China News Service, Shanghai, March 21 (Ren Xinyue and Li Qiuying) "The dialect of a place well records and preserves the local culture. When I go to a place, the first thing I pay attention to is the dialect there, the Wu dialect in the Jiangnan area of ​​China. It’s particularly attractive to me.” The Argentinian young man in front of him, Wu Feide, not only speaks Mandarin fluently, but also has extensive research on regional dialects around Shanghai. During his graduate studies, he partnered with a young man from Jinshan in Shanghai and went deep into the fields to “collect the style” , wanting more people to hear authentic "Chinese".

　　"I caught a foreign guy on Douyin, and his Jinshan dialect is more authentic than mine." Under Wu Feide's Douyin account, many messages praised his dialect level, and some netizens joked: "A local man was actually popularized by an old surgeon. The local dialect." In the video, Wu Fei faced the camera and explained the various pronunciations of "rat" in Jinshan dialect, "Old Chong, Night Dog, Night Appearance, Countless Miles (I don't know anymore). "

Wu Feide was interviewed by a reporter from China News Service.

Photo by Zhou Sunyu

　　This foreign guy who speaks the dialect so well is from Argentina. "Feide" is the transliteration of his Spanish native name Federico, and "Wu" is the "Chinese surname" he gave himself.

"I am very interested in the history and culture of the Jiangnan area, so I chose 'Wu'." Wu Feide has had a strong interest in language since he was a child. Among the 8 languages ​​he has mastered, Chinese is his favorite. He was the first person in Argentina to pass the Chinese Proficiency Test Level 6, and he also became a "Shanghai son-in-law".

　　In 2018, Wu Feide returned to Shanghai with his wife. He speaks fluent Chinese and understands Shanghai dialect. Wu Feide was originally full of confidence.

"When I was in Argentina, I could speak Shanghainese. When I actually arrived in Shanghai, I thought I might not understand some words, but when I arrived in Jinshan, I found that I couldn't understand a word." Frustrated, Wu Feide began to I started researching Shanghai suburban dialects.

　　After traveling to 200 villages, Wu Feide has mastered Shanghainese so well that he can clearly distinguish the pronunciation differences in different regions. In his eyes, the word "Shanghaiese" is all-encompassing.

"Shanghai urban dialect has five tones. For example, the words "trouble", "criminal", and "eat rice" all have the same pronunciation, but Zhujing dialect has 8 tones, and these three characters have different pronunciations. "There are also great differences within the Jinshan dialect. For example, the word 'eat' has four different pronunciations in the west, north and south of Jinshan." Wu Feide told reporters that the local Shanghainese dialect retains less information. He often goes deep into the fields and asks local villagers for advice.

　　Every time he went to the village, Wu Feide had to prepare in advance. He made a word list and asked local Ah Qing to find a local elder to read it word by word, correct the pronunciation, and then ask in detail about the customs and allusions behind the words.

The old people didn't understand what they were doing, but they all enthusiastically gathered around and cooperated with them.

As he went to the countryside more often, Wu Feide's "local flavor" became stronger and stronger. Once he met an aunt and insisted that he was a local, but "looked a bit foreign."

Wu Feide and his partner were doing dialect research in the village.

Photo provided by interviewee

　　"Now I mainly study Jinshan dialect, and also study some Songjiang dialect and Fengxian dialect. Sometimes I also go to Chuansha and Nanhui, the original districts of Pudong, to do research. Today's young people are not very good at speaking dialects. If things go on like this, dialects may be lost. I hope To make a detailed record and translation, even if no one speaks this dialect anymore, future generations can still have some traces to follow," Wu Feide said.

　　Wu Feide lives in Yangpu, doing field research for a week at a time, and the round trip is 6 hours. This life has lasted for 4 full years. Now he is starting to organize the data and prepare to compile a book recording the Jinshan dialect.

In addition, he co-founded the "Wu Dialect Academy" with several friends to create an online Wu Dialect dictionary with pronunciations and vocabulary from various places in the Wu Dialect area for free reference.

　　After work, Wu Feide likes to travel in surrounding cities, such as Shaoxing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou... "Chinese language and Chinese culture deeply attract me. I hope that through my efforts, Jinshan dialect will be spoken to more people. Especially young people hear it," Wu Feide said.

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