Silencing Shanghai: Language and Identity in Urban China.

"Silencing Shanghai: Language and Identity in Urban China" by Fang Xu is a book that explores the decline of the Shanghai Wu dialect in China's reform years, particularly since the 1990s. The author takes an interdisciplinary approach, examining the issue from the perspective of urban sociology. Xu's research highlights the political agendas and language policies, economic development and urban transformation, and demographic migration and dislocation that have contributed to the decline of Shanghai Wu. The book provides a comprehensive account of the changes in language and urban landscapes in Shanghai over the past two decades. While the book focuses on the role of the state in promoting Mandarin and marginalizing Shanghai Wu, it also acknowledges the complexities of the issue, including the heterogeneous nature of Shanghai Wu and the influence of globalization. Despite some flaws in methodology and linguistic scholarship, the book is a valuable addition to the literature on language politics in contemporary China and is recommended for scholars and general readers interested in Shanghai and contemporary China. [Extracted from the article]