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Indigenous languages
need a new home base
By Lu Shih-hsiang ¿c¥@²»
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (§d§B¶¯) raised quite
a storm when he questioned Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai
Ing-wen¡¦s (½²^¤å) credentials as a ¡§Hakka girl¡¨ on the grounds that she doesn¡¦t
speak the Hakka language fluently.
The KMT governed Taiwan for decades after the end of World War II, during which
time it suppressed Taiwanese people¡¦s native languages more fiercely than the
preceding Japanese colonial government ever did. Japanese colonial rule lasted
for 50 years, but the various languages of Taiwan managed to survive. They did
not fare so well in the post-war years.
The UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization has classified a number
of Taiwanese indigenous languages as endangered. Someone familiar with the
situation has described Taiwan¡¦s Aboriginal languages as being close to
extinction, Hakka as being in the intensive care unit and Hoklo as being in the
accident and emergency ward.
Since Wu, who is himself a Hakka, has long held senior positions in the KMT, he
could be thought of as an accomplice in the authorities¡¦ suppression of native
languages. That would make him partly responsible for the fact that many people
cannot speak their mother tongues, yet he has the gall to criticize Tsai for not
speaking Hakka.
The KMT government came from outside Taiwan to take control. Its policy of
suppressing Taiwan¡¦s native languages has done a great deal of harm. Since the
KMT favored Mandarin Chinese as the sole ¡§national language,¡¨ other languages
spoken in Taiwan were seen as ¡§dialects,¡¨ so authorities did not allow them to
be spoken in schools or used in news media and official departments. Under this
roughshod policy, authorities tried to inculcate in people¡¦s minds the idea that
speaking Mandarin was the height of refinement. As a result, mother tongues are
now in a very precarious state.
Unfortunately the damage done did not end with the arrival of democracy.
Children who were deprived their mother language in schools have now grown up to
have families of their own, so the following generation can hardly speak their
mother tongues at all. These days, many grandparents can only communicate with
their children and grandchildren by speaking Mandarin.
Languages are an important form of cultural heritage. They are storehouses of
communities¡¦ experience and wisdom about life, culture, history and nature. They
are the means by which people record and exchange knowledge. The coexistence of
many different languages enables the expression of different communities¡¦ varied
ways of thinking. For the individual, proficiency in a number of languages,
whether they be a person¡¦s mother tongue or a foreign one, enables the speaker
to understand and appreciate different cultures and communities. Multilingualism
helps people become more broadminded, giving them a competitive edge in the
workplace.
Until the dominance of Mandarin as the sole ¡§national language¡¨ is brought to an
end, the only way to revive mother tongues is to start in the family home. The
sons and daughters of Taiwanese who have emigrated to the US, Canada and other
countries often speak their mother tongues better than their contemporaries in
Taiwan. This is the result of speaking their mother language at home.
The most basic requirement for the survival of Taiwan¡¦s languages is for
Taiwanese to put this into practice. When speaking our mother languages, we
should use them in an elegant and classical way. We mustn¡¦t give in to those who
want to see languages die off. As long as we preserve our mother tongues, they
will serve to pass on knowledge and to broaden people¡¦s horizons.
Lu Shih-hsiang is an adviser to the Taipei Times.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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