> No, people from Beijing cannot read a text written in Shanghainese using simplified script. I'm not a native of Shanghai but I still get to understand writte

> No, people from Beijing cannot read a text written in Shanghainese using simplified script. I'm not a native of Shanghai but I still get to understand written Shanghainese. Because even though I can't _read_ it, I can somehow _interpret_ it. It uses the same Chinese characters and I already knew what these characters mean. > Since everyone in China is taught mandarin Chinese they tend to write to each other in mandarin. There are still people native to Cantonese, Min Nan, or Hakka who don't speak Mandarin.