[Home drama] Dialect disallowed. Zai Zai Taiwanese dialect silenced

United Daily News reporter ╱ Chu Pei Jun / Taipei - Beijing reported】 2011.02.16 03:37 am
Source : http://udn.com/NEWS/
Translated by Vicfan at Asianfanatics

Zai Zai in the new drama "Home", set at the time of anti-Japanese war, was a Taiwanese military doctor drafted by the Japanese Military and sent to the Mainland. The story spans across both banks (Taiwan & Mainland). Originally, the drama’s dialogue had Mandarin, Japanese and Taiwanese dialect. But there were news yesterday that the Mainland version will not have Mǐnnányǔ (dialect). Zai Zai’s initial painstaking efforts to memorize his lines in dialect have come to naught. His manager Mr. Chih said yesterday “We’ll respect the producer’s decision, only worried that substitution of the Taiwanese dialogue with Mandarin will lose some of the original flavor."

"Home" original arrangement was that Zai Zai will speak Mandarin during the period of the Mainland war, speaks Japanese when in military compounds, then post-war he speaks Taiwanese after he returned home. During the filming of this drama, besides having to run under the hail of bullets and gunfire, and have to portray heavy psychological misery, speaking 3 languages is also a big challenge.

Why can’t Mǐnnányǔ be used in the drama? The producers explained yesterday that all Mainland’s works do not allow dialect. Japanese is a foreign language, not a dialect, and does not constitute a major portion of the dialogue. But Zai Zai’s efforts are not totally lost; Taiwan version will still have dialect.

"Home" cost nearly 200 million NTD to shoot. Zai Zai’s performance is a new transformation which stunned several high-level people in Mainland and Taiwan. The drama is expected to be launched in Mainland China in May.

When Mr. Chih found out that the Mainland version will replace Taiwanese dialogue with Mandarin, he asked curiously, “During dubbing, how is Zai Zai going to differentiate his voice between the mainland period and Taiwan period?" The other person laughed and said: "This is not difficult, just say Taiwan guóyǔ ah! “ (mispronouncing国语(national language)) In the past, Zai Zai who did not speak Mandarin clearly, would never have dreamed that there will come a day when he will be requested to be “inarticulate”.

But whether it is standard Mandarin or "Taiwan Mandarin," this will be Zai Zai’s first performance in a Mainland drama which is not dubbed (ie original voice is not replaced). This is different from "Madame Chin" which was dubbed. When broadcasted, fans complained when they could not hear his original voice and felt like a stranger speaking.

Career is successful, but after Zai Zai broke up with DaS his love life is empty. Da S is now married to another person. In a Japan interview Zai Zai said that if he was to be romantically involved again, he prefers to keep it low profile.