An Exploration of the Dialogue Features in the Dialect Novel The Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai
Abstract
Due to Shanghai's modern history of large-scale migrant intake from surrounding areas, the Suzhou dialect is widely held to have had a profound influence on the formation of the modern Shanghainese dialect. However, the influence of the Suzhou dialect on Shanghainese remains vastly understudied. To help address this gap, this thesis explores the interactions of speakers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Shanghai by analysing the Suzhou dialect dialogue features contained in the novel The Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai. This study outlines the dialogue features identified in the novel: personal pronouns, discourse particles, interjections, emotional adverbs, topic markers, interrogatives, vocatives, demonstrative pronouns, and rhetorical questions. It also provides an in-depth analysis of four selected features: personal pronouns, discourse particles, interjections, and emotional adverbs. As many of these features are thought of as “empty words” in traditional Chinese linguistics, this thesis employs Natural Semantic Metalanguage to elucidate these features. In addition, the thesis also offers observations on whether these features have been retained in modern Shanghainese. By doing so, this thesis hopes to clarify the influences of the Suzhou dialect on contemporary Shanghainese.