an important part of regional culture, dialects are worthy of protection and inheritance." Wang Xiaoyong, an expert from the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences, believes that "dialect fever" reflects the cultural psychology of young people taking pride in their hometown.

"In the process of increasingly diverse social development, dialects spread to 'outside' not only enrich people's life expressions, but also become a significant cultural advantage for young people in social activities." (End)