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Puxi Grade 3: Reciting Poems in Dialects

May 3, 2018

Puxi Grade 3: Reciting Poems in Dialects

During Native Level Chinese class on April 27th, the third graders held a scintillating poetry recitation show.

A whole range of styles and dialects were on show. The students used the many tones of Cantonese, the sweet and agreeable Wu dialect, and the humorous and vigorous northern Chinese dialects to recite their poems. This made sense for practical reasons too– some poems rhyme better in dialects.

All the students were well prepared and worked together to put on a fantastic poem recitation show. Let’s listen to a few samples…

Spring slumbers unaware of morn, all around one hears the birds' call.

This is a very well known poem sentence would be funny and interesting in Southern Min dialect. Many children couldn’t understand it.

Who tailored the dainty leaves? The snipping wind of early spring.

In Wu dialect this line sounds very special, with a pun that makes it sound like you are looking for spring. After reciting the poems, the students taught their group mates how to use various dialects to read poems, and everyone enjoyed this activity so much.

Every dialect in China and around the world is special and unique. Within each dialect, there are the deposits of culture, mood, and humor. We hope that this activity can raise our students’ awareness about dialects and their preservation.

(Written by Stella Su Pictures by 3rd Grade Teachers)