I interviewed my paternal grandfather, my mother, and a friend who lived in Rui'an, asking them questions about their experience with the Wenzhou dialect. I focused on how much they spoke dialect, the situations in which they speak dialect, and how those speaking patterns have changed over time. The interviews were conducted in Mandarin Chinese and English; the transcripts I included here have been edited somewhat for grammar and conciseness.
Instead of repeating the answers under each individual interview, I compare some related answers here:
In addition, my grandfather and the high school student issued rather grim prognoses about the future of the Wenzhou dialect. The current generation of children and future generations will speak more Mandarin than Rui'anhua. I did not ask them for a specific time frame, though. The Wenzhou dialect is thought to be still alive in thirty years, according to the student. my grandfather believes local dialects, in general, will "gradually die away."