Mar. 29, 2010: Chinatown's generation gap

>> Reporter: COMING UP NEXT
THE GREAT WALL OF DIVIDE
BUILDING IN CHINATOWN.
FOR GENERATIONS, CANTONESE HAS
BEEN THE DOMINANT DIALECT IN
CHINATOWNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
INCLUDING HERE IN BOSTON.
CONVERSATIONS IN CANTONESE
HAVE SPILLED FROM HOMES TO THE
STREETS AND INTO THE
MARKETPLACE.
BUT THE NEWEST WAVES OF
IMMIGRANTS COMING HERE
SPEAKING MANDARIN, THE
NATIONAL LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
IT'S THE DIALECT USED BY THE
POWER BROKERS, THE YOUNG, AND
THE WEALTHY.
AND IT MAY LEAVE CHINESE
ELDERS AS THE NEW YORK TIMES
RECENTLY DESCRIBED IN
INCREASING ISOLATION.
WITH ME NOW ARE SAMUEL TSOI
AND TUNNEY LEE A PROFESSOR OF
ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES
AND PLANNING AT MIT.
THIS IS A FASCINATING ISSUE
THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO OUR
ATTENTION.
TUNNEY LEE, WHAT IS CANTONESE
DIALECT?
WE'VE LOOKED AT IT FROM THE
PRISM OF "NEW YORK TIMES"
WHERE IT'S HAPPENING IN NEW
YORK.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN BOSTON?

>> CANTONESE IS STILL THE
MAJOR DIALECT IN CHINATOWN
ITSELF.
INCREASINGLY WHAT YOU'RE
GETTING IS PEOPLE COMING IN
WHO DON'T SPEAK CANTONESE AT
ALL.
MANDARIN IS MOSTLY IN THE
MARKETPLACE.

>> Reporter: SAM, HOW IS IT
SHIFT SOMETHING THAT'S WHAT
PEOPLE TALK ABOUT ESPECIALLY
ELDERLY PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE
ANY ASSOCIATION WITH MANDARIN
WHATSOEVER AND AS THE "NEW
YORK TIMES" POINTED OUT AN
INCREASING ISOLATION BECAUSE
THERE ARE FEWER PEOPLE THAT
THEY CAN ENGAGE WITH.
ARE YOU START TO GO SEE A
SHIFT IN CHINATOWN?

>> YES, IT IS A CONCERN FOR
THE ELDERLY BECAUSE WHEN THEY
ARE HERE, A LOT OF THINGS HAVE
CHANGED IN CHINA.
NOW WITH THE NEW WAVE OF
IMMIGRANTS COMING IN, AS
PROFESSOR LEE SAID, THEY'RE
ALL SPEAKING MANDARIN.
YOU SEE THAT IN SCHOOLS,
CHURCHES AND IN STORES.
EVEN IN THE PUSH OF EDUCATION
EVEN CANTONESE-SPEAKING
FAMILIES (INAUDIBLE) YOU SEE
BOTH FROM THE IMMIGRATION AND
THE PUSH OF EDUCATION IN
PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS WELL AS
PARENTS SENDING THEIR CHILDREN
TO CHINESE SCHOOLS.

>> Reporter: YOU SAY IT'S
SLOWER TO HAPPEN HERE IN
BOSTON.
WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN AS NEW
WAVES OF IMMIGRANTS COME IN
SPEAKING ONLY MANDARIN.

>> IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN
GRADUALLY.
IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE.
CANTONESE WAS NOT THE FIRST
DIALECT THAT WAS SPOKEN.
THAT CHANGED IN HONG KONG.
NOW CANTONESE IS MORE
DOMINANT.
AND MANDARIN, IT WILL TAKE A
WHILE.

>> Reporter: GENERATIONS OR
SOONER THAN THAT?

>> I WOULD SAY A GENERATION.
I THINK THE OLDER PEOPLE IN
BOSTON ARE LESS ISOLATED THAN
NEW YORK BECAUSE THERE'S
ACTUALLY A VERY LARGE
COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO SPEAK
CANTONESE.
AND WILL FOR SOME TIME TO
COME.
BUT I THINK WE CAN FIND OUT
WHAT A BILINGUAL CHINATOWN FOR
SOME TIME TO COME.
BOTH LANGUAGES WILL BE
NECESSARY.

>> Reporter: CANTONESE IS
DESCRIBED AGAIN FROM THE TIMES
PIECE AS SORT OF BEING THAT
GIVES YOU THE POWER OR IT HAD
GIVEN YOU THE POWER.
IT SORT OF SWITCHED IN NEW
YORK.
HOW LONG IS THAT GOING TO BE
THE BASE HERE BECAUSE THEY
POINTED TO ONE CENTRAL
ORGANIZATION IN BOTH CHINATOWNS
WHERE CANTONESE REALLY IS
STILL THE MAIN DIALECT SPOKEN.
WHERE DOES IT COME IN IN SORT
OF THE POWER BASE?

>> A LOT OF MEETINGS IN
CHINATOWN ARE CONDUCTED IN
CANTONESE OR ENGLISH.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE A LOT OF
PEOPLE WHO ARE SPEAKING
MANDARIN WHO ARE LIVING IN THE
SUBURBS.
THE REASON WHY YOU DON'T SEE
THE CHANGE AS QUICK IN
CHINATOWN IS BECAUSE OF THE
HOUSING.
THERE'S A REALLY SLOW
TURNOVER.
EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A HUGE
WAVE OF IMMIGRANTS FROM CHINA
SPEAKING MANDARIN THEY'RE NOT
REALLY INFLUENCING WHAT'S
HAPPENING ON THE GROUND IN THE
GRASS ROOTS IN THE LEADERSHIP
IN CHINATOWN BECAUSE SIMPLY
THEY EITHER CANNOT MOVE TO
CHINATOWN OR THEY JUST GO
DIRECTLY TO THE SUBURBS.

>> Reporter: HOW VIBRANT DOES
CHINATOWN REMAIN?
AS WE WERE JUST TALKING OFF
CAMERA I WAS THERE ALMOST A
YEAR AGO ALREADY DOING A STORY
ABOUT THE LOW-INCOME HOUSING
ISSUES FOR THE ELDERLY.
AND HOW THERE'S A LOT OF
DISPLACEMENT HAPPENING.
HOW VIBRANT DOES THE COMMUNITY
REMAIN?

>> THE COMMUNITY IS STILL VERY
VIBRANT BECAUSE IT'S BOTH...
THERE'S A LOT OF HOUSING AS
YOU KNOW FROM YOUR PREVIOUS
REPORT.
THAT MEANS A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN
USE CHINATOWN DAILY PLUS IT'S
AT THE CENTER OF THE
TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.
SO PEOPLE FROM QUINCY, MALDEN,
ALLSTON, BRIGHTON AND FURTHER
USE CHINATOWN AS THIS
COMMUNITY CENTER.

>> Reporter: HOW MUCH OF THIS
IS A CLASS ISSUE TOO?
THERE'S A CONFLICT BETWEEN
MANDARIN AND CANTONESE BECAUSE
A LOT OF THE IMMIGRANTS COME
IN SPEAK WITH THE MANDARIN
DIALECT ARE WEALTHIER AND FROM
WHAT I UNDERSTAND LOOK DOWN A
CANTONESE?

>> PARTLY THAT'S TRUE.
I THINK THAT THE CHINATOWN
REMAINS THE CENTER FOR THE
CANTONESE SPEAKING AND MORE
WORKING CLASS CHINESE.
YOU'RE RIGHT.
THE MANDARIN IS MORE THE
WESTERN SUBURBS, YOU KNOW,
LEXINGTON, NEWTON AND FURTHER
OUT.
AND THERE IS SOME... THERE'S
ALWAYS BEEN A CLASS DIVIDE.
BUT I THINK FOR CHINATOWN
BECAUSE CANTONESE IS DOMINANT,
IT WILL BE MUCH SLOWER IN
CHANGING.

>> Reporter: IN YOUR REPORTING,
SAM, HAVE YOU FOUND ANY
TENSION FROM THAT DIVIDE?
PEOPLE COMING IN TO THE CITY?

>> HISTORICALLY PEOPLE WHO
SPOKE MANNED MANNED MANDARIN
ARE MORE HIGHLY EDUCATED.
THEY COME FROM THE UNIVERSITY
AND GO TO THE TECHNOLOGY FIRMS
TO WORK.
HOWEVER, THE NEWER WAVE OF
MANDARIN-SPEAKERS ARE ACTUALLY
MORE WORKING CLASS.
THERE'S A CLASS DIVIDE WITHIN
THE MANDARIN SPEAKING
COMMUNITY REFLECTED MORE IN
CHINATOWN IN NEW YORK BUT
DEFINITELY HAPPENING HERE AS
WELL WHERE YOU SEE A LOT OF
RESTAURANT WORKERS, A LOT OF
WORKING CLASS FOLKS ARE
MANDARIN SPEAKING BECAUSE THEY
COME DIRECTLY FROM CHINA.

>> Reporter: SAM TSOI AND
TUNNEY LEE THANK YOU BOTH FOR
COMING.
A FASCINATE LOOK AT CHINATOWN.
HIGH SCHOOL QUIZ SHOW IS
COMING YOU NEXT.
I'M JARED BOWEN, GOOD NIGHT.