1) Do you speak* any dialect? (If no, what language do you speak mainly and SKIP QUESTION 2) (*by speak, we
mean ability to comprehend and articulate)
Yes, teochew.
2) If yes, to whom? How do you rate your proficiency
level? (comprehension only, or plus articulation)
To older relatives. Comprehension and little
to zero articulation right now, used to be better.
3) Do you find that Mandarin is replacing the role of
dialects in places eg. home/market/hawker centre? If yes, has Mandarin "diluted" your dialect? (eg. do you replace the
words you can't say in dialect with Mandarin instead?)
Yes. Happens all
the time. Find that i've lost almost all my proficiency in teochew, but more from lack of use than anything else, so mandarin
is the best substitute since my relatives understand it too.
4) What is your
opinion of people who speak dialects?
If they are the older generation, it is normal
and acceptable. Feels strange to hear it from younger people talking amongst themselves, unless they're bengs, then they just
sound coarse and rude. =P
5) Given a chance, would you join classes
provided for the learning of your dialect?
No. Don't see a point.
6) If you have children, would you want them to learn
your own (or any) dialect? Why and why not?
Yes. Hope that they know which dialectal grp they
belong to, and hopefully can speak a little of teochew. To preserve our heritage.
