LANGUAGE- PEOPLE-MONEY 5 



or make himself understood, so dissimilar 

 were the dialects of Shanghai and Chefoo. 



And not only are the provincial dialects 

 distinguished by radical differences, but of- 

 ten in the same province each neighborhood 

 has its own dialect, and frequently in the 

 same town or city those living on one street 

 do not understand the spoken language of 

 those living on another, although the streets 

 are so near together as to seem an extension 

 of the same street. The differences in the 

 spoken dialects are not superficial, but each 

 dialect is distinct in its rudiment and 

 pronunciation. 



However fundamentally the spoken 

 dialects may differ, one learns another of 

 China's peculiarities in connection with the 

 language or dialects when written. While 

 the people who live in different provinces 

 or neighborhoods or on separate streets 

 cannot make themselves orally understood, 

 the written language or dialects is a medium 

 of intelligent communication throughout 

 the empire. If a resident of Peking were 

 to visit Canton he would find it extremely 

 difficult at best to converse orally with a 

 resident of the latter city, but if he reduced 



