Re: Mixed writing systems (WAS: Newbie says hi)

>>And if local forms of
>>speech are keeping ground better in China than in Europe, I suspect that may
>>have alot to do with less media penetration in China.
>probably, but media penetration is improving. Quicly.
i wrote this answer a bit fast. media penetration will, and does, help for
standardisation of mandarin. But very few (not to say none) chanel have local
language programs. The actual media penetration will not uniformize local
languages. Maybe it might make them disapear, but i doubt, or at least, not in
a relatively close future. I have seen shanghainese people who did not speak
mandarin (or so bad), but no shanghainese people who could not speak
shanghainese. so people expect that instead of disapearing under the mass media
influence of mandarin, shanghainese might use the same mass media and the
economic influence to gain in strenght.