Editing Shenzhen (section)

=== Languages ===
Prior to the establishment of [[Special Economic Zone]], the indigenous local communities could be divided into [[Yue Chinese|Cantonese]] and [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] speakers,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://big5.cri.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/1321/2005/08/15/157@660580.htm|publisher=中國國際廣播電臺國際線上|script-title=zh:深圳客家人的來歷和客家民居|trans-title=Hakka Origins and Settlements in Shenzhen|access-date=16 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221072508/http://big5.cri.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/1321/2005/08/15/157@660580.htm|archive-date=21 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> which were two cultural and linguistic sub-ethnic groups vernacular to Guangdong province. Two Cantonese varieties were spoken locally. One was a fairly standard version, known as [[standard Cantonese]]. The other, spoken by several villages south of Fuhua Road was called [[Weitou dialect]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tc.wangchao.net.cn/baike/detail_743158.html|script-title=zh:圍頭話 Weitou dialect|access-date=16 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215034220/http://tc.wangchao.net.cn/baike/detail_743158.html|archive-date=15 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Two or three Hong Kong villages south of the Shenzhen River also speak this dialect. This is consistent with the area settled by people who accompanied the Southern Song court to the south in the late 13th century.<ref>{{Cite book| last1=Rule| first1=Ted| title=Shenzhen: The Book| last2=Rule| first2=Karen| publisher=ShenzhenParty.com| year=2015| asin=B00S8H2KUA}}</ref>

The influx of migrants from other parts of the country has drastically altered the city's linguistic landscape, as Shenzhen has undergone a [[language shift]] towards [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], which was both promoted by the [[Chinese Central Government]] as a national [[lingua franca]] and natively spoken by most of the out-of-province immigrants and their descendants.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/city/2012-02/15/c_122703615.htm|date=15 February 2012|newspaper=南方網|access-date=16 April 2012|script-title=zh:深圳將粵語精髓融入普通話 Shenzhen Incorporates Cantonese Essence into Mandarin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021141813/http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/city/2012-02/15/c_122703615.htm|archive-date=21 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-language.gov.cn/8/2007_6_20/1_8_2587_0_1182320493406.html|publisher=Standing Committee of the National People's Congress|script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家通用语言文字法 The National Lingua Franca and Orthography Act-- People's Republic of China|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518184404/http://www.china-language.gov.cn/8/2007_6_20/1_8_2587_0_1182320493406.html|archive-date=18 May 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=3 May 2012}}</ref> However, in recent years multilingualism has been on the rise as descendants of immigrants of out-of-province Mandarin native speakers have begun to assimilate into the local culture through friends, television and other media.<ref name="He-2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.scmp.com/article/694607/trendy-shenzhen-teenagers-spearhead-cantonese-revival|title=Trendy Shenzhen teenagers spearhead Cantonese revival|last=He|first=Huifeng|work=South China Morning Post|date=6 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104224400/http://www.scmp.com/article/694607/trendy-shenzhen-teenagers-spearhead-cantonese-revival|archive-date=4 January 2014|url-status=live|access-date=16 June 2013}}</ref> Despite the ubiquity of Mandarin Chinese, according to the [[South China Morning Post|''SCMP'']], some Shenzhen residents, Cantonese and non-Cantonese alike, have attempted to revive the Cantonese language as part of Shenzhen's culture.<ref name="He-2014" />