Alarming loss of language among Taiwan's younger generation.

On the Writing Taiwan's Languages blog, "Mr. Biko Lang" raised a concern about the loss of Taiwanese in the younger generation even in south Taiwan. Remember, this is Taiwanese, the strongest of the non-Mandarin languages. If this one is being gradually lost, all of the other languages -- Hakka, and the Austronesian languages are disappearing even faster.

Following is an excerpt of the comment and a response from Aì Tâi-oân.

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Excerpts from blogger Dan's comments:

I am worried. I live in South Taiwan. ... But most of the daily speakers are people over the age of 40, and more like around age 50. Below this age, the popularity of speaking Taiwanese drops off precipitously.

The kids at elementary school, i sometimes visit the Taiwanese one hour a week classes with my friend Teacher Hung, the kids for the most part speak Chinese 24/7.......maybe just 10 percent of the kids age 5 - 15 can speak Taiwanese now although more can HEAR IT when their parents or grandparents speak it. However, from my viewpoint on the ground as a non-PHD, i see a dyying language, like Yiddish was for the Jews of Europe who immigrated to America in the 1920s....their grandkids cannot speak Yiddish anymore and almost nobody writes or reads Yiddish in the USA anymore or Europe. It is a dead language.

I worry this will happen to Taiwanese too..... only academics and PHDS will continue to write in hoklo and read it.....BUT Hoklo will live on as a popular langauge on TV shows and in daily life, but it will lost ALOT with each generation and by the year 2100, i worry that Taiwanese will also be a dead language. with just a few choice words used in daily like like BUSASA and AMAH and AKONG and ABEI and AUTOBAI and ASAN and JABA BUREAI and JABA and maybe just 100 words. I just worry. I hope i am wrong.

posted by Mr Biko Lang and thanks, LO LAT

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Aì Tâi-oân said...
Here are some practical suggestions that can all play a part:

Begin studying and using the language: suggestion: Maryknoll Language Institute

http://taiwan-id.blogspot.com/2009/07/finding-that-is-better-to-speak-more.html

Start posting updates on facebook, or other social media that have Taiwanese:
http://taiwan-id.blogspot.com/2010/09/posts-from-facebook-that-show-taiwanese.html

Other suggestions:

-------------------------
http://taiwan-id.blogspot.com/2009/04/ethnic-equality-can-only-come-through.html

http://taiwan-id.blogspot.com/2009/03/remedying-ignorance-taiwans-ecological.html

http://taiwan-id.blogspot.com/2009/02/international-mother-tongue-day.html

http://taiwan-id.blogspot.com/2008/11/high-and-rich-culture-in-non-mandarin.html

http://taiwan-id.blogspot.com/2008/07/dismissed-as-dialects.html

Mandarin infecting even cultures high in the mountains

Notice that though the Tayal language is used, the children are still being taught in Mandarin.

Children should be primarily taught in their mother tongue and secondarily taught in a foreign language used for commerce such as Mandarin.

Non-Chinese Epic Movie rooted in Taiwan's history

Freddy Lim on Hoklo Taiwanese Language

我反對把台語(Holo話)稱為閩南語

Freddy. 2011/05/27

語言是一直不斷發展、變化的，台語(另一種在地的稱呼是holo話)雖然源自福建南部(閩南語)，但在台灣在地化、多元發展，融合平埔族與日語，早已不等於閩南語。要表現在地語言的獨特性，本來就該以在地稱呼來定名，用這個語言源自哪裡來定名，根本就是要消滅該語言的歷史脈絡與在地特性。



若因為台語源自福建南部就稱呼台語為閩南語，難道要稱呼英語為西日耳曼語？稱呼丹麥語、瑞典語、挪威語為北日耳曼語？或統稱為斯堪地那維亞語，而忽略這三種語言的在地個性與特色？



當然，如果因為台灣有廿幾種語言，慣稱holo話為台語恐打壓其他語言，這我同意，且稱呼其為holo語，本來就是自然發展出來的台灣在地稱呼，存在已久。只是與其爭辯holo語應寫作河洛語、鶴佬語還是福佬語，莫衷一是，我選擇直接寫為holo語。當然，這些討論都跟「閩南語」無關。



提醒抱持這個思維而不願把holo話稱為台語的朋友，也應該相同標準，避免稱呼Mandarin(北京官話)為中國話、中國語或中文(Chinese)，因為在中國(中華人民共和國)有千百種語言，獨稱Mandarin為中文也有打壓其他語言之嫌，請不要再稱Mandarin為中文或Chinese。



同樣的，也不該稱呼Mandarin(北京官話)為國語，因為不管在中國、台灣或新加坡，這些常用Mandarin的國家，也都還有很多種語言，稱呼Mandarin為國語，一樣是打壓其他語言。

--
Email: info@FreddyLim.com
Blog: www.FreddyLim.com

族群母語vs外來國語

台灣時報 2011/5/29

頭家心聲 : 族群母語vs外來國語　　鄭兒玉

　族群母語 vs 外來國語　　 ◆鄭兒玉

　族群母語：人類是先有語言，到在五千年前，才用圖畫記號開始記錄。在記錄才能看出其表達方式，特別於該語言的文章構造（syntax），如是動詞的位置，露出該民族／族群的特有無二（unique）之思考方法。如此母語是人類的自我肯定之第一工具。因此母語成做民族／族群的象徵，族人的歸屬記號。

　外來國語：百年來，起初日本、後來蔣介石的中國國民黨，到今都持有同一政策，就是以外來「國語」消滅母親台灣的象徵－母語。其目標明顯，日本要台灣人「皇民化」、國民黨欲台灣人「大中華化」。

　日治時代台灣作家所寫的為數不少之日文「台灣文學」，最近在東京用「日本殖民地台灣文學選集」之冊名出版。現今日本已經無統治台灣，為何仍用「殖民地」之銜頭？理由簡單，因為是用當時的台灣人「國語」之思考方式所寫的產品，照第三人稱現在的文法原則，其作品永久說自己是屬於日本文學。

　受國民黨完整的中文教育之學者、作家，自然慣勢用中國話思考書寫，就對母語誤覺無文化價值，沒認同其存在的必要。台灣若有人認同蔣介石所強迫的語言做唯一之「國語」， 參與中國人建設大中華文化，這是個人自由。總是伊（in）無理由參與加害者，幫助中國國民黨政權圖消滅台灣大小族群的象徵－母語。這不只是人權問題，寧可是違反人道。

　聯合國文教組織： 因語言為人類創出無價的各樣文化資產出來，聯合國文教組0織（UNESCO）不但要保存所有語言，由二○○○年起特設「世界母語日」（World Mother Tongue Day）來支持弱勢族群母語創作文化貢獻。這暗示天下無人能講，何種語言沒能力發展文化出來。總是弱勢母語若不由自己族人，特別是經其知識人士來維護，其發展只有靠文教組織是不可能的。

 （作者為台南神學院榮譽教授）

SRC: Taiwan Times

Bunun Indigenous Writing System

David on Formosa has a good blog post on his visit to the Bunun community of Kalibuan (Wangxiang, 望鄉部落). In it he mentions that the Bunun had developed their own writing system. You can see an example of this writing system by clicking on the link to a good PDF document on the Bunun. However it seems that the Bunun did not write down their entire language but rather devised a notation system to mark their lunar calendar.
Src: formosatribal.com

(Does anyone have pictures of original documents or artifacts or stone carvings with this calendar? We'd like to get a copy rather than only have the above reproduced versions.)

Development of indigenous writing systems can be very important for national identity. The Koreans developed Hangul. The Vietnamese specifically chose to use a Latin script instead of Chinese characters in order to keep a distinction between Vietnam and China. China has coveted this land to the south but lost a war with the Vietnamese and so China was not able to annex Vietnam.

The Manchu peoples had their own writing system, traces of which can be found in carved inscriptions of west Taiwan from the time of Manchu empire outposts on Taiwan. However, as the Manchu people began shifting to Chinese characters, they lost a key cultural distinction and have not been separate from China since then.

Many factors contribute to a distinct identity. Language is one. Written script can be another. For Taiwan to free itself from the vise grip of its covetous neighbor and her tentacles already extended into Taiwan society, we must employ every means possible.

Elevating all the languages of Taiwan to a level of national respect, using them in schools, and adopting a romanized or indigenous scripts in the place of Chinese characters can all help to remove traces of the neo-colonialist/imperialist impositions of Chiang Kai-shek and his followers.

A new Paiwan musical theater:

米靈岸全球首演 Miling'an's World Premiere

www.milingan.org

Introductory Video米靈岸預告


Get your tickets online here.

Here is some information from the artistic director:


Ticketing Contact票務聯絡人：Kay余筱蓉小姐 電話(02)2910-2305 傳真(02)2916-0049 信箱：hitai1230@gmail.com 0930-047-609


親愛的朋友，我是米靈岸音樂劇場的藝術總監 胡健。


除夕夜，籌備了兩年的「米靈岸音樂劇場」正式在兩廳院上網售票。

米靈岸是個心願，守護人類與古老生命源頭的連結，在全球自然災變的此時，聽聽「米靈岸」，也許我們會在仍然有靈力傾聽大自然生命脈動的古老文明裡，找到「出口」。

「米靈岸」排灣語意：「口傳神話故事」之意。在這個星球上，幾乎所有原住民的文化裡，都沒有文字，一切來自遠古源頭的生命教育傳承都靠「米靈岸」，一種結合語言、吟唱、儀式性的神秘故事。

「米靈岸音樂劇場」是我們探索到的一個無語言、文化隔閡的說故事手法。價值過千萬的5.1環繞音響工程，完美地詮釋來自古大武山頂天雷的轟天憾地。

尋找「米靈岸」的路，我走了十六年，芮斯走了一輩子。

今年只有一個心願：「米靈岸，座無虛席」。

「米靈岸音樂劇場」4月15~17在華山文化園區共演4場。衷心地希望您可以用實質的購票行動來支持我們，並把米靈岸分享給身邊的親朋好友。



祝賀喜樂平安！



Dear Friends:



This is Allia Hu, the producer and artistic director of Miling’an Musical Theater(www.milingan.org ).



Miling’an is a Grand National Musical Theatre work supported by the National and Culture Art Foundation (www.ncafroc.org.tw ) of Taiwan. The world premiere will be done on April 15~17, 2011 at Huashan Creative Park in Tapei.


Milingan is a brilliant work combining the very ceremonial energy from a living ancient civilization call PAIWAN and the various non-proscenium creative ideas. We are especially seeking for exciting natural environment like forest, ruins…etc, where we can have very strong and close interaction with both the participants (audience) and the domestic civilization.

The above are some links to the website and preview of the production :



Your sincerely,



胡健 (Allia Hu)



米靈岸音樂劇場(Miling'an) 藝術總監 (Artistic Director)

Cell: 886-933236035 / Tel: 886-2-29102305