Taiwanese Identity: May 2015

Monday, May 18, 2015

Taiwanese (Hoklo) Language Books by date of publication

1566, 1589, 1600 Hokkien Language Works from the Manila, Philippines reprinted with English Commentary in The Classic Theatre and Art Songs of South Fukien -- by Piet Van Der Loon 1992

1913 The Dictionary of the Amoy Vernacular: Spoken thoughout the Prefectures of Chin-chiu, Chiang-chiu and Formosa (Taiwan) -- Kam Uî-lîm (Rev. William Campbell)
1916 (NT), 1932 (OT) Sin-Kū-Iok ê Sèng-keng -- Translation Edited by Thomas Barclay (Pa-khek-lé )
1924 Sun-tāi ê Lâi-le̍k kap I ê Su-siúⁿ -- Kim-chíⁿ Ûi-i-lông (tù), Gô• Khó-chiok (hoan-e̍k)
1925 Cha̍p-hāng Koán-kiàn -- Chhòa Pôe-hóe (tù)
1927 Thian-lō• Chí-bêng -- Iûⁿ Kek-hui (Dr. Griffith John) (tù)
1937 Tī Chú ê Kha-thâu-u ē -- Sat-hu Sun-tāi (tù), Chiu Bûn-tia̍t (e̍k) [translation of At the Master's Feet - by Sadhu Sundar Singh]
1949 Pôe-chhan-chía Kàu-pán -- Gô• Chheng-ek

1950 Siōng-tè Siáⁿ-sū Ēng Bú-tì (biographical sketch of D.L. Moody) -- Iûⁿ Chiau-gī

1951 Sìn-gióng Seng-oa̍h ê Pêng-iú: Pe̍h-oē-jī Tho̍k-pún, Hàn-bûn Chū-si̍p-su -- Lîm Chài-thiam
1951 Ji̍t-siông ê Seng-oa̍h -- Sèng-keng Ìn-chēng-hōe
1951 Saⁿ-kap bat Jī bat Tō-lí -- Ruth Nowack
1952 Thoân Chóng Pò•-tō-chi̍p -- Tâi-oân Thoân-kàu-su Chóng-hōe
1953 Sió Pêng-iú Koa Chi̍p -- 白勵志

1954 Âng Lô-pek - Tâi-oân Kàu-hōe Kong-pò-siā

1954 Chhì-á-lāi ê Pek-ha̍p-hoe -- Lōa Jîn-seng

1954 Pi̍t Siâ Kui Chèng -- Hô Hi-jîn
1955 Ki-tok-tô• kap Tâi-oân Koàn-sio̍k -- Tâi-oân Kàu-hōe Kong-pò Siā
1955 Hoâi-tek-hui ê Toān-kì -- Lōa Jîn-seng

1950's I Chhōa In Chhut -- Tâi-oân Kàu-hōe Kong-pò Siā

1957 Pù-lâng kap Lia̍p-sat-lō• -- N̂g Hoâi-un

1957 Bê-lō• ê Lâng -- N̂g Hoâi-un

1958 Múi-ji̍t ê Kî-tó -- Tâi-oân Kàu-hōe Kong-pò Siā

1959 Lêng-bi̍t -- Bo̍k An-sìn, Iûⁿ Se̍k-lîm
1960 Pe̍h-ōe-jī Sin Khò-pún -- Tân Kong-hui (tù)
1960 Tō-lí Kò•-su Chi̍p (Stories for Sermons and Catechetical Instructions) - Maryknoll Taichung Language School
1960 Khó-ài ê Siû-jîn -- Lōa Jîn-seng
1960 Jî-tông Kò•-sū Chi̍p -- Tân Kong-hui
1961 Oē-su-bín-su-tek Sió Kàu-lí Būn-tap (Westminster Shorter Catechism) -- translated by N̂g Chú-gī
1961 Kám-tōng ê Kò•-sū -- Tâi-oân Soan-tō-siā
1962 Ki-tok-kàu Iàu-lí Būn-tap (Heidelberg Catechism) -- translated by Tâi-oân Soan-tō-siā
1962 Chin-tō Būn-tap - Tâi-oân Kàu-hōe Kong-pò Siā
1963 Tâi-gí Kò•-sū Chi̍p -- Clarence Engler, Taichung Catholic Diocesan Centerhouse
1963 Lâm Tâi Kàu-hōe-sú -- Iûⁿ Sū-ióng
1963 An Introduction to Chinese Characters in Taiwanese -- Tân Siā Lē-eng
1964 Sìn-gióng Uí-jîn Lia̍t-toān -- Tâi-oân Kàu-hōe Kong-pò Siā
1967 Kî-tó Chhiú-Chheh: Ūi-tio̍h Kàu-hōe kap Sè-kài -- Sin Sè-kī Soan-kàu Ūn-tōng Liân-lo̍k Tiong-sim
1968   Tòe Tsú ê Lâng ū Hēng-hok: Bông- jîn Kiàn-chèng-chi̍p -- Ko Tiong-hok
1992 Tâi-gí Sin Koa -- Elim Christian Bookstore
1994 Kàu-hōe ê Lé-pài kap Sèng Lé-tián -- Tâi-oân Ki-tok Tiúⁿ-ló Kàu-hōe Sìn-gióng kap Kàu-chè Uí-oân-hōe
1996   Lear Ông -- William Shakespeare (translated into Taiwanese by Tēⁿ Hūi-hun of  5% Tâi-e̍k Kè-oē)
1996   Mī-hún-chhiúⁿ ê Kúi-á -- Harriet Beecher Stowe (translated into Taiwanese by TaiBunun of 5% Tâi-e̍k Kè-oē)
1996   Opera Lāi ê Mô•-sîn-á (Phantom of the Opera) -- Jennifer Bassett (translated into Taiwanese by Loonng of 5% Tâi-e̍k Kè-oē)
1996   Pù-hō•-lâng ê Le̍k-sú -- Loā Hô (translated into Taiwanese by Chhoà Sêng-ûi of 5% Tâi-e̍k Kè-oē)
1997   Ióng-kám ê Aukele -- Vivian L. Thompson (translated into Taiwanese by TaiBunun of 5% Tâi-e̍k Kè-oē)
2000   Khòaⁿ Siáⁿ? -- Abon of 5% Tâi-e̍k Kè-oē
2005   A-hōng-î ê Gō• Tō• ê Khong-kan -- A-hōng (illustrated by Sherry Thompson)
2006 Hong-bô• Kam-chôaⁿ Streams in the Desert -- Mrs. Charles E. Cowman (translated into Taiwanese by Tân Chheng-chùn)
2007 Sè-kài Sin Sèng-si -- The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
2007 Sin-iok Sèng-Keng: Hiān-tāi Tâi-gú -- The Bible Society of Taiwan
2010 Spoken Hokkien -- Meili Fang
2011   Jī-khòng-it-khòng Tâi-oân Ki-tok Tiúⁿ-ló Kàu-hōe Tâi-oân Kok-sī Hōe-gī Soan-giân The Declaration of the 2010 Conference on Taiwan's National Fate - The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (Also includes translations in Hakka, Turuku, Amis, Paiwan, Tayal, Bunun, Drekay, Cou, Pinuyumayan, Kavalan, Sakizaya, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, English, German, French, Portuguese, Spanish)
2013   Tâi-oân Sio̍k-gí Sin-gán-kong -- Tân Su-chiang
2013 Tâi-gú Pe̍h-ōe-jī Sin Kàu-kho-su -- Tīⁿ Jî-gio̍k

Date Unknown -- Method of Romanization -- Maryknoll Language Service Center

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

How to bring back a language

As you can see from this article, school is the key.

In Sweden, there was a language that was considered a dialect of Swedish but actually was not understandable to those who spoke Swedish. Finally, they decided to classify it as a language and seek to preserve it. Their solution: a preschool where the language is used. And for those who attend, the language will continue to be used as a medium of instruction until the end of high school.

Taiwan's Austronesian language must have the same treatment to survive -- the language itself must be used as a medium of instruction rather than just have a class using Mandarin to teach the language.

And many of Taiwan's Austronesian languages are in even more danger than this language in Sweden, Elfdalian, which is close to Old Norse.

The language was probably able to survive so long because of the isolation of the town that spoke it. In Taiwan, ever since the Japanese forced many of the Austronesian tribes down from the mountains, they have lost that preservation that isolation brings. Further, every day brings further encroachment from non-Austronesians on Taiwan's east coast where the majority of the Austronesian peoples that still remain distinct live. These languages will not be preserved through isolation. And since the government has forced Mandarin on these peoples, the children grow up hardly speaking their mother tongue at all.

Another factor that could help the language is to pass land covenant laws where in designated Austronesian areas, land ownership can only be held by those who speak the language of the particular Austronesian tribe.

Hoklo Taiwanese Word of the Day

Hoklo Taiwanese Word for the Day:

• chhôan-piān-piān

used in the sentence: Saⁿ-ê hong-thai chò-hóe lâi, góa kā sok-si̍t-mī kā be̍h-á-chiú chhôan-piān-piān.

• There is a lot of uncertainty in Taiwan because of the KMT-controlled government's aims at forcing through ECFA and its attendant binding Taiwan closer to authoritarian China.

Taiwanese has many words related to uncertainty:

There are different levels of uncertainty.

To say, "possibly," one might say khó-lêng or tāi-khài. "Perhaps" it is better to use kiám-chhái. To express a greater degree of uncertainty, as in "maybe," one says bô tiāⁿ-tio̍h or bô tek-khak.

If you are certain that something is not possible, use bô khó-lêng. Most certainly not: pèng m̄-sī.

Possibly not: bô it-tēng.

Certainly: it-tēng, tek-khak, tong-jiân.

Certain: it-tēng, khak-si̍t.

To express an unspecificied-- Tī bó͘ chi̍t ê soaⁿ-téng... "In a certain mountain..." (src: Maryknoll)

One uses bó͘, "certain; particular," to particularize a mountain without specifically naming which one. Notice that in English the word "certain" has a broader range of meanings whereas Taiwanese uses distinct words.

• Unfortunately, because the R.O.C. government-in-exile suppresses the use of Taiwanese and other non-Mandarin languages in public schools in Taiwan, there is not much opportunity to learn the vocabulary of the non-Mandarin languages associated with an academic setting. Furthermore, few essay or papers in these languages have ever been written by students. The normal editing processes are never experienced. The following Taiwanese expressions describe editing practices.

* Underline this sentence = "kā chit kú ê ē-bīn oē sûn"

oē = draw ; sûn = line ; ē-bīn = underneath

[Notice the homonym: the noun oē 話 in "kú-oē" meaning speech/word and the verb oē 畫 meaning draw/sketch. These two homonyms are obviously different in their Han characters. But actually in the romanization, one has very little trouble differentiating them because of their distinct parts of speech and the noun often being associated in a compound word and the verb often being associated with an object -- e.g. kú-oē "sentence" vs. oē tô͘ "draw a picture" ]

* Circle this sentence = "Kā chit kú-oē kho͘--khit-lâi." or "Kā chit kú-oē kho͘ kho͘-á"

Kho͘ is a verb that means "to circle" ; kho͘-á is the noun that means "a circle" -- just as in English one can say: "Circle this sentence." or "Circle a circle around this sentence." Or to get more fancy you could translate it as "Circumscribe a circle..."

* If the word or phrase is really poorly written, sometimes you should just strike it out. Taiwanese is quite vivid in the way to say that. Jack-the-Ripper fashion, literally, you say "kill/murder/slash that sentence!" = "Kā hit kú-oē thâi-tiāu." or "murder that word..." = "Kā hit jī thâi-tiāu." This word "thâi," meaning kill/murder/slash w/knife, is also what someone who is good at bargaining can do: Kā i thâi kè-siàu. "Cut/kill the price."

• Poa̍h-kiáu 賭博 means "gambling." In the fall of 2009 there was a referendum being held in Phêⁿ-ô͘ (Penghu or the Pescadores) on whether or not to allow gambling casinos ( kiáu-keng ). Unfortunately, gambling profits are often controlled by organized crime ( o͘-siā-hōe ) and corrupt government officials ( tham-ù ê chèng-hú ). Where you find casinos you also find drugs ( to̍k-phín ), violence ( po̍k-le̍k ), sexual crimes ( sek-chêng ), and human trafficking ( jîn-kháu ê bé-bē) where the victims are controlled with drugs ( iōng to̍k-phín khòng-chè in ). A few people or mafia organizations can make huge profits off gambling, but for most residents, there is no benefit ( hó-chhù ) but rather an accumulation of societal problems -- particularly addiction in its various forms.

Gambling proponents often use spin ( hó-thiaⁿ-oē ) to trick people (kā lâng phiàn--khì).

· Taiwanese still has the saying with variations that basically translate as "An Austronesian Grandmother and a Hoklo Grandfather" --- For example,

"Ū tn̂g soaⁿ-kong, bô Tn̂g-soaⁿ-má." -- "Have a Han grandfather, but no Han grandmother..." With that intermarriage of Austronesian and Han that makes up today's Taiwanese people, I thought it would be interesting to share some marriage and kinship related terms:

Chheⁿ-ḿ 生姆 or originally written 青姆 means a son or daughter's mother-in-law. Mandarin uses a different word: 親家母

Chhin-chiâⁿ 親情 relative by marriage, in-laws. Mandarin uses a different word: 親戚

· Expression: "... chhin-chhiūⁿ teh ùn tāu-iû." Ùn means "to dip." Tāu-iû 豆油 is "soy sauce." Notice that the Taiwanese word is different from the Mandarin: 醬油ㄐㄧㄤˋㄧㄡˊ. Taiwanese uses this character 醬 pronounced chiùⁿ to mean "pickled" or "canned" as in chiùⁿ-chhài 醬菜 "pickled/canned vegetables."

This expression "teh ùn tāu-iû" is used in social circumstances to describe very short visits. If someone "drops by" and then leaves, it is like dipping food in soy sauce.

This expression is also very appropriate to describe the attitude of the Chinese Nationalists of Chiang Kai-shek's regime. They treated Taiwan as a temporary place from which they would fight back to China. They spoke of winning back China within three years after fleeing as refugees to Taiwan in 1949. So you can notice today that all the beautiful architecture is mainly from the Japanese era (pre-1945). The KMT regime put up many hasty structures, allowed squatter shack communities of former soldiers to take over many of the parks in the cities, and generally allow industry to heavily pollute the environment and degrade the landscape because they thought of Taiwan mainly as a resource to be exploited before heading back to China.

· hān-chè 限制 suppress

kìm-chí 禁止 forbid {The Korean word 금치 "kum-chi" shows a consonant-vowel homology with Taiwanese but not with Mandarin}

These two words are what the colonialist KMT Chinese Nationalist Party and the Japanese empire before them in Taiwan did in an attempt to destroy Taiwan's native languages.

• "developed baby fat from nursing" hàng-leng

When a nursing infant grows well with lots of fat rolls, one does not call the infant the common words for "fat" such as pûi-ê or tōa-kho͘-ê. Taiwanese has this special word hàng-leng for "baby fat." If you say that about a baby, the mother will be very delighted to receive the complement. Incidentally, the word tōa-kho͘ literally means "large circumference" and kho͘ specifically refers to the metal bands that circle around the old wooden buckets and hold the pieces of wood together. (Or think of whiskey barrels.)

• "how much?"

lōa-chē 若多 {The literary pronunciation (JI)of 若 is Jio̍k and 多 is To}; Mandarin uses a different word -- 多少 ( ㄉㄨㄛㄕㄠˇ)

In Taiwan, you can still sometimes bargain for things you buy. But unlike Thailand, it is usually pretty standardized so that people are not automatically marking up the price 400 percent because you are a foreigner. So even if you do not bargain, you can get a decent price in Taiwan.

Source: http://www.taiwanchurch.org/taibun/eng-tai.html

Taiwanese Identity

Monday, May 18, 2015

Taiwanese (Hoklo) Language Books by date of publication

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

How to bring back a language

Monday, May 4, 2015

In the realm of culture and music, a Taiwanese conductor shines on the international stage

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