My mother, Yan Ye (b. 1974), grew up in Rui'an*, and moved to the U.S. in 1996. This interview (6 April 2015) was mostly done in English.
Here in the US, how often do you speak Rui'anhua, compared to Mandarin Chinese?
Very seldom.
What about when we lived in China?
About half and half.
In what situations would you speak Rui'anhua? In what situations would you speak Mandarin?
When I talked to you guys [my brother and I], I use Mandarin. When I talked to my parents I speak Rui'anhua.
What about in supermarkets and restaurants?
Rui'anhua - sometimes. If the server is from out of town, then...
What about speaking to little kids?
Then mostly [Mandarin] Chinese.
When you were growing up, did you learn to speak Rui'anhua first, or Mandarin first?
Definitely Rui'anhua first.
When did you learn Mandarin?
When I went to school.
Has the use of Rui'anhua changed over the last twenty, thirty years?
I think when I was a child, most people spoke Rui'anhua, because around that time, most people were not from out of town. I think around '89, around '90, so many people came from out of town, from other cities, came to Rui'an. Then, the phenomena changed and people began to speak more and more Mandarin Chinese.
Your generation is different. They require speak more Mandarin. Then, Rui'anhua really became useless to them, because their parents talk to them, because they watch too much TV, or something. They just [...] get used to speaking in Chinese more.
When you were in school, did they mostly speak Mandarin or Rui'anhua?
Rui'anhua.
When you talk with your friends from Rui'an, would you use Mandarin or Rui'anhua?
Both.
Do you prefer to speak in Rui'anhua or Mandarin?
Right now, I am used to and prefer Chinese.
Do you understand or speak any other dialects?
Rui'anhua and Wenzhouhua are not exactly the same, but I can understand.
Local dialects vary from place to place. Can you give me some examples of words that are different between Rui'anhua and Xinchenghua? [Xincheng is a town about 4-5 km from Rui'an.]
[My mom gave three examples. The attached audio file shows how she actually pronounced them. See also the table below.]
*more specifically, in Xincheng, a nearby town which, although located in Rui'an County, is separate from the city of Rui'an.
Summary
In addition to the ideas I listed under the "Interview" page, my Mother noted a growth of Mandarin in Rui'an around the years 1989 and 1990 due to "immigrants" from other cities. My grandfather had mentioned a wave in the 1960s. Perhaps those were separate events.
I find it noteworthy that my mother grew up speaking Rui'anhua but now prefers Mandarin. I suppose this fits in with the overall trend of local dialects giving way to Mandarin Chinese.
I stated that "Local dialects vary from place to place." This is apparent even over relatively short distances, such as the four to five kilometers (two or three miles) between Rui'an and Xincheng.