BEIJING, Aug.19(Xinhuanet) -- Local dialects are disappearing as greater mobility and interaction give rise to the need for a common tongue.

    Chinese cities once had their local dialects, like Shenzhen in southern China. But the former sleepy fishing village's metamorphosis into a metropolis has sounded the death knell for the local dialect, China Radio International reported Thursday.

    Modernisation is posing a great threat to China's more than 1,000 dialects, especially since the popularization of Putonghua, or Mandarin, since 1955.

    Language experts lament this loss of plurality in Chinese culture and some suggest that dialects be accorded equal status with Putonghua and be allowed to develop naturally. Enditem

    CRIENGLISH.com