一倒水

Awakening Taiwanese ability

2025-09-10T08:58:00.000+08:00

師大許慧如教授ê訪談，嘛歡迎分享hōo外國朋友聽，了解台語。

Taiwanese, while historically a dominant language in Taiwan, is no longer as widely used as it once was. Efforts should be made to revitalize its use in all aspects of society.

如果你有外國朋友對「台語」有疑問......

2025-08-04T09:45:00.005+08:00

請給你的外國朋友聽，一次回答：「台語能叫台語嗎？」「台語不就中文的方言而已？」「台語的語法和中文有什麼不一樣？」「台灣有台語很重要嗎？」等這些疑難雜問。

Welcome to listen to this episode and please share it with your friends. In this episode, we'll talk about the name of the Taiwanese language, its status, its charateristics, and how it's important for Taiwan.

The Flawed "Indigenous Nation" Idea for Taiwan

2025-07-02T11:00:00.004+08:00

I have just finished listening to a podcast episode in which Professor Shu-mei Shih was interviewed. Professor Shih genuinely supports Taiwan and opposes China's hegemony; however...

The idea of Taiwan becoming an "indigenous nation" is impractical and very dangerous. First, the academic community has already questioned whether all Taiwanese people, as she claims, have indigenous blood. Second, even if they did, would most Taiwanese people be able to shift their identity to Taiwanese indigenous peoples?

Don't misunderstand, I strongly support indigenous rights. I advocate for the restoration of traditional territories, the establishment of indigenous autonomous regions, and I believe every Taiwanese person should learn indigenous languages.

The problem is: the "indigenous nation" idea would immediately lead to a "hollowing out" of Taiwanese subjectivity, which is very detrimental to Taiwanese consciousness.

Think about it! In a society where most people don't understand indigenous languages, aren't familiar with Indigenous cultures, and lack an indigenous consciousness, if they suddenly abandon their own culture and heritage language to become something they don't understand (indigenous people), how long would it take for Taiwanese identity and culture to be re-established?

In reality, such a cultural, identity, and linguistic transformation isn't guaranteed to succeed even under an autocratic regime, let alone a democratic society!

Those who hold such views are, to some extent, poisoned by the concept of settler colonialism. They accept the identity of being perpetrators, and consequently, they feel that their own language (Taiwanese) and culture (Taiwanese culture) are guilty and don't belong to Taiwan!

This idea is terrifying! The result would be the self-destruction of the most significant and representative content of Taiwanese identity—Taiwanese and Taiwanese culture. And because indigenous and Hakka cultures are minorities, they wouldn't be able to fill the void. The ultimate outcome would be an empty space, allowing Chinese language and culture to become the default core of Taiwan.

I just don't get it! Settler colonialism exists all over the world, differing only in whether it occurred in ancient or contemporary times. Why should Taiwan, alone, be "handled" in this specific way? And precisely because Taiwan faces the threat from China, this kind of discourse becomes even more dangerous!

Taiwan is, of course, multilingual and multicultural, just like every other country in the world. However, the representative language of Taiwanese subjectivity and identity is "Taiwanese," and the representative culture is "Taiwanese culture." This point is consistent with practices in every country worldwide. We do not need to concede on this point, nor should we.

If we concede, it's only China's language and content that will take center stage, not Indigenous languages.

A Skewed Focus in Taiwanese Cultural Studies by Foreign Scholars

2025-07-02T10:58:00.001+08:00

Do you know any foreign scholars who specialize in Taiwan studies? I don't know many, but I've attended lectures and interviews by a few, and I've noticed a phenomenon: apart from politics, history, and international relations, whenever they discuss Taiwanese "culture" or "environment," their research is exclusively focused on indigenous peoples.

Think about it, what if...

* Studying American culture meant only studying the cultures of various indigenous American tribes.

* Studying Spanish culture meant only studying the culture of the Basques (Indigenous people of Spain).

* Studying British culture meant only studying Welsh culture.

* Studying Japanese culture meant only studying Ainu culture.

Wouldn't you find that extremely strange?

If so, why is it that foreign scholars who study Taiwan culture only seem interested in indigenous cultures?

I'm guessing... just a guess! They probably feel that Taiwan's "non-indigenous" population isn't very interesting because they assume that Taiwan's "non-Indigenous" people are simply "Chinese," the "Han people" also found in China, and therefore don't require special study in Taiwan.

In short, they might assume that Taiwan's "non-Indigenous" people lack "Taiwanese-ness" or a "Taiwanese subjectivity." Furthermore, they might even view Taiwan's "non-Indigenous" people as perpetrators of settler colonialism, making them morally less appealing to be investigated.

It's also no wonder they insist on calling "Taiwanese" (Tai-gi) "Taiwanese Hokkien" or "Taiwan(ese) Southern Min," perhaps because they believe this language isn't qualified to represent Taiwan. But sorry to say, similar linguistic and social compositions exist elsewhere in the world. Why is Taiwan singled out and treated this way?

This might be something that some people have "taught" them. Who taught them? Let's think. Besides China, those who wish to eradicate Taiwanese subjectivity are likely a few confused or pro-China Taiwanese scholars.

In fact, the culture of Taiwan's "non-indigenous" people is, of course, different from China's. To treat them as the same without in-depth research—what kind of scholars are these?

Moreover, Taiwan's "non-indigenous" people are the main body and representatives of Taiwanese culture. This follows the norm worldwide. We just need to look at the main ethnic groups of American, Spanish, British, and Japanese cultures to understand this.

We must resist this distortion of Taiwanese cultural research!

Furthermore, the majority of people in most countries worldwide are descendants of settlers. Before accusing Taiwan's "non-indigenous" people using the framework of settler colonialism, let the entire world collectively admit its sins. Do not use this label to singularly assign blame to Taiwan's "non-indigenous" people, and do not subconsciously use this as a reason to exclude them from Taiwanese cultural research.

Nay, settler colonialism

2025-07-02T10:56:00.004+08:00

I think the claims about the U.S., Canada, Taiwan, and Singapore having settler colonialism, and the idea that later victims were once perpetrators, are very "hypocritical." Why? Because these academics are looking at the world with a "double standard"!

Take the UK, Korea, and Spain... Can you find any place on Earth without issues of settler colonialism? If you can, other than the Amazon, it's only because the indigenous people there have already been wiped out! After the extinction of the local indigenous people, some left historical records (like the Celts), but I think most didn't even leave a trace. On that note, only the Basques are the indigenous people of Spain, but not the Spaniards. The Korean Peninsula has had human traces since the Stone Age, and the current Korean people also migrated there later. When they migrated, did they "get along peacefully"?

I'm not against examining the colonization and transgressions of settlers, but please don't turn a blind eye to the "much earlier" and "unrecorded" pasts everywhere else in the world, treating them as if they never happened, just absolving them and declaring them innocent!

Honestly, even the indigenous peoples of Taiwan didn't all arrive at the same time. What do you think happened between the "indigenous" people who arrived later and those who were already there?

Conflicts constantly happen during human migration, driven by the struggle for resources and ambition. This is humanity's original sin. Using a double standard to scrutinize only a few places makes me sick to my stomach.

And this kind of double standard is just as hypocritical as their view on language names. Is there any place in the world with a single ethnic group and a single language? Why is it okay for the Italian language to be called Italian, Vietnamese to be called Vietnamese, and Balinese and Chinese to be used as language names, but Taiwanese has to be renamed Taiwanese Hokkien? Double standard! Hypocrite!

How does the study of Taiwanese syntax contribute to the broader field of Taiwan Studies? (Questions about Taiwanese; part 7)

2025-03-24T11:41:00.003+08:00

Okay, so, everyone knows we tend to focus on indigenous languages to show Taiwan's different from China, which makes sense. But honestly? That's only part of the story. Taiwanese isn't just some dialect of Chinese. It might have roots there, sure, but it's grown into its own thing. It's deeply tied to our culture and history here, and let's face it, it has been the natural lingua franca. Plus, legally speaking, it's a national language here in Taiwan, which is pretty different from how other similar languages are treated elsewhere. Plus, Taiwanese is actually the most prominent version of Southern Min spoken around the world.

Think of it this way: when we study British stuff, we don't get too hung up on the old Germanic roots of English. Instead, we look at how English is used to build British culture and literature. Same idea here.

So, I’m not going to say that diving into Taiwanese syntax is like unlocking the secrets of Taiwan's culture and history, even if the language is super connected to the island's identity. Us syntacticians, we're mostly interested in sentence structures and function words – they're basically linguistic data for us. We see them as specimens of Taiwan, just like scholars study literature, politics, history, culture, or even the animals, plants, and geography here. All of that stuff is part of Taiwan, and Taiwanese syntax should be too. If we take a broader look at Taiwan studies, then yeah, studying Taiwanese syntax definitely contributes because it gives us another way to understand how this linguistic part of Taiwan builds sentences, in contrast to languages spoken elsewhere around the world.

Basically, for Taiwan Studies, focusing on Taiwanese syntax adds another perspective. Currently, there’s a heavy emphasis on Chinese since it's widely spoken, but Taiwanese holds centuries of local history. Examining Taiwanese syntax helps us maintain and honor Taiwan's diverse language and culture, and it also encourages us to acknowledge Taiwan's authentic languages, moving away from Chinese political narratives. So, it's about more than just language—it's about reconnecting with Taiwan's true heritage.

While Taiwanese and Mandarin share a basic subject-verb-object word order, how does their syntax differ significantly enough to warrant in-depth study? (Questions about Taiwanese; part 6)

2025-03-24T11:39:00.004+08:00

Honestly, this is a fantastic question. We need to address this for both the general public and linguists here in Taiwan.

As a syntactician, it feels like many linguists assume that understanding Chinese automatically means you understand Taiwanese. Any differences are seen as minor and not really important.

You know, it's interesting – I've noticed that linguists specializing in Mandarin seem to have a unique perspective, and I haven't seen that replicated with those studying other languages, even ones with similar structures. A lot of the misconception about Taiwanese being just a dialect really stems from past political propaganda and, honestly, a general decline in fluency among speakers.

Japanese and Korean might seem similar with their word order, but dig deeper and you'll find lots of differences. Similarly, while Taiwanese and Chinese have common ground, there are key distinctions in several areas. Let's break down four of these.

First, word formation. Here's an interesting thing about Chinese and Taiwanese: you might think they just directly translate word for word, but that's totally not the case. Take "chàngkū" in Chinese, which is like saying "sing-cry" and means someone's singing makes someone else cry. If you try to say the exact same thing using Taiwanese words, "tshiùnn-khàu," it just sounds weird and doesn't work. Taiwanese is just a bit pickier about how you put words together.

Second, subtle word order. In fact, word formation influences word order. For instance, a Taiwanese resultative verbal compound like ‘tsú-si̍k’, meaning to cook something thoroughly, requires its object to come before the compound itself. This isn't the case in Chinese. Consequently, some Taiwanese sentence structures are obligatorily subject-object-verb, differing from Chinese's subject-verb-object pattern. Also, some Taiwanese adverbs can appear in positions where their Chinese equivalents cannot, similar to English versus French. Both use subject-verb-object as their basic order, but French adverbs typically follow the verb, unlike English adverbs which precede it or appear at the end of the sentence.

Third, Languages might have the same basic word order, but they use different sentence structures. For example, English uses "be" plus "Ving" for ongoing events. French can't do that; it has its own ways. Also, Taiwanese has some unique sentence patterns, like the kám-question, evaluative verbal reduplication, and the event control construction.

Fourth, different languages use function words in distinct ways. Take Chinese and Taiwanese, for example. Both have words like bǎ and kā which seem to move an object to somewhere before the verb. But there are subtle rules. Bǎ needs the verb to have a clear result. Taiwanese kā only cares this when the object is not a living thing. Plus, kā can also include nouns that aren't objects at all, like who benefits or suffers because of the event, or who or what is the goal or source. Function words just don't translate one-to-one across languages.

All in all, we could really dive deep into comparing tons of stuff here. Honestly, what we're finding with Taiwanese syntax is super valuable and could seriously impact linguistic typology and theories.

Taiwan is linguistically rich, particularly with its Austronesian languages. Given that Taiwanese is a Sinitic language, what makes its study particularly significant? (Questions about Taiwanese; part 5)

2025-03-24T11:36:00.004+08:00

Honestly, the Austronesian languages in Taiwan are super valuable globally. But the claim from some people that Taiwanese isn't "Taiwanese enough" is just off base. Some folks think only indigenous stuff counts as genuinely Taiwanese, which I find kind of silly. You don't really see that kind of thinking elsewhere.

For example, Spanish isn't originally from Spain. It, along with other several languages there, comes from Latin way back in Italy. As far as I know, Basque is the only truly indigenous language in Spain. But should that mean we only care about Basque? Would anyone argue that just Basque is genuinely Spanish and that Spanish, a Romance language, doesn't play a vital role in Spain's culture, history, and who they are?

Likewise, English wasn't originally from Britain. It's a Germanic language brought over by immigrants way back when. The real indigenous languages are the Celtic ones like Welsh and Cornish. But nobody questions that English is super crucial for British culture, literature, theater, and history, right?

So for me, the Taiwanese language, it's really the heart of Taiwan—I mean the heart of Taiwan’s traditional culture, literature, theater, and history. It's surprising how some colleagues in Taiwan studies miss that point.

So, think about it this way. Without the Korean language, would we really see Korean traditional music, architecture, clothing, festivals, and food as distinct from Chinese ones? The differences between their traditions are pretty subtle, honestly, sometimes even less obvious than regional variations within China itself. It's really the language that sets Korean culture apart, right?

Basically, Taiwan's population is primarily made up of people whose ancestors came from today’s China, similar to how the UK's population is mostly descended from people from today’s Germany and the Nordic regions, not the original indigenous peoples in Britain. Just like studying English is crucial in Britain, understanding Taiwanese is super important for anyone looking at Taiwanese culture and society. Anyway, it's the language of the biggest ethnic group and lingua franca of this island.

Many people associate syntax and grammar with the rules found in textbooks. How does linguistic research go beyond these written rules? Specifically, how does the work of a research linguist differ from the prescriptive rules used in teaching and language testing? (Questions about Taiwanese; part 4)

2025-03-24T11:33:00.006+08:00

First, let's clarify two concepts: descriptive grammar and prescriptive grammar. The languages we know, especially our first languages, have their descriptive grammar already ingrained in our minds. We simply "know how to use" them but can't necessarily "explain" them.

It's similar to how we all know how to walk, but if you ask us to explain the bodily functions involved: how the brain sends commands through nerve signals, how the cerebellum coordinates, how nerve signals travel to the muscles, which muscles contract, and how the semicircular canals in the inner ear coordinate with the brain and muscles to maintain balance while walking—we "know how to do" these things, but we "can't explain" them. To explain them, we need experts in sports science, physiology, and neuroscience to dissect and organize the processes.

The descriptive grammar in our minds works the same way. Let’s take syntax as an example. We use the principles of sentence formation daily, but we can't articulate them. The task of linguists is to use research methods to organize the descriptive grammar in our minds. Why organize it? Why do we want to know how we walk? Why do we want to know about black holes millions of light-years away? The answer lies in science and the pursuit of knowledge: to understand language, to understand our brain's cognitive functions. In practical terms, it can be applied to language teaching.

In other words, descriptive grammar is the grammar of the languages we naturally know how to speak; we "don't know" it consciously, nor do we particularly want to know it.

Contrary to descriptive grammar, what we generally find "difficult" is prescriptive grammar. We only need to learn prescriptive grammar when we study languages we don't know, like when I learn English as a second or third language.

Prescriptive grammar is a standardized grammar developed for "teaching" and "testing." Because the grammar of a language varies by location, age, and individual, a standard is needed for teaching and testing. For example, when we go to English-speaking countries like the United States or watch English movies, we often hear people say, "I didn’t do nothing." This type of double negation is a usage that we absolutely cannot use in tests like TOEFL, TOEIC, or IELTS; otherwise, we will lose points because it doesn't conform to the "prescriptive grammar" of English teaching and testing. Yet, this is precisely a grammatical form that some native English speakers use, which is "descriptive grammar."

In sum, linguists work to find the descriptive grammar of languages. These findings are then standardized to make the prescriptive grammar.

You specialize in syntax. Could you explain what syntax is? And how does it differ from the broader concept of grammar? (Questions about Taiwanese; part 3)

2025-03-24T11:32:00.002+08:00

[The 'Questions about Taiwanese' series consists of drafted answers to interview questions prepared for an episode recording of the NTNU International Taiwan Studies Centre Podcast.]

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Okay, so syntax is all about how words and phrases are put together to make a sentence. Syntacticians, like me, dig into sentence structures and how words, especially those function words, connect with each other. Grammar, though, that's a much bigger deal. It covers all the rules of a language – not just sentences, but also sound features and changes studied in phonetics and phonology, word formation studied in morphology, and how language works in different situations studied in pragmatics. Basically, grammar includes all the rules in a language.

That said, my main focus is on how sentences are formed. I don't specialize in the details of sounds, word composition, or the more situational aspects of language. My expertise is primarily in sentence structure.

How linguistically distinct is Taiwanese from Mandarin? And how would you respond to the claim that Taiwanese is simply a dialect of Chinese? (Questions about Taiwanese; part 2)

2025-03-24T11:28:00.002+08:00

[The 'Questions about Taiwanese' series consists of drafted answers to interview questions prepared for an episode recording of the NTNU International Taiwan Studies Centre Podcast.]

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Taiwanese and Mandarin Chinese? Totally different sound systems. Like, the consonants and vowels? Super different. And the way syllables are put together is not the same either.

Chinese has 21 consonants and 6 vowels with a retroflex base, plus five tones. Taiwanese has fewer consonants at 15 but the same number of vowels, and a whopping nine tones including a neutralized tone and a special high rising tone. Chinese has the famous third tone sandhi and special rules for "bu" and "yi," while Taiwanese has tone sandhi for basically every single tone.

In addition, Taiwanese differs from Chinese by having syllables that end in unreleased stops, which are sounds ending abruptly, and a nasal bilabial sound, which ‘m’ stands for. In terms of syllable structure, Taiwanese is more similar to English than Mandarin is.

As for vocabulary, a researcher named Ong Iok-tek found something interesting. He compared word similarities between Amoy, which is close to Taiwanese, and Chinese and then compared English and German. Turns out, English and German have more similar words than Amoy and Chinese do! Lots of people in Taiwan think Taiwanese is just Chinese with a different way of saying things, but that's definitely not the case.

In terms of syntax, Taiwanese has its own distinctive characteristics. For instance, the Taiwanese language utilizes negations differently from Mandarin. Only in Taiwanese is obligatory object fronting required with certain verbal compounds. Additionally, there are unique sentence patterns in Taiwanese, such as evaluative verbal reduplication and the event control construction.

Basically, these two languages are totally different and people can't understand each other. So, yeah, Taiwanese is definitely its own thing, not just a dialect of Chinese.

Okay, so I know "dialect" can be a loaded term, like it's used to put down languages that aren't the "official" one. But Taiwanese is now officially recognized as a national language here since 2018. The Ministry of Education has even standardized its orthography. People might still think Mandarin is the big cheese around here, but legally and politically, Taiwanese isn't just a "dialect" in any sense.

Additionally, many people mistake Taiwanese for a dialect of Chinese because they both use Chinese characters. But, other languages in East Asia, like Japanese, also use those characters. Even Korean and Vietnamese used them before switching to their own systems. Basically, writing is just about picking symbols. Whether we write Taiwanese with characters or Roman script, linguistically speaking, it's its own language, not just a dialect of Chinese.

As a linguist, what name do you think we should give to ‘Taiwanese, Taiyu, Taigi, Hokklo, Holo, Hokkien, Minan? (Questions about Taiwanese; part 1)

2025-03-24T11:21:00.002+08:00

[The 'Questions about Taiwanese' series consists of drafted answers to interview questions prepared for an episode recording of the NTNU International Taiwan Studies Centre Podcast.]

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It's interesting that we question whether to use Taiwanese as a language name but not other ones like English, Chinese, Vietnamese, or Italian. I mean, have we ever really thought about what we call those other languages? Probably not. So, why is it different for Taiwanese?

To tackle that question, here I've got three angles we can explore: how people choose names for themselves, what history tells us, and how naming works globally.

We prioritize how people choose to identify themselves, including their names, where they live, and their language. Essentially, we respect their right to self-identification and don't usually step in to change how they refer to these things.

Instead of questioning someone's name choice, like asking, "Why Josh? Wouldn't Michael be better?" we call them according to how they introduce themselves.

If native speakers refer to the language as "Tai-gi" or "Tai-uan-ue," directly translating to Taiwanese, why should there be an effort to alter that?

Alright, some folks say we should just call it 'Tai-gi' like in Taiwanese. But then should we call Japanese 'Nihongo' and Korean 'Hankuko' instead of their English names? I don't hear people suggesting that for Japanese or Korean, only for Taiwanese. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

So, here's the deal. For over a hundred years, this language has been known as Taiwanese. Even a historian like Ang Ka-im says he found the name in old documents during the Dutch colonial period. Basically, "Taiwanese" isn't a new name; it's been around in history, government stuff, and publications for a while. The Japanese used "Taiwango" in Japanese, which means Taiwanese language, in official documents, dictionaries, and learning materials when they were here. And when the KMT first took over, they called it in their publications "Tai-yu," which is Taiwanese in Mandarin, before they started cracking down on local languages.

So, why did the Japanese and KMT government go with that? Well, it wasn't just because people here call their language "Taiwanese." That name actually makes a lot of sense. It's like how languages are named pretty much elsewhere in the world. And that's something we can definitely dig into more.

Basically, you'll never find a place with just one ethnicity or language. However, languages often get names based on locations - Chinese, English, Spanish, you name it. People might point out the diversity in these places and ask how one language gets to "own" the name. But come on, isn't it a common practice? We typically name a language after a place when it's the lingua franca, the main language spoken there.

So, Taiwanese has been the main language people use in Taiwan for ages. Turns out, even when the Japanese showed up and started running things, they just called it Taiwanese straight up, no fuss.

I'm aware some people are uncomfortable about using the term "Taiwanese" as a language name. And I hope they're consistent. If the language name "Taiwanese" bothers them, they should also question "Vietnamese." Vietnam officially recognizes 54 ethnic groups, and they call the language of the Kinh majority "Vietnamese."

Also, when these people hear someone saying ‘I’m learning Chinese.’ They should interrogate ‘Which Chinese are you learning? Are you learning Shanghainese, Cantonese, the Zhuang languages, or Tibetan?’’ Similarly, there are more than a dozen languages spoken in Italy. Will they ask people ‘which Italian are you studying?’

So even the language we are speaking now, it didn't actually start in England. Nope, it came from what's now Germany. Makes you wonder if we should call it something else, like Anglo-Saxon or maybe British German, instead of English. Have any linguists in the world ever wondered that? I don’t think so.

So, basically, if we're being consistent, we should be fine calling the natural lingua franca in Taiwan "Taiwanese," right?

Lastly, as a linguist, I consider the term Minnan or Hoklo as an umbrella term for a group of language varieties. We've got varieties like Amoy, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and Teochiw over in China. Then there are Southern Min versions spoken in Southeast Asia too, such as Lan-lang-ue in the Philippines, Mianlan Hokkien in Indonesia, and Penang Hokkien in Malaysia.

Think about it. Who has ever wondered why these Minnan varieties can be named respectively? And why cannot the variety in Taiwan have its own name?

That’s all I’d like to say about the language name Taiwanese.

何必因無理陳抗而再創「福台語」一詞？

2024-08-08T19:16:00.002+08:00

[[[何必因無理陳抗而再創「福台語」一詞？]]]

賴金河、余伯泉於「自由廣場」撰文表示『客語族不反對「福台語」』，建議採用「福台語」來稱呼「台語」，以化解部份客家人士的反彈。

按部份客家人士的連署、陳抗，其言不成理，表面上呼籲「族群平等」，事實上卻壓迫台語人的自我命名權，漠視國際上的語言命名實務。世界上各國、各地幾乎都是「多語、多族群」的，但即使廣東有世居的客家人，從未聽聞客家人士對「廣東話」一詞有任何意見；他們即使自認為華人，也對「華語」一名未置一喙。從歐洲的意大利、西班牙，到亞洲的越南、日本、韓國，都有「意大利語」、「西班牙語」、「越南語」、「日語」、「韓語」這些專有名詞的使用，為什麼這些多語多族的國家都泰然自若，只有台灣部份客家人士對「台語」一詞暴跳如雷，相對比照，其等之「無理取鬧」難道不是昭然若揭？

以一地之地名為該地之跨族群共通語命名，望諸四海，比比皆是，「台語」一名有何不可。更何況「台語／台灣話」一詞至少已百年有餘，甚至台灣史學者翁佳音更指出「台語／台灣話」一詞早見於清國及荷蘭文獻，那麼為何要以新創的「福台語」一詞，來安撫部份客家人士「無理」的訴求？難道這些人就能循一樣的想法，接受「華語」改為「福華語」，「客語」改為「福客語」、「原住民語」改為「福原語」？

其實「福爾摩沙語」（Formosan languages）在語言學界是專指「台灣南島語」（原住民語），採用「福台語」一詞，不但沒有必要，而且只是憑添混亂而已。

若部份客家人士的「情感」及「不舒服」可做為剝奪台語命名權的理由，那麼政府未來要如何「依理、依法行政」。回顧政府過去多年來推動人權事務，例如「同婚」及「允許原住民名字單以羅馬字登記」，這些無不讓許多人「心有不快」、「情感上無法接受」，但政府也未曾因這些心理不快，就停止人權事務的推展。如今面對部份客家人士無理取鬧，政府更應堅持別讓部份人士打迷糊戰，把專有名詞的「台語」跟一般名詞的「台灣的語言」混為一談，誤導視聽。

最後，賴、余於文中說道他們爭論的是政府的公文書用語，非民間用語。此一說法更是「似是而非」。如果有此必要，「English」（英語）一詞難道不是民間用語？為什麼各國及我國政府都照著使用，不另外在公文書上使用正式的「Anglo-saxon」（盎格魯撒克遜語）或「British Germanic」（大不列顛日耳曼語）？甚至連語言學者也不這麼用。意圖在原有的語言稱呼外，另造新名，只是徒增困擾、多此一舉罷了！

2024-08-06T17:24:00.001+08:00

Reply to Prof. Vijunas: There's Nothing Wrong with the Name 'Taiwanese'

Professor Aurelijus Vijunas’ article, "An accurate term for ‘Taiwanese’," published on August 3rd in the Editorial & Opinion section, argues that ‘Taiwanese’ is not a suitable name for the Southern Min variety spoken in Taiwan. He presents three main points: 1) Taiwanese is mutually intelligible with some Southern Min varieties, especially in China; 2) the name was coined by Japanese officials without linguistic basis; and 3) Taiwan is a multilingual and multicultural society.

I contend that Professor Vijunas’ arguments are flawed from a global perspective on language naming.

Firstly, he conflates language naming with linguistic classification. While Taiwanese is indeed a Southern Min variety, many languages worldwide are named independently of their typological classification. For instance, English, a Germanic language, is not called Anglo-Saxon or British Germanic. Similarly, Icelandic, an Old Norse language, is not called Icelandic Norse or Icelandic Scandinavian. Mutual intelligibility is also not a decisive factor in language naming. According to A. E. Blomso, a student of mine whose family is from Norway, Norwegian people can talk to Danish speakers without any difficulties. Does this mean Norwegian and Danish cannot be named respectively as two language terms? Languages which are mutually intelligible but named separately are not rare at all; examples include Indonesian/Malay, Hindi/Urdu, and Croatian/Serbian.

Secondly, Professor Vijunas incorrectly attributes the coinage of ‘Taiwanese’ to Japanese officials. Historian Ang Ka-im (翁佳音) confirms the term’s existence in Dutch and Qing dynasty documents, predating Japanese rule. Taiwanese emerged as a lingua franca among Taiwan’s diverse population. This challenges the notion that a language name must reflect a single ethnic group or a purely linguistic basis. Numerous countries, including Britain, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Italy, are multilingual and multicultural, yet their primary languages are named after the respective countries.

Indigenous and Hakka languages are undeniably important in Taiwan, but Taiwanese serves as the representative language of Taiwanese culture, arts, history, and place names. Let me quote from L. Pape, who was an exchange student interviewed by Common Wealth Magazine. He said: "Before coming to Taiwan, my biggest impression of Taiwan was its music. I liked Wu Bai for a very long time. I had heard Yeh Chi-Tien’s song ‘Ai Pan Jiu Hui Ying’ (Life Will Win If You Fight) in China before. My regret in Taiwan is that I didn’t make more effort to learn Taiwanese. Language is a key to culture, and if I truly wanted to become Taiwanese, learning Taiwanese should have been important." As Mr. Pape observed, Taiwanese is key to understanding Taiwan’s culture. In contrast, Mandarin, imposed by the KMT, represents a linguistic imposition and is not inherently connected to Taiwanese identity.

In conclusion, the name ‘Taiwanese’ aligns with global language naming practices. It organically developed as a lingua franca among Taiwan’s people and reflects the language’s cultural significance. As linguists, we should respect a community’s right to name its language, recognizing that such naming is a fundamental aspect of human rights.

這些客家朋友！別鬧了好嗎？==

2024-06-18T12:29:00.003+08:00

至人無夢，而鄙人如我，昨夜恍惚之中，身處於一個記者會裡，仔細一聽，原來是國內某些客家團體發起的記者會，發言者用優美的客語，義憤填膺地說道：

「閩南做為族群與文化薈萃、海商及語言輸出的重要地區，台語人怎麼敢擅稱自己的語言為『閩南語』呢？閩南有著『漳、泉、客、畬』不同的族群及語言，是移民原鄉的認同及驕傲，理應屬『客、畬、漳、泉』所有族裔人民共有，不該專屬於特定族群，把台語稱為閩南語，把世居閩南的客家族群放在哪裡？這實在是大大不可！」

夢中的我大吃一驚！是呀！閩南也有世居的客家族群，而夢中聽見這道理，不就跟最近社團法人台灣客家語文學會、台北市客家文教發展協會等客家團體，反對台語叫做台語的理由是同一個套路嗎？

把這個套路一再套用，台語真不知道要叫什麼才好了。

不過奇怪的是，我從沒聽過客家團體抗議「國語」一詞，教育部臺灣客語辭典堂而皇之地使用「國語」一詞（如「對應國語」選項），怎麼上列這些客家團體一點意見都沒有呢？用他們的話來說，難道這個「國」不是「應屬於所有族裔全國人民共有」嗎？怎麼可以專屬於「華語」呢？

但我比較擔心的是，這個「道理」如果推而廣之，上列這些客家團體恐怕要向UNESCO（聯合國教科文組織）進行全球性抗議才行，畢竟「一地的自然共通語，以該地名進行語言命名」，在世界上所在多有，照他們的看法，我們得到以下格式：

＿＿＿＿，這兩個字詞代表的是＿＿＿＿的認同、驕傲，應屬於＿＿＿＿所有族裔共有，不該專屬於所謂「＿＿＿＿語」這個特定族群。

所以．．．

日本、日，這兩個字詞代表的是日本國的認同、驕傲，應屬於日本所有族裔（包括阿伊努人、琉球人）共有，不該專屬於所謂「日語」這個特定族群。

然後，我們可以把上面的「＿＿＿＿」套上「中國」、「越南」、「泰國」、「西班牙」、「義大利」．．．

反對「台語」一詞的客家朋友，你們這下抗議得完嗎？

如果你們不抗議，不遵循「一致的標準」，那憑什麼專找「台語」一詞的麻煩呢？

但仔細想想，這根本是你們「自找麻煩」呀！客家的朋友當中，應該也有具學養、懂語言學的專家吧！你們可以請教這些專家呀！請教他們「專有名詞」及「一般名詞」的差別哪裡！

懂語言學的人會告訴你：

「日本語」是專有名詞，和「日本的語言」意思不一樣。

「台南」是專有名詞，和「台灣南部」意思不一樣。

「義大利語」是專有名詞，和「義大利的語言」意思不一樣。

所以．．．

「台語」是專有名詞，和「台灣的語言」意思不一樣。

這很難懂嗎？還是你們堅持要向全世界抗議！要改變世界常見的語言命名通則？

閱讀這些團體通篇聲明，裡頭錯誤不少，以下再舉幾個例子。

聲明中說：『(一)根據國家語言發展法第3條與第4條，已明文規定在台灣地區各族群使用的母語名稱及地位應一律平等。』

我想聲明者不懂什麼叫「平等」，平等就是尊重他人的權利，各人及各族群的權利包括「命名權」、「名從主人」的原則，我叫「Lau Seng-hian」，你不能來干涉我，要求我改名，否則就是不尊重我，我們之間就不存在平等。

聲明中說：『(二)再根據教育部十二年國民基本教育課程綱要本土語言課綱，對本土語言的類別(閩南語文、客家語文、原住民族語文、閩東語文)與定義已有明確的規範，且行之多年。』

為什麼課綱會把「台語」叫「閩南語」？就是因為不被政府尊重硬是改名呀（發生在戒嚴時代），然後課綱制定時，又有不懂語言學、不懂名從主人、不懂國際語言命名實務的人強烈要求不可以叫「台語」，所以才會叫「閩南語」呀！怎麼現在這個被扭曲的結果反而被拿來當令箭了？

聲明中說『(三)從85年起國小到高中教育階段，已陸續實施本土語言教學超過28年，各類本土語言在學校受到公平對待，實施成效逐漸彰顯。』

老實說，有「公平對待」嗎？客委會、原民會每年預算都數十億起跳，「台語」沒有專屬的預算，不但資源不公平，而且連「叫什麼名字」都要先經過某些客家朋友同意。試問，「客家」叫「客家」，有經過我們同意嗎？蘭嶼的「達悟族」（意思是「人」）叫「達悟族」，難道也要先問過客家朋友准或不准？（你是人，我不是？）發起聲明者，真的心中有「平等」嗎？

在聲明末段，更是顯露出對歷史事實的漠視及誤解，聲明寫道：「台語是近卅年來為對抗華語專擅為國語，並為確立台灣主體性而來之民間對閩南語的俗稱。」Excuse me! 「台語」一名早就不只「卅年」了好嗎！早在台灣被日本殖民的時候，「台語」就被稱為「台灣語／台語／台灣話」了，為什麼？因為日本殖民者也懂前面提到國際上的語言命名通則呀！他們發現在台灣島上族群眾多，但基本上就是用「台語」來做為族群間的共通語。要不然，俁野保和為什麼會編出《台灣語集》、田內八百久万為什麼會編出《台灣語》，日本總督府還在1931-1932年出版了《臺日大辭典》，連二次戰後，國民黨政府都還出版過《實用台語會話》及《注音台語會話》耶！這些歷史歷歷在目，為什麼聲明中可以臉不紅、氣不喘地說「台語」一詞是近三十年才有的呀！

歷史事實就是：台語不是族群語言，台語是百多年來台灣的自然共通語，所以根據世界上語言命名的通則，被以「台語／台灣語／台灣話」正式命名。

以上事實，與『「客語」及各原住民族語言也是台灣在地的語言』，沒有衝突、沒有扞格，因為專有名詞與一般名詞用法不同，因為世界上多的是這樣的例子。

客家朋友當中，有學養、有知識、有國際觀、知道歷史的人，可以出來阻止這些客家團體及朋友們被誤導而一直演出鬧劇嗎？

唉．．．好啦！我也是「參詳」、可以退一步的。如果真的要反對「台語」叫「台語」，請對全世界標準一致，我超尊重標準一致的人的（但討厭「雙重標準」）。

如果有人從現在開始，不管聽說讀寫都對外實踐且強烈主張要求：

不是「中文」，因為「中國」有數十個族群，要叫「標準化北京語」。

不是「國語」，因為我們「國」內有數十個族群，要叫「中華民國與中華人民共和國官話」。

不是「英語」，英格蘭也有其他族裔及語言好嗎！要叫「盎格魯．撒克遜語」。

不是「日語」，這太不尊重北海道的阿依努人及琉球人了！要叫「標準化東京語」。

等等等等．．．．

如果有人對全世界如此實踐並要求爭取改名！那好，那他就有資格要求「台語」不可以叫「台語」，至少他是個「標準一致」、「一體適用」的好傢伙！我敬佩他！

What’s in a Name? Revitalization of Taiwanese and the Misconceptions that Hinder it

2024-05-17T22:34:00.000+08:00

Presented by Seng-hian Lau (National Taiwan Normal University) in the International Symposium on Research and Teaching of Endangered and Marginalized Languages in East and Southeast Asia. May 3 - 4, 2024, at UCLA.

The name of this language is a subject of dispute. In the movie Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し), the concept of "names" permeates the entire film, representing one's sense of self.

In magical contracts, surrendering one's name signifies relinquishing one's identity, erasing memories, and essentially ceding control over one's life. This is precisely what happened to the name of the language I am discussing now. Either under Japanese rule or after World War II, the results of different language surveys show that Taiwanese has been the lingua franca in Taiwan.

As seen in the 1915 survey, Taiwanese speakers comprised the majority of the population, and the language was spoken among different ethnic groups.^{^[1]}

Even after this island was handed over to the KMT government following World War II, despite decades of severe language suppression under the Mandarin Only Policy, The 2003 survey further demonstrates that Taiwanese remained the lingua franca.^{^[2]}

Interestingly, few people are aware that the first newspaper published on the island was in Taiwanese.^{^[3]}

Naming a language after the place where it is spoken as the lingua franca is a common practice worldwide. For example, according to the Chinese government's claim in 2005, there are 56 ethnic groups in China.^{^[4]} In addition to the languages of these minority groups, the largest ethnic group, the Han people, also speak various Sinitic languages, including Hakka, Shanghainese, and Cantonese, among others. However, nobody disputes what the term "Chinese" refers to. When someone says, "I'm learning Chinese," you wouldn't ask them which specific Chinese language they are learning. Are they learning the Zhuang language spoken by the Zhuang people in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China or Hakka spoken by people in Southeastern China? Interestingly, there are individuals in Taiwan who intentionally argue about the designation of the language name "Taiwanese."

Anyway, it's hypocritical to refer to Taiwanese as Southern Min but feel comfortable calling the language I'm currently speaking as English instead of labeling it as Anglo-Saxon, isn't it?

Apart from survey results, the name 'Taiwanese' can also be found in historical literature and documents. For instance, in the year when Taiwan was handed over to the Japanese Empire by the Qing Empire, several Japanese individuals had already published books introducing the lingua franca of this island. These books include "Taiwango syu" (台灣語集) by Yuzuno Yasukazu (俁野保和), "Taiwan Dogo" (台灣土語) by Sano Naoki (佐野直記), and "Taiwango" (台灣語) by Tanai Yaokuman (田內八百久万). All of these books refer to the language as Taiwanese. In 1931, the Government-General of Taiwan published a dictionary called "Tai-ni Taijiden" (臺日大辭典). The title of the dictionary literally means Taiwanese-Japanese Comprehensive Dictionary, and its lexical items only include those of the island's lingua franca, which is the focus of this discussion. After World War II, the KMT government assumed control over Taiwan. Despite their efforts to eradicate all local languages and replace them with Mandarin Chinese, they were well aware of the language referred to as "Taiwanese." The KMT government also published books titled with the Mandarin term "Taiyu," which means Taiwanese.

The KMT government was well aware that appropriating the name of this language was crucial to their intent of suppressing it, as depicted in the movie "Spirited Away." In their efforts to destroy Taiwanese identity and assimilate Taiwan, the KMT government renamed the language as "Southern Min" or "Min Nan language" This renaming was exemplified in a newspaper article published on October 27, 1967 on the Economic Daily News. The article, titled "Announcement to Correct the Common Usage of 'Taiwanese' to 'Min Nan Language,' " stated the following:

The relevant authorities hereby announce that the commonly used terms 'Taiwanese' and 'Taiwanese language' should be corrected to 'Southern Min' and 'Min Nan language.' The authorities point out that the majority of Taiwan's residents come from the Fujian and Guangdong regions of China, and the languages they speak are Southern Min and Hakka. However, it is unclear when or why the general public and various media outlets began using the terms 'Taiwanese' and 'Taiwanese language' instead of 'Southern Min' or 'Hakka.' This is not only inaccurate but also has the potential for negative consequences. Referring to Southern Min as 'Taiwanese' erases the existence of Hakka, as many people in Taiwan also speak Hakka. Therefore, a correction must be made. The Government Information Office, Provincial News Office, and Municipal News Office have been instructed to promote this correction due to its prevalence in movies, radio, television, newspapers, and other media.

Take note of the lines that say: "This is not only inaccurate but also has the potential to cause negative consequences. Since many people in Taiwan speak Hakka in addition to Southern Min, referring to Southern Min as 'Taiwanese' erases the existence of Hakka." The KMT government, in its attempt to replace the lingua franca of this island with the language they brought to Taiwan, has been sowing discord among ethnic groups.

And this tactic is still employed by those who continue to oppose the use of the name 'Taiwanese' today. However, it is worth noting that this argument is only raised within Taiwan. Even Hakka is spoken in China, Indonesia, and Malaysia, yet I have never encountered anyone arguing that the language names, such as Chinese, Indonesian, and Malay, are problematic due to their lack of complete inclusivity.

Consequently, there are concerns regarding cultural hegemony, including the name dispute, particularly from certain ethnic groups, some within the Hakka community.

The effects of the KMT government's language policies can be seen in the mistaken idea and the underlying ideology behind it persist to this day.

Before the KMT government took control of Taiwan after World War II, Mandarin Chinese was not spoken on the island. During that time, people conversed in their respective ethnic languages and used Taiwanese as the lingua franca, alongside Japanese, which was promoted by the Japanese colonial government.

However, the lingua franca status of Taiwanese witnessed a significant decline due to the language policies implemented during the KMT's authoritarian rule under martial law after World War II. The KMT government actively promoted the use of Mandarin Chinese, to replace Taiwanese as the dominant language. Taiwanese was strictly prohibited in schools, media outlets, and public occasions. Students faced humiliation and fines for speaking Taiwanese at school. Publications in Taiwanese and other local languages were banned and strictly regulated. The KMT government's propaganda depicted the Taiwanese language as inferior, associated with the uneducated and the criminals.^{^[5]} This ideology was deeply ingrained in people's minds through education and media channels.

Nowadays, most people in Taiwan are unaware that the first newspaper in Taiwan, Tâi-oân Kàu-hōe Kong-pò (‘Taiwan Church News’), was initially published in 1885 in Taiwanese. The newspaper continued to publish in Taiwanese during the Japanese colonial rule but was banned from printing in Taiwanese by the KMT government in 1969. (Klöter 2005:217)^{^[6]} After decades of Mandarin-only policy, the ideology instilled by the KMT government has been internalized by the people in Taiwan.

Many individuals unconsciously avoid speaking Taiwanese in public settings. Even among those who converse in Taiwanese with their peers, they switch to Mandarin Chinese when talking to strangers and young people, including their own children and grandchildren. This is evident in the results of a survey that examined the language used by parents when communicating with their 3-year-old children, revealing Mandarin Chinese as the dominant family language.^{^[7]} About ten years ago, only 22% of individuals in their twenties still spoke Taiwanese at home.^{^[8]} The number of children who can speak the language is alarmingly low, and young kids who do not understand Taiwanese can be found throughout Taiwan.

Here are some posts I gathered on Facebook. Let me briefly summarize them for you. On the upper left, a frustrated Taiwanese teacher complains about how low her students' motivation is, even though she's tried many things to motivate them. On the lower left, an advocate shared a story about a woman who approached her after a talk. The woman confided that all her neighbors have stopped using Taiwanese with their children, even though she lives in the countryside of Southern Taiwan. On the right-hand side, a father from Tainan, a city in Southern Taiwan where Taiwanese speakers are supposedly abundant, describes his encounter at a park. He mentions his sons were playing with another girl when her grandmother, speaking Mandarin with a strong accent, reminded the girl to be careful. After hearing the father and sons conversing in Taiwanese, the girl said before leaving, "Actually, my father also speaks the language you speak."

And here’s an excerpt from a young author who translated Tagore’s Stray Birds into Taiwanese.^{^[9]} You can find the English translation on the right-hand side. What she said depicts the language massacre that occurred between three generations.

The severity of the language suppression carried out by the KMT government becomes even more evident when compared to the Japanese colonial rule.

The language policy during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan can be divided into three phases: the experimental period, the assimilation period, and the period of imperialization.^{^[10]}

During the experimental period from 1895 to 1918, there was a gradual exploration of Japanese language instruction. In the assimilation period from 1919 to 1936, the focus shifted towards teaching Japanese in general education, reducing the use of Classical Chinese. Finally, in the period of imperialization from 1937 to 1945, the usage of Japanese language expanded further due to the war between China and Japan. The objectives of these policies were to popularize and promote the Japanese language through various means

Compared to the KMT government's language assimilation policy implemented after World War II, Japan's language policies during the early stages of ruling Taiwan were relatively lenient. Schools were allowed to teach Classical Chinese using Taiwanese and Hakka languages. Furthermore, unlike the KMT government, which conducted minimal research and use of the Taiwanese languages during the period of martial law, the Japanese colonial government invested resources and manpower in training police officers and officials to learn the Taiwanese language. They also conducted research and published textbooks and dictionaries. These materials and dictionaries remain important references in Taiwanese language studies to this day.^{^[11]}

In recent years, Taiwan has witnessed a shift in identity from Chinese to Taiwanese identity.

We can see this from the long-term survey by NCCU. Presently, the majority of people in Taiwan identify themselves as Taiwanese rather than Chinese. In certain regions around the world, such identity shifts have been accompanied by a transition in language, from a non-native to their native language. However, Taiwan is more comparable to the South American nations that continue to use the language of the colonizers. (Anderson 2006:195-199)^{^[12]} The majority of Taiwanese young people readily embrace Mandarin Chinese without any unease, as it is the language in which they have been brought up and educated.

Why do Taiwanese people show such little concern for their own language, even after the democratization of the island? One of the reasons lies in the misconceptions surrounding the status of the Taiwanese language. These misconceptions have perpetuated the KMT's historical practices of "demeaning" and "de-subjectifying" Taiwanese. This is evident in the ongoing debate regarding the name of the language I mentioned previously.

So, what are the misconceptions? The first one is the misconception that Taiwanese is merely a Chinese dialect. Furthermore, people wrongly believe that Taiwanese does not warrant independent treatment because it is considered a variant of Southern Min, which is also spoken in other regions such as China and Southeast Asia.

An objective criterion for distinguishing between languages and dialects is mutual intelligibility. Taiwanese and Mandarin Chinese are not mutually intelligible. Here are some comparisons of their phonology, vocabulary, and syntax.

In Mandarin Chinese, there are 21 consonants and 6 vowels, with a retroflex base. Mandarin consists of five tones, including the neutral tone. Notable aspects of Mandarin include tone sandhi, specifically the third tone tone sandhi, and the usage of "bu" and "yi".^{^[13]}

Taiwanese, on the other hand, comprises 15 consonants and 6 vowels. Unlike Mandarin, Taiwanese includes syllables ending with unreleased stops and the nasal bilabial sound. Taiwanese consists of nine tones, including high rising tones commonly found in loanwords, as well as a neutral tone. In contrast to Chinese, Taiwanese exhibits extensive tone sandhi, with each tone having a corresponding sandhi tone.^{^[14]}

When it comes to vocabulary, Ong 2002 studied the cognates between Mandarin and Amoy, which is another variety of Southern Min mutually intelligible with Taiwanese. He noted that the percentage of cognates between English and German, both Germanic languages, is higher than the percentage of cognates between Amoy and Mandarin.^{^[15]} Many individuals in Taiwan mistakenly believe that Taiwanese only differs from Mandarin in terms of pronunciation, which is totally wrong.

In terms of syntax, Taiwanese has its own distinctive characteristics. For instance, Taiwanese utilizes negators differently from Mandarin. Only in Taiwanese is obligatory object fronting required with certain verbal compounds. Additionally, there are unique sentence patterns in Taiwanese, such as evaluative verbal reduplication and the event control construction.

Overall, it is not surprising that these two languages are not mutually intelligible.

I am aware that the term "dialect" is sometimes used politically with a negative connotation, referring to non-national languages that hold a socially and politically subordinate status to the country's official language. However, Taiwanese has now been recognized as one of the national languages in Taiwan, as stated in the Development of National Languages Act in 2018. The Ministry of Education has also standardized its orthography. While the government and the people in Taiwan may still have a predominantly Mandarin-centric perspective, legally and politically, Taiwanese should no longer be considered a dialect.

There is another common misconception that Taiwanese is merely a colloquial language. In reality, Taiwanese has been written and used in publications for over a hundred years. It was the language used in the first newspaper in Taiwan, and there have been thousands of publications, including a medical textbook, monographs, and creative writings like novels.^{^[16]} The reason this misconception persists is because Taiwanese writing was never taught in schools until recently.

With all the facts, the Ministry of Education and certain individuals in Taiwan still insist on referring to this language as Southern Min or Min Nan. Interestingly, this is the exact name given by the KMT government during the martial law period to replace its original name, Taiwanese.

Do you remember the movie Spirited Away? This misnomer itself poses a hindrance to the revitalization of Taiwanese. The term 'Southern Min' encompasses a group of language varieties, including Amoy, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Chaozhou in China, Lán-lâng-uē, Penang Hokkien, and others spoken in Southeastern Asia, along with Taiwanese spoken in Taiwan. Some of these varieties are not even mutually intelligible.

If Amoy and other Southern Min varieties can have their own distinct names, such as Lán-lâng-uē being used to refer to the variety spoken in the Philippines, why can't Taiwanese be called Taiwanese? Isn't this a double standard?

In fact, according to a survey conducted in 2020, Tâi-gí or Tâi-uân-uē, literally meaning Taiwanese language, is the name by which most people in Taiwan refer to this language.^{^[17]} Continuing to use the term employed by the previous regime would undermine the people's identity and disregard the historical fact that this language serves as the natural lingua franca of the island. It would overlook the uniqueness of this language and its inseparable connection to Taiwanese culture, traditional arts, place names, and linguistic representation. Without Taiwanese, the essence of Taiwanese culture, history, traditional arts, and many place names would be lost.

Ask foreigners who have a profound understanding of Taiwan, and they will acknowledge that it is Taiwanese, not Mandarin Chinese, that historically and culturally represents Taiwan.^{^[18]} Ask a westerner whether he or she can distinguish Korean culture from Chinese culture only through festivals, architecture, and clothings. It’s always the language that plays a vital role. The misnomer "Southern Min" is to diminish the distinctiveness and identity of Taiwanese culture and history.

However, most Taiwanese people, educated without this language and those historical facts, can’t even recognize Taiwanese Romanization. Here is a Facebook post from a Japanese actor named Tanaka Chie. She wrote in Taiwanese and it says ‘now I can understand more when listening to Taiwanese. But it’s not easy to speak in this language. I’ll keep on working on it. Good morning. Have a nice day.’ See what these Taiwanese people commented below on the right-hand side? They said: it’s Vietnamese. Or it’s Thai. And Miss Tanaka, a Japanese who is learning Taiwanese, replied below: It’s Taiwanese. This highlights the challenge of Taiwanese language recognition.

Now let’s move on to the efforts made for revitalizing this language.

The progress made so far in revitalizing Taiwanese includes granting it a legal status as one of the national languages, its inclusion in school curricula, and a significant increase in publications and creative works following its standardization.

Since the lifting of martial law in the 1980s, activists have persistently advocated against Chinese dominance through continuous efforts in teaching, publishing, and advocating for the legal recognition of Taiwanese and other Taiwanese languages. After decades of campaigning, the Taiwan government enacted the Development of National Languages Act in 2018.

However, the deep-seated contempt towards this language still remains, and Chinese continues to enjoy a privileged and monopolized high language status on the island. While the law calls for the conservation of endangered Taiwanese local languages, it lacks any penalties or deadlines. In conclusion, the Development of National Languages Act is a significant milestone but has not brought about any fundamental changes.

Since 2003, 40 minutes per week have been allocated in the curriculum of elementary schools for teaching Taiwan languages. The course on Taiwan languages was also introduced into the curriculum of junior and senior high schools in 2023. However, the hours are so limited: 40 minutes per week in elementary schools, 50 minutes per week in the first two years in junior high schools, and 50 minutes per week in one of the three years in senior high schools. Also, we have parents and teachers who do not care about these courses, as these courses are not directly related to college or university applications. Furthermore, the lack of language usage environment at home or school, combined with the limited hours of instruction that treats Taiwanese just like a foreign language, also results in minimal impact. While most public transportation systems now broadcast in Taiwanese due to legal requirements, facing inquiries in Taiwanese, clerks often serve and respond in Mandarin.

In 2006, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan announced the official romanization system for Taiwanese. Since the Ministry’s first approved edition of the online Dictionary was released in 2011, Taiwanese writing, whether in roman script or using Chinese characters, has been standardized.

Moreover, the government organizes writing competitions in Taiwanese periodically and provides subsidies for the publication of creative works, including videos and music. There has been an increase in the number of books, dramas, and movies produced in Taiwanese. Additionally, a language proficiency test is regularly conducted, with thousands of people taking the exam each time. However, the Mandarin-dominant environment persists. Mandarin continues to be the sole medium of instruction, the default language for government operations and ceremonies. The deeply ingrained mindset of defaulting to Mandarin is prevalent. Even coworkers and friends who can speak Taiwanese often unconsciously converse in Mandarin. Grandparents, parents, or close friends who do speak Taiwanese themselves tend to switch to Mandarin when speaking to their grandchildren, sons, and daughters. Only a few people pass on Taiwanese to the next generation. If this situation remains unchanged, Taiwanese will cease to be spoken within approximately 30 years, disappearing with the generations of people who still speak it.

Currently, people in Taiwan are allowed to choose a spelling for their name on their passport other than Mandarin. However, do they choose to spell and pronounce their name in Taiwanese or their ethnic language? Do they opt to spell and pronounce their children's names in Taiwanese? Only a few people do so. This reflects the prevalence of the Mandarin-only and default mindset in Taiwan society after decades of language suppression under KMT rule.

While government policies and public awareness are crucial, individual and community-driven initiatives are also essential for language revitalization. As an author and language advocate, I have been involved in several projects to promote Taiwanese. Briefly speaking, I’m an author of several books, I co-edited a Taiwanese textbook for senior high schools, and I’m leading a team developing a gamified Taiwanese learning website.

Prior to my research and lectures on Taiwanese at universities, I worked at the Li-kang Khioh Taiwanese Foundation from 2007 to 2017. During this time, I served as the editor of a Taiwanese periodical and actively participated in activities promoting and revitalizing the language. Not only am I a language advocate, but I also engage in creative writing in Taiwanese. I have published two collections of novellas in Taiwanese.

I have been involved in the administration of the Taiwanese language proficiency test and have also been working on a project to create an online grammar database. Since the beginning of 2023, I have delivered 20 talks about Taiwanese both online and at various locations throughout Taiwan.

Here are the covers of the periodical that prints the poems, prose, short stories, and novels in Taiwanese contributed by various writers. I had been editing it for 10 years. The periodical is the longest running one among its peers and it’s still in publication.^{^[19]}

And these are my two collections of novellas and short stories written in Taiwanese.^{^[20]}

I am not only participating in the administration of the Taiwanese language proficiency test but also served as the co-editor of a Taiwanese textbook for senior high schools. We tried to make a textbook with not only modern content but also an intriguing cover that appeals to teenagers.^{^[21]}

Due to my concerns regarding misconceptions that hinder the revitalization of Taiwanese, I have published three books. One of these books is a topic-based Taiwanese grammar book written in Chinese.^{^[22]} It is specifically designed for individuals who do not read Taiwanese and have limited knowledge of the language. In this book, I dispel the misunderstanding that Taiwanese is a dialect and highlight the distinctive features of Taiwanese grammar from a cross-linguistic perspective, particularly those that differentiate it from Mandarin.

Afterward, I wrote a learning and teaching book titled 'Superb Taiwanese Primer' in English.^{^[23]} This book is utilized in the course 'Basic Taiwanese for International Students.' Additionally, I hope that this book can present a modern and international image for the language, helping to dispel the derogatory and devaluing perception that some individuals in Taiwan hold.

Recently, I published another book, a popular science fiction work.^{^[24]} As a syntactician working within formal theoretical frameworks, I have encountered numerous intriguing features of Taiwanese that can contribute to typology and linguistic theories. However, both the syntactic theories and the unique features of Taiwanese are not widely known in society. To bridge this gap, I attempted to merge these two aspects and present them within a story. I also hope that the lens of popular science can encourage people to reimagine Taiwanese.

As part of a sub-project sponsored by the Ministry of Education, I have been leading a team in the development of a gamified Taiwanese learning website. You can scan the QR code to access the website. Our plan is to offer interfaces in both English and Japanese. Currently, the English interface is accomplished with the question bank containing over a thousand questions. Once again, my intention is to reshape the perception of this language, which is why I created an international learning website to enhance the visibility of Taiwanese.

To conclude this talk, I would like to summarize the main obstacles hindering the revitalization of Taiwanese. From a political standpoint, the democratization process in Taiwan has not involved any institutional overhaul. The historical language suppression and the Mandarin default policy have never been systematically reviewed or corrected. Economically, due to the continued Mandarin default setting at the political level, Mandarin retains its cultural dominance, with its cultural capital reproducing, and keeping on marginalizing local languages, including Taiwanese. In the field of education, students have inherited the implanted ideology taught in schools and passed down by their elders, leading to a widespread disregard for the language.^{^[25]} Mandarin still remains the sole medium of instruction in classrooms, with the exception of English as a Medium of Instruction and a few isolated cases of Taiwanese as a Medium of Instruction in only several universities.

How endangered is this language? Here are some statistics from the report by the Ministry of Culture and a survey on languages conducted in 2020. According to the criteria set by UNESCO, it is evident that Taiwanese is in a definitely endangered state. The negative attitudes towards Taiwanese and the prevalence of misleading ideologies have deeply permeated the minds of Taiwanese people, resulting in families ceasing to pass on their heritage languages to their children.

In a book published in 1995, Huang claims that Taiwanese speakers comprise 73.3% of the island's population.^{^[26]} Quite a significant number. Nevertheless, people in Taiwan have stopped actively using or passing on the language, and that is what frustrates me the most.

To be more specific about this frustration, it stems from the mindset of parents and the deeply ingrained negative attitudes towards the Taiwanese language. Statistics show that the language is rarely transmitted to younger generations, putting it at risk of endangerment, as you can see in the diagrams. (Yap 2017:81)^{^[27]}

Are Taiwanese people aware of this? The Professor Huang Kun-huei Education Foundation conducted a survey in March, revealing that 68.4% of people in Taiwan are aware that Taiwanese languages are in danger.^{^[28]} However, the percentage of speakers who frequently use their mother tongue decreases with age. Less than half of individuals between the ages of 20 and 34 still use Taiwanese as their primary language, and the situation is even bleaker for teenagers.

Interestingly, 93.9% of people believe that speaking Taiwanese with their children is an effective way for them to acquire the language. However, 67.5% of respondents acknowledge that their children do not speak Taiwanese, with the main reason being that the language is not spoken within the family.

All of this contributes to the greatest challenge: people have low expectations for the language, and they are not concerned about its gradual decline. In fact, I am skeptical of people's definition of being able to speak Taiwanese. Given their contempt and the limited usage of the language, individuals are typically satisfied with learning simple phrases and sentences. Many who claim to speak Taiwanese are not even capable of delivering a 5-minute speech entirely in Taiwanese on a topic such as their hobbies.

If my previous assessment is accurate, the reality of the situation, in contrast to the survey results, is even more disheartening. The prospects for the Taiwanese language are far from optimistic, particularly given the significant decline in young speakers, especially among children. Moving forward, our focus should be on promoting Taiwanese among young people and children, tailoring our efforts to their interests and needs. We must highlight the drawbacks of a Mandarin-only society, challenge the prevailing negative perceptions for Taiwanese, and break free from the mindset of Mandarin as the default language. We need to foster a strong connection between Taiwanese identity and the Taiwanese language. Moreover, the Taiwan government should implement new policies that offer economic incentives to eliminate the hierarchical distinction between languages, facilitate the use of Taiwanese as the medium of instruction in schools and as the language for official occasions and ceremonies, and allocate more resources to the endangered Taiwanese languages, shifting away from the Mandarin default setting.

In conclusion, revitalizing and preserving the Taiwanese language requires collective efforts and a fundamental shift in attitudes and policies. By actively promoting Taiwanese among the younger generation, challenging the dominance of Mandarin, and implementing supportive measures, we can secure a future where the Taiwanese language thrives and flourishes once again.

^{^[1]} The 1915 National Survey by the Government-General of Taiwan. (1915年臺灣總督府國勢調查)

^{^[2]} Zhang, Jian-ru (張鑑如). 2019. Early Childhood Development Survey Database Construction Project: 36-month Group First Wave 36-month (D00168) [Raw Data] Source: Academia Sinica Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center, Survey Research Center, Academic Survey Research Database (幼兒發展調查資料庫建置計畫:36月齡組第一波36月齡(D00168)【原始數據】取自中央研究院人文社會科學研究中心調查研究專題中心學術調查研究資料庫。) doi:10.6141/TW-SRDA-D00168-2

^{^[3]} Chang, Der-Ling (張德麟). 2015. History of Taiwanese Roman Scripts POJ (白話字發展史).

Journal of Taiwanese Vernacular Volume 7 Issue 2 (2015/09) Pp. 4-26.

^{^[4]} See https://tinyurl.com/2abuhfhx

^{^[5]} Pan, Yi-hsien & Liu, Cheng-yuan (潘逸嫻、劉正元). 2020, Visual Representation of Taiwanese and an Analysis of Language Use: A Case Study of Movie Trailers in 2015 (影像中的台語形象再現與語言使用分析：以2015年電影預告片為例). Monumenta Taiwanica Issue 19 (2020/04) Pp. 91-127

^{^[6]}. Klöter, Henning. 2005. Written Taiwanese. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 9783447050937.

^{^[7]} Zhang, Jian-ru (張鑑如). 2019. Early Childhood Development Survey Database Construction Project: 36-month Group First Wave 36-month (D00168) [Raw Data] Source: Academia Sinica Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center, Survey Research Center, Academic Survey Research Database (幼兒發展調查資料庫建置計畫:36月齡組第一波36月齡(D00168)【原始數據】取自中央研究院人文社會科學研究中心調查研究專題中心學術調查研究資料庫。) doi:10.6141/TW-SRDA-D00168-2

^{^[8]} 2013 Taiwan Social Change Survey conducted by the Academia Sinica

^{^[9]} Un, Jiok-kiau (温若喬). 2023. Stray Birds: Taiwanese Translation (浪鳥集：泰戈爾《漂鳥集》台文版). Taipei: Jiuge Publishing Company (九歌出版社). ISBN：9789864505289

^{^[10]} Chiu, Min-jie (邱敏捷). 1998. Implementation and Impact of Language Policy in Taiwan During Japanese Colonial Rule (日治時期臺灣語言政策的實施及影響). Kaohsiung City: Cultural Affairs Commission (高雄市文獻委員會).

^{^[11]} Ang, Ui-jin (洪惟仁). 1993. Compilation of Classic Minnan Dictionaries (閩南語經典辭書彙編). Taipei: Wuling Publishing Company (武陵出版社). ISBN13：9789573506140

^{^[12]} Anderson, Benedict. 2006. Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised Edition. London: Verso.

^{^[13]} Chao, Y-R. (1938). Mandarin Primer: An Intensive Course in Spoken Chinese. London: Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

^{^[14]} Yang, Hsiao-fang (楊秀芳). 1991. Introduction to the Grammar of Taiwan Minnan Language (臺灣閩南語語法稿). Taipei: Da An Publishing Company (大安出版社). ISBN：9579233284

^{^[15]} Ong, Iok-tek. 2002. A Discussion of the Divergence Dates of Five Major Chinese Dialects Based on Glottochronology (從語言年代學試論中國五大方言分裂年代). In The Volume for Studies on Hokkien (福建語研究卷; ISBN：9789578013537) from The Collected Works of Ong Iok-tek (王育德全集). Taipei: Avanguard Publishing House.

^{^[16]} Png, Iau-khian (方耀乾). 2012. A History and Bibliography of Taiwanese Literature (台語文學史暨書目彙編). Taipei: Taiwan Wen Hui Publishing Company (台灣文薈出版). ISBN: 9789868843509.

^{^[17]} The Survey on the Endangered National Languages in 2020, Ministry of Culture, Taiwan. 85% of the native speakers use this term, in contrast to 15% who call the language Minnan language. This survey result is not included in the publicized survey report. (Ho Sin-han 2024 Personal communication)

^{^[18]} Refer to https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=3582

^{^[19]} The periodical named Tâi-bûn Thong-sìn Bóng-pò (台文通訊Bong報) is published by the Li Kang, Khioh Taiwanese Foundation.

^{^[20]} Lau, Seng-hian. 2018 Huan-sin. Huan-sin (翻身 · 番身). Tainan: Daoxiang Taiwanese Studio. ISBN: 9789869570329.

Lau, Seng-hian. 2008 Tò-tńg：Voyu Taokara Lâu Tâi-gí Té-phinn Siáu-suat-tsi̍p (倒轉：Voyu Taokara Lâu台語短篇小說集) [Tò-tńg: Collection of Taiwanese Short Stories by Voyu Taokara Lâu]，Taipei: Li-kang Khioh Taiwanese Foundation. ISBN: 9789868246027

^{^[21]} Lau, Seng-hian & Li, Bi-chhin (eds.) 2022. Taiwanese Textbook for Senior High Schools (高級中等學校本土語文（閩南語文）). Taipei: Kiwi Fruit Studio. ISBN: 9786269536054

^{^[22]} Lau, Seng-hian. 2022. Yǔyán Xuéjiā Jiěpò Táiyǔ (語言學家解破台語). Taipei: Bacon Press. ISBN: 9789869093828

^{^[23]} Lau, Seng-hian. 2023. Superb Taiwanese Primer. Taipei: National Taiwan Normal University Press. ISBN: 9789865624897

^{^[24]} Lau, Seng-hian. 2024. Yǔzhòu Cháng zài Zì-lǐ-háng-jiān, A-má hàn Wǒ jiù le Yí ge Wàixīngrén (宇宙藏在字裡行間，A-má 和我救了一個外星人). Taipei: Kiwi Fruit Studio. ISBN: 9786269708963

^{^[25]} Su,Huang-Lan (蘇凰蘭). 2019. Wandering at the Crossroad Between Language Maintenance and

Language Shift—A Survey on Language Attitudes Toward Taigi Among 3rd-9th Graders in Taiwan. Journal of Taiwanese Languages and Literature (臺灣語文研究) Volume 14 Issue 1, Pp.81-119. DOI: 10.6710/JTLL.201904_14(1).0003

^{^[26]} Huang, Shuan Fan (黃宣範). 1995. Yǔyán, Shèhuì yǔ Zhúcún Yìshì (語言、社會與族群意識). Taipei: Crane Publishing Co. (文鶴出版有限公司). ISBN: 9789579463300

^{^[27]} Yap, Ko-Hua (葉高華). 2017. Táiwān Mínzhòng de Jiātíng Yǔyàn Xuǎnzhé (臺灣民眾的家庭語言選擇). Taiwanese Journal of Sociology (臺灣社會學刊). 62:59-111

^{^[28]} Refer to https://hkh-edu.com/nwes2024/0329-news.html

關於「原住vs.外來」的標準

2021-07-13T09:56:00.012+08:00

今早看到一篇關於外來入侵種的討論，有人討論到最後，就說出「人類是地球的入侵種」、「漢人是台灣的外來種」這樣的推論了，我在想，這些想法，值得「左」標以外更進一步的驗證。

這其中，我先把「消滅人類這外來種」先擱在一邊，也先把「漢人」的定義擱在一邊（所謂的漢人有不同的語言及文化差異，如何視為一體？），先來想想「台灣原住民」這部份。

首先，「漢人是台灣的外來種」，這句話相對於「台灣原住民」此一概念來說，是淺顯易懂的，用大白話說就是：「人家已經先住在那裡了，你又跑過去住，所以你不是原住民喔！」既然不是原住民，那麼用「外來種」來做修辭，自然令人印象深刻。

只不過，上一段的定義，恐怕不夠嚴謹，試想：「人家已經先住在那裡了，你又跑過去住，所以你不是原住民，是外來種喔！」這個定義，最大的作用就是「分化」，任何群體只要被套上了，那就會被析離出一群又一群，不伊於胡底而不止，即使是套用在「台灣原住民」之上，這樣的作用仍然！

怎麼說？因為台灣原住民（台灣南島語族），正是以其多元聞名於世，即使是台灣原住民，也有「來台先後」的時間差。

以下引自中研院的資料（https://twstudy.iis.sinica.edu.tw/preHistory/part3.html）

學者進一步推測，台灣的南島語族並非同時渡台，而是至少分五批遷移：最早來的是泰雅族、鄒族，時間大約是距今6500年前；最晚的雅美族，則在500年前才從菲律賓的巴丹島移居。

根據以上的渡台時間差，再套用前面的「原住民vs.外來種」定義，只怕我們要得出以下結論了：「只有泰雅族、鄒族是原住民，阿美族、卑南族、賽夏族、布農族、排灣族等等...全都是『外來種』。」

等等！你以為這樣就結束了嗎？不，這定義還沒讓「泰雅族、鄒族」決勝負呢！請問：根據定義，泰雅族與鄒族，孰為原住民，孰為外來種？

如果你以為上面的一對一對決後就結束了，那你又錯了，還記得嗎？此一定義的分化析離作用不伊於胡底絕不終止；來來來，鄒族的情況待查，但很多人都知道泰雅族基本上像個泛稱，裡頭還有分群，要不要也套上定義一決泰雅諸群體之間「原住vs.外來」之別？

「不可能！」聰明的你要說了，「那些分群很有可能是渡台後繁衍分派的結果。」

沒錯，但，如果是好幾個家庭或家族攜同渡台呢？要不要再套上定義，看看是哪個家族或哪位女祖或男祖的腳先踏上台灣島的呢？

講到這裡，大概很多人要怒了，認為我就是要來為「台灣的非原住民」洗白的，認為我想靠著上面那條定義來搞分化（但那條大家習以為常的定義本身明明分化作用超強，如上些例子），搞到最後沒有人有資格稱自己是原住民，所以所有的外來者就都可以把「外來者」的標籤從身上撕下來了。

不，我如果有這樣的想法，那我應該要從現在開始，質疑「台灣原住民」一詞的指涉內涵，一如我對所謂「漢人」的定義與指涉感到懷疑一樣。

但我對「台灣原住民」的指稱對象並無懷疑，台灣當然有原住民，而且就是我們所知道的那些族群。

我進行這項討論的目的，一如文首，是對帶有強烈「分化析離作用的原住民定義」進行檢視，當我們要進行任何主張時，務必要先看看主張背後的定義及脈絡，要不然，一個定義用到最後，只怕我們想要的界定依然未明，卻先分化析離得極為成功了。

老實說我應該就停在這裡了，不過，因為預知大家在重思「原住民」定義時，可能會遇到哪些問題，所以就不憚煩地先大概提一下。

如果我們對於「台灣原住民」所指涉的族群具有共識，那麼我們該怎麼面對—「原住民也有渡台先後，但都是原住民」，而「後於原住民來台者，就不是原住民」—這樣套套邏輯的破綻？

或許有人要說：很簡單呀！非原住民來台後，侵佔原住民土地，並對原住民進行殺戳！

以上這固然是無可辯駁的史實，只不過，若要採用這條內容來修改「原住民」的定義，恐怕也要考慮一下原住民內部的情況，畢竟原住民除了有來台先後之別，原住民不同的族與群之間，相互攻伐、獵頭也是史實，如何區隔後來人群對原住民的壓迫，與原住民不同族、群之間的彼此爭競、壓迫，這當然不能又是一句「因為他們是原住民」來帶過了（聰明的讀者應該看出來了，這又是個套套邏輯）。

就我淺薄的認知，我所能做到外來移民的區別，恐怕只有「連同體制、機構、軍隊等政權型態的移民」與非屬前者的「移民」的區分，前者是我們都知道的「殖民」，後者則分先後，有「原住民」跟「非原住民」之分。

很抱歉的是，我這篇對定義的檢驗，宥於個人程度有限、對文獻了解不足，並沒有辦法提出答案，我所能做的只是「檢驗」，提醒任何喜歡正義的朋友（包括我自己），要不時回頭想一想自己「為什麼」這麼說，「根據」的是什麼，因為這是任何人的正義可以長久立足的根基。

畢竟，我們都不樂於看到（至少我假設啦），有任何正義之士，一邊用太膚淺的定義把人貼上「外來」的標籤，一邊又大力支持歐洲外來移民的權益；仔細想想，不矛盾嗎？

說到這裡，其實已經有些些苗頭出現了不是嗎？我們該支持、扶助的「標準」，有時候不在於「時間先後」，而在於「擁有資源及社經力量」的「強弱」，濟弱扶傾，停止對「強」的任何資源挹注，並對過去的受壓迫者進行恢復與補償，這大概是我目前能想到的其中一個重點。

另一個該思考的重點是：「不是原住民」不等於就是「外來者（種）」。問題可能遠比簡單二分更複雜得多。

當然，上述討論僅限於「移民」，至於「殖民」（如果我們在定義上有共識），我沒有為其辯護的一丁點意圖。

———非「原住」＝「外來」？之追伸————

被說「非原住」可以大方承認，但被稱來「外來」就不好受了，因為「外來」一詞除了有「不認同本地」、「暫居」的意涵，還可以聯想到生物學上的「外來入侵種」，這些「外來入侵種」之所以恐怖，在於其會消滅在地的物種，使生態多樣性消失。

但設想，若是一個物種已在此出現上千年（以族群或語言比附如：阿美語）、數百年（像是泛稱四百年的台語或也是數百年的客語），其後，雖然生存競爭、搶奪資源的狀況繼續，不過其他的物種仍在，並沒有因此滅絕，那麼，此種情況絕不應與下述情形混為一談。

不該與什麼情形混為一談呢？就是有一個物種全身披掛，無差別地進行他種擊殺，也不過才出現五十年，其他的物種就都面臨存續危機，到七十年，這個外來物種已經把所有的地盤、場域、巢穴幾乎完全佔據，其他的物種則分處於去了半條命、氣若游絲、與已經斷氣的情況，這，才是恐怖的外來種，這，才是沙文。

回顧歷史，台語可從來不曾沙文過，沙文是華語的專長。

這也是文章一開始我反對含混的稱「漢人」的另一個原因。

咱欲愛有台語台

2018-12-20T19:03:00.003+08:00

有客家台有原民台
咱欲愛有台語台

記者會新聞稿

日期：2018年12月20日
時間：10:00~10:30
地點：立法院中興大樓101會議室
主辦：催生台語公共電視台聯盟

2017年由34個團體發起之「催生台語公共電視台聯盟」提出訴求，要求政府重視台語的文化傳承，盡速成立台語公共電視台。引起社會熱烈討論，並得到全台255個團體連署支持，取得立法院共71位立法委員的連署支持。可見社會對此議題期待的程度。經過一年多的努力，欣聞文化部已著手進行，預計以補助公視基金會設立之台語頻道先行，計劃明年年中開播，並已編列新台幣４億元專案預算。期能儘早讓台語得到遲來的公平對待。

然而12月17日立法院教育文化委員會中，部份委員因對此議題知之不明進而連署將此預算擱置。聯盟深感震驚之餘，為使立法院教育文化委員會能不負全國人民期待做出正確判斷，本聯盟於下針對委員們的質疑一一提出反駁。

首先必須說明，我們訴求中的電視台是一個概稱。在現代網路的時代，當然可以用任何型式的傳播媒介呈現。但必須是一個獨立的傳播機構。因為我們要求此機構必須以台語為主體思考，必須確保節目內容多元性，並且必須確保節目品質。這些都必須是一個有獨立台性、具有公共電視特性的傳播機構才能做得到的。客家台和原民台在過去幾年，都已經證明如此。

　　部份委員們的質疑歸納為：台語頻道的必要性以及台語頻道的名稱。以下一一澄清：

一.台語頻道的必要性

台語是否為瀕危語言？

台語是否為瀕危語言並非單憑個人感覺可推定，聯合國教育科學及文化組織（UNESCO）瀕危語言專家小組在已出版的《世界瀕危語言地圖》（Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger）中了提供九項指標予以衡量。以第一項「跨世代語言傳承」指標為例，共分為六個等級：「安全、脆弱、確定瀕危、嚴重瀕危、極度瀕危、死亡」。依此量表，台語已進入第四等級「嚴重瀕危：只有祖父母或更老的輩份使用，父母不一定會說，也不會跟小孩說」。雖然許多人認為台語佔台灣人口７０％，但若依此衡量台語早已無法滿足前三個等級：「安全：語言使用者不分年齡，且跨世代沒有阻礙。／脆弱：仍有多數小孩會說，但僅限於某些語言領域使用，如家中。／確定瀕危：小孩已無法在家中像學習母語一樣學習該語言。」未來，若台語使用者僅限於祖父母或更年長輩份，而且他們不常說或只會說一點點時，台語就進入「極度瀕危」的等級；而下一個等級就是「死亡」。

有客家台有原民台，卻不能有台語台？

台灣在過去的政治環境下各種本土語言皆遭受打壓。如今於積重難返的華語霸權環境下，各本土語言盡皆瀕危復振困難。不止台語，客語及原民語都遇到同樣的困難。為復振客語及原民語，政府早已投入資源立法。而世界人權宣言及人權公約都主張各族群「有權以自己的語言建立自己的傳播媒介」。為落實客語及原民語的傳播權，政府已設有專門的電視台及廣播電台：客語有「客家電視台」、「客家廣播電台」；原住民語也有專門的「原住民電視台」、「原民廣播電台」。只有台語是沒有獨立播放的頻道。這就是不公平的歧視。站在文化平權的角度看，政府必須消弭這個歧視。

為何不採補助方式？

專屬頻道比起由政府補助商業台製作節目，更能獨立運作。不易成為另一種形式的置入。這也是公共電視的精神，保障不受政治因素干預。而若採補助案自然會隨著主政者異動而變動。這也是客家台及原民台要爭取專法保障的原因。透過專門的台語頻道運作，才能培養更多台語影視人才，擴大人才庫及市場。避免讓原本創造力豐富的獨立製片、導演或傳播公司等，陷入與擁有頻道之商業電視台競爭或遭其剝削的困境，也不致因忙於得標後的行政程序，而無力專心於創作，由此節目品質方能獲得保障，也始能強化對母語文化的認同，進而擴大市場。

有了台語台，就能復振台語？

當然這不是必然。復振台語需要更多方面的努力。然而國際上許多的研究都指出，語言能否傳承，擁有以該語言發音的幼兒及青少年節目是很重要的。而要目前以華語為主要發音且以商業市場為考量的商業電視台投入製播，顯然是非常困難。除了幼兒及青少年節目以外，全方位的多元節目也是語言復振的要項。這都必須有公共電視台台性的媒體投入。

二.台語頻道的名稱

台語是閩南語？

閩南是中國福建南部。台灣並不是中國福建南部，當然台語就不該稱為閩南語。實際上在中國福建南部，有許多種語言。例如廈門話、不同的泉州話、各種漳州話、客家話...這些語言，有些與台語相通（如：廈門話），但也有一些是與台語互相無法溝通的。

由此可知，以「閩南語」來指稱「台語」，並不恰當。更有甚者，「台語/台灣話」一詞，百年來已經約定俗成，故意以「閩南話」來替代，難道不是血淋淋「去台灣化」的政治操作，既不可取，也無必要。

台語稱為「台語」，符合全世界語言命名的通例，一向，以地名為語言命名的，指的就是當地最大語族、最具代表性的語言。

法國境內，有四十多種在地語言，但何嘗有人質疑「法語」的指涉？日本國內有愛努語及琉球語，不過「日本語」就只明明白白用來指稱一個語言，沒有人會覺得奇怪，何以，「台語」做為台灣在地最大語族、且又是最具代表性的語言專有名詞，卻屢遭挑釁？

言者又有謂：「台語既與廈門話相通，憑什麼自行稱為台語？」問這問題的人，如果懂得放眼國際，也就不會庸人自擾了。東南亞的馬來西亞所説的馬來話，與印尼所說的印尼話，兩者根本可以通話無礙，又何曾有人去質疑為何各立名號？歐洲的克羅埃西亞語與塞爾維亞語，彼此溝通無阻，但各執一個名字，又有誰說不可？

台語憑什麼是台語？

台灣是一個多語社會。台語是其中的一個語言，是一個專有名詞。然而，近年來有許多人將專有名詞及統稱做了混淆，似是而非觀念亟需澄清。舉例來說，台灣有許多大學，包括台灣大學、清華大學、淡江大學...等，但是台灣大學只有一所。並不會有其他台灣的大學群起抗議說大家都是台灣大學，因為台灣大學就是一個專有名詞。再舉例，台灣的南部有很多城市。包括台南、高雄、屏東,，但是叫做台南的城市就只有一個，並不會有其他台灣南部的城市群起抗議說大家都是台南，畢竟，台南就是一個專有名詞。同理，台灣是一個多語社會，有許多語言，包括台語，客語，原民各族語，而台語，就是一個專有名詞。使用台語這個稱呼，就如同上述諸多例子一樣，並沒有排除其他台灣各語言的問題。

在人權中有一個概念是，族群/個人本身有權利依照自己的意願取名，其他族群/個人不應強迫他族/他人使用其非自願使用之稱呼。客家人自己認同母語名稱叫做「客家話」，以及原住民認同自己原本的原住民語稱呼，都受到應有尊重和祝福，台語人自然也該有此權利，更何況強迫其他族群改名，本就是違反人權的惡行。

而台語被使用者本身稱呼為台語，是無庸置疑的。從歷史上來看「台語」這個名稱是自日治時期開始。甚至到戰後一直都還沿用「台語」，例如：台灣省國語推行委員會在 1955 年出版的《臺語方音符號》和國防部在 1958 年出版，由蔣介石故總統任內曾親筆批准的《注音臺語會話》一書，也都稱呼這語言為「台語」。

最後，我們響應並支持文化部長鄭麗君的倡見：「文化實為加法。唯有台灣本土各族群語言攜手突破目前華語霸權的態勢，方能回復台灣多元多語社會的欣欣向榮。」

出席名單:

台語正常化推動聯盟召集人許慧盈
台灣南社副秘書長陳豐惠
台灣公民參與協會理事長何宗勳
台灣北社社長李川信
台灣教師聯盟理事長蕭曉玲
李江却台語文教基金會董事長邱文錫
台灣基督長老教會總會台灣族群母語推行委員會台語組召集人陳金泉
鄭南榕基金會董事鄭清華
鄭南榕基金會執行長涂之堯
台灣女性影像學會理事林珮菁
時代力量智庫副執行長彭盛韶
基進黨副秘書長林春妙
自由台灣黨蔡丁貴
前國大代表楊文彬
牛埔庄講義所委員王淑卿
劉重義教授
林宜靜女士
洪郁翔先生
台北水噹噹姊妹聯盟
打狗囡仔台語共學團
台語路鬥陣行台語共學團
台語囡仔共學團
對囡仔講台語（臉書社團）
牽囡仔ê手行台語ê路（臉書粉絲專頁）

Who did this?

2018-05-26T10:28:00.001+08:00

The working Saturday today began surprisingly. I found all the things in the storage compartment of my scooter were taken out and scattered on the ground, except for the helmet, which was put on the scooter next to mine.

Who did this? A thief? A mischievous kid? I did curse when I parked my scooter yesterday evening because the scooter that was not parked well on the right side was such a parking obstacle. Could it be the case such that the owner was not far from me and accidentally overheard my cursing him/her?

Whoever he/she is, there's nothing easier than opening the compartment whose lock is out of order. I just don't care much for I never put anything valuable in it.

Now I begin to worry, whereas I don't even know what I should do. Should I fix the lock and lock the compartment properly since then? We all know that a standard lock would not stop a practiced thief.

Since my scooter looks quite old and worn, no way would the thief, if he/she is a thief, intentionally target mine. One possibility is that the thief tried to open the compartments of all the scooters in the lane to see whether there were any unlocked and scoured the opened one for anything valuable.

I just hope this won't happen anymore.

改變

2018-04-30T21:46:00.001+08:00

毋免T老師講，我嘛知影家己有較大箍，毋過，我一點仔都無要意啊！

若欲有通揀，一項是像以早瘦瘦、身材實櫼實櫼，毋過一堆毛病；閣一項是變較大箍，毋過風疼、痔瘡、睏袂好勢、起凊瘼...等等一大捾講會了袂盡的症頭攏總好去，免講我嘛甘願大箍無要緊！無遐的病疼佮欠點來觸纏，日子有偌爾仔爽神恁敢知？

爽神甲我愛煩惱家己會親像祖師爺講的「爛瘡一下好，就袂記得疼。」有影，這站仔練功，時間無以早遐長，真害。

毋但身體規个有較好，精神嘛較定著，暗時睏，袂閣驚東驚西矣。

講這个袂驚，我個人捌有三款經歷。

頭一款，是猶信耶穌的時，心內若有驚惶，就祈禱佮唱歌呵咾主，將家己交佇上帝手裡，相信上帝有相佮佇咧，保護照顧，這乎，有時有效，有時陣是家己咧騙家己，無講攏有路用。

閣一款是上蓋bái的向時，啥物都毋信，嘛因為按呢，啥物都毋驚，橫直人肉鹹鹹，欲哺做伊來。咱老實講，這嘛毋是袂驚，這是存範死加鐵齒。

啊若這站仔的毋驚，是有影袂驚矣，檢采是身體較好，心嘛得著安搭，氣有較沉，嘛毋知愛驚啥，這才是正港的平安。

啊這个平安，嘛是予我本底漚kóo的身體好起來的形意拳仝時予我的另外一項禮物。

昨暗，閣聽著L老師舊症頭夯起來咧慒心，啥物工課都袂做得，我想，伊最近睏定著嘛閣佮進前仝款，歹睏去矣！伊信上帝信甲遐迷，毋過數十冬過矣，煞連身體、心理都顧袂好勢。

Tann我共伊的上帝講sa-ió-ná-lah了後，總算揣著「有應效、無嘐潲」的寶貝，聽老師教，家己好好仔練就有改變，實拄實的方法，敢有人嘛欲來試看覓？

『功過並陳』ê嘐潲話

2017-12-12T11:31:00.000+08:00

用聽--ê （聽錄音）

《促進轉型正義條例》三讀通過了後，中國國民黨kap in一寡黨員ê發言，譀其kua to有影。

啥mih發言--leh？針對《促進轉型正義條例》beh消除台灣「威權統治時期」ê象徵，害死tsiok濟人、mā hōo真濟人冤枉坐監ê蔣介石，伊ê烏人、用伊ê名來號名ê學校、路名，lóng beh檢討，中國國民黨ê回應suah是「要求將伊ê功勞kap罪過hē做伙看」，中國國民黨ê立委陳學聖，甚至tī質詢ê時，要求官員舉三件蔣介石爸仔囝bat做ê好代--出-來。

Án-ne講，kám tio̍h？

Tio̍h iah m̄-tio̍h，檢采ài看所在。踮台灣，ē-sái hōo人án-ne畫烏漆白teh替蔣介石掩護，m̄-koh，kap蔣介石仝款實行獨裁統治、刣死kap迫害tsiânn濟人ê Hitler(『希特勒』)，做你去歐洲kā掩護看māi，真濟歐洲國家lóng立法禁止「替Hitler kap Nazi黨圓話」；踮德國，攑Nazi符號、呵咾Hitler kap講Nazi無大屠殺是犯法--ê；事實上，今年8--月，tsiah拄拄有兩个中國遊客，tī德國行Hitler款式ê禮，了後hōo德國警察khok--去。

Lán若照中國國民黨ê講法，德國kap hit寡歐洲國家mā siunn拗蠻--ah！Beh講Hitler，kám m̄免「將伊ê功勞kap罪過hē做伙看」？就親像in一寡人逐不時呵咾姓蔣--ê對台灣有tsit个貢獻koh hit个貢獻，品講伊mā是有做好ê一面，我講，真歹勢，若beh講貢獻，姓蔣--ê koh輸Hitler--leh！啊若Hiter因為做ê歹代極惡，無資格hông替伊講話kā伊呵咾，án-ne，姓蔣--ê是幾分ê螺絲，hia-ê人是憑啥mih beh替伊抹粉？

無，咱下跤就隨來算看Hitler ê功勞按怎？

Hitler peh起ê年代，德國因為第一次大戰戰輸，ài賠天霸王kuân ê賠償金，有偌kuân？因為金額太大--ah，uì簽條約開始算，按算ài還一百冬tsiah還ē得了。無米koh拄著閏月，kan-kan-á二O年代世界經濟崩敗，德國是無錢koh揹重債，人民kap政府lóng艱苦罪kuà，hit-tang-tsūn德國ê失業率做一下tshìng kuân到15%，sì-kuè是有路無厝倒leh餓ê散赤人，規个國家是án-ne淒慘落魄，落魄悽慘。

咱lóng知影Hitler極gâu演講，就是伊鼓勵德國人ài有信心，重頭建立對德國ê光榮感，伊m̄是kan-tann取一支喙niā-niā，伊想步想路減少失業率，自本伊上任進前，有七百萬人無頭路，伊執政了後，失業率降kah beh倚0%，siāng時伊貸款鼓勵人建置家庭，tsit个成果ē-tàng uì伊執政了後德國ê生育率提升看ē出--來，甚至外國mā學伊tsit个政策；tsia-ê掠外，伊投資公共建設，親像：起水庫、舖鐵枝路、tshui-sak觀光等等，事實上，通世界頭一條高速公路，就是Hitler執政ê德國起--起-來--ê，Hitler改善人民ê生活，拚經濟，手腕是一流--ê。

Hitler mā鼓勵、促進科學ê發展，咱現此時lóng iáu teh用ê一寡產品、技術，真濟lóng是Hitler政府透過政策發展--出-來--ê，比論：一般人mā買ē起ê汽車、火箭ê ia̋n-jín，噴射飛行機ê技術等等。科學掠外，伊mā改進德國ê農業生產，tī伊執政ê時代，德國ê小麥、雞卵、肉、牛奶等等ê產量lóng增加著tsiok緊。

咱kám知影，Hitler mā真重視德國人ê健康，伊家己本底是食薰食kài大ê薰猴，結果伊改薰，koh立法tī德國ê真濟公共場所禁薰，ē-sái講是「反薰害」ê先進者，伊ê政府mā支持「食薰對健康有敗害」ê科學研究，tī伊執政ê時，就已經有論文指出食薰ē致癌--ah；歷史文獻指出，Hitler統治ê德國是hit个時代歐洲tshui-sak反對食薰規模上大、上出力ê國家；伊m̄-nā要意人民ê健康，咱koh-khah想bē到--ê，是Hitler mā是動物保護ê先進者，伊ê政府有通過hit个時代上kài嚴格ê動物保護法，mā立法管制拍獵。伊本人食菜，mā鼓勵人mài食肉，koh反對動物實驗。

Hitler mā是勞工權利ê維護者，伊改善德國ê勞動環境，透過政策要求，beh一百冬前ê德國工場m̄-nā環境得著改善，真濟koh建置員工餐廳、歇睏間kap hu-lóo間仔。

仝時，Hitler政府mā是人文藝術ê tshui展者，伊ê政府鼓勵辦音樂會kap藝術展覽，而且大大tshui-sak媒體技術ê進步，尤其是電影，因為Hitler政府ê支持，電影ê技術發展了真緊，親像彩色電影拄出世ê重要技術agfacolor，就是hiàng時發明--ê，hit-tang-tsūn開始用ê吊秤kap攝影機鐵枝路，mā是kah tann to猶原teh使用ê拍片ê手路。

頂kuân是指一寡仔例niā-niā，若beh講Hitler對德國ê付出、對世界文明kap技術ê貢獻，iáu真有thang講--leh，m̄-koh，德國kap別國，kám有khah tsiânn人--ê出來huah講：「Ài將Hitler ê功勞kap罪過hē做伙看」--ê？Mài講啥，in德國無kah一條路號做「Hitler路」，無tshāi kah一个Hitler ê烏人，mā無學校、飛行機場、建築物是用Hitler來號名--ê，是按怎？因為獨裁統治、政治迫害kap屠殺是無thang饒赦ê「反人類罪行」，tsit款人無資格要求「將功補罪」。

啊若Hitler做kah án-ne，to無法度彌補伊ê罪kuà--ah，蔣介石kap蔣經國是算啥mih跤毛？

Lán uì tsia就thang知反對tshui動「轉型正義」真正是豈有此理！Mā隨看ē出來，中國國民黨teh講ê hia-ê話有jua̋-á-nī無國際觀、jua̋-á-nī無水準--ah！

是誰替屠夫說話？

2017-02-27T09:50:00.001+08:00

https://youtu.be/3Jv3zJTVw4s

土地公廟遐的三欉樹仔

2017-02-03T14:15:00.001+08:00

聽錄音

大漢阿嬸講的故事。

土地公廟hia有三欉大欉樹，有人買地欲起農舍，無夠闊，倩人去剉，未曾剉，就有託夢愛伊毋通剉，大漢叔拄著伊，嘛勸伊毋好剉，甘願定金閣疊起去還--人，伊無聽喙，仝款去共樹仔剉掉，後--來，人無爽快，怹某才講隔轉工欲去掛號爾爾，早起送囡仔--出-去，轉--來彼个人已經死佇浴間仔。按呢閣毋煞，尾--仔閣一个外江人，毋知按怎嘛走去剉樹仔遐吊脰，土地公廟遐自按呢變陰，阿嬸怹就無閣去拜。

三欉樹頭挖--起-來了後，有一塊樹頭囥佇阿叔種作遐，過足久到tann都猶無爛，而且阿叔定定聽著奇怪的聲。樹仔剉--去遐嘛不時有怪聲，人講是真歹、蹔著足大聲的跤步聲，無好處理，庄--裡的佛祖講是文--的，無法度--伊，就請戴代王公去處理..... (戴代王公講是武--的。)

大漢阿嬸講細漢的故事

2017-02-03T13:43:00.001+08:00

聽錄音

怹二姊嫁--過的所在愛經過一逝路攏刺竹穢sâ-sâ，伊定定去揣--伊，有一暗經過遐，轉--去共怹阿母講：「阿母，遐有一个人足厲害--呢，彼磚仔牆khōng一逝，頂懸遐狹，伊煞睏佇頂頭，啊攏袂摔--落-來--呢！」

怹阿母聽了，足定著共應講：「袂--啦！彼足厲害，袂跋--落-來--啦！」

過足久，大漢嬸嫁--矣，有一擺轉--去，怹阿母講：「彼逝路真bái，行--過彼竹仔會拗倒--落-來，你若共hānn--過，就共你規个tshuā--起-去。今仔日我過，有影一枝竹仔倒--落-來，我就共講："啊我曷無共你害--矣，你嘛較好心--咧，莫按呢創治--我。" 結果竹仔就徛倒--轉-去--矣。」

阿嬸就問：「按呢...我細漢看--著彼...彼是啥...」

「你講彼我早就袂記--得--矣，若有看著人倒按呢，彼就是彼毋！」

就是細漢驚伊驚，無愛共講明。

對講機廣播電台

2017-02-02T10:28:00.001+08:00

聽錄音

阮都市倯罔倯，上無曾早就捌這个懸樓仔。做人thûn仔的時蹛佇大樓的五樓佮厝尾頂，舊大樓無流籠，毋過有對講機，按呢若送批--的抑是人客來佇樓跤，嘛較好問：「來--者何人？」就是：「咱佗位揣？」啦！

這个對講機真心適，樓頂樓跤離遐爾遠，毋過電話手攑--起-來，就會當講話，而且，伊和敲電話無仝，講電話愛lui，講對講機毋免，就是這點，囡仔耍毋驚大人來罵，都袂開著錢你！

寢開始是提對講機做mooh壁鬼，電話手攑--咧毋出聲，干焦暗靜仔聽樓跤有啥人佇遐，閣有啥人咧練閒仔話；尾仔，受著廣播電台的啟示，開始做播音員，對樓跤放送，有時仔報天氣，有時仔報新聞，有時仔學人電台的主持人話仙敲虎lān，有時仔明明無人點歌，咱嘛是將電話手掛咧phu-lé-ah放錄音帶。囡仔無耐性，講無五分鐘，毋知聽眾按怎想，聽彼爿靜tshiàu-tshiàu，就家己下班，自按呢，台北市中華路二段巷仔內的對講機廣播電台大部份時間是無節目咧放送--的。

嘛好佳哉這个播音員無頂真，無，樓跤行--過的人毋知會按怎想，凡勢感覺這个囡仔真賤，連對講機嘛好tshit-thô，凡勢會憢疑是線路相袚，會通知徛家愛叫人修理也kú-kánn。