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Judging from this article and other news I've been receiving on this subject in recent days, this is one more piece of evidence that Taiwan is serious about supporting languages and topolects other than MSM (Modern Standard Mandarin):

Taiwan university offers raises to encourage faculty to teach in native tongues

Instructors eligible for 50% hourly wage hike for conducting classes in Indigenous languages, Taiwanese, Hakka, Taiwan Sign Language, or Matsu dialect

By George Liao, Taiwan News (1/3/22)

The article is short but sweet:

National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) recently passed a national language development measure that encourages full-time faculty to teach courses in the country's native languages by raising their pay.

These languages include Taiwanese, Hakka, Indigenous tongues, the Matsu dialect, and Taiwan Sign Language, CNA reported.

According to an NTNU press release on Monday (Jan. 3), starting in February, instructors who teach using any of these languages will be eligible for a 50% increase in their hourly wage. If they open new classes, they will be eligible for an additional NT$20,000 (US$720) teaching materials subsidy per class.

NTNU President Wu Cheng-chih (吳正己) said that as the school makes an all-out effort to turn itself into a “bilingual university,” it’s also actively working to revive and normalize the country's native languages.

The university pointed out that these languages are important assets for Taiwan, and it is hoped that the new initiative will be emulated by other schools, groups, and government units across the country, per CNA.

Such a contrast to what's going on in the PRC (see readings below).

 

Suggested readings

• "A museum for the languages of Taiwan" (1/5/20) — with a very long bibliography
• "The importance of being and speaking Taiwanese" (7/21/20)
• "Dialect death" (11/25/16)
• "An Austronesian word for 'betel'" (5/23/21)
• "Tsai Ing-wen's multilingual New Year's greetings" (2/10/21)
• "The geo-, socio-, ethno-, and politicolinguistics of Taiwan" (7/24/18)
• "Hoklo" (9/18/16)
• "Hoklo, part 2" (12/6/21) — with an extensive bibliography
• "Death knell for Cantonese" (12/18/21) — with lengthy bibliography
• "Taiwan's vanishing indigenous languages" (6/9/21)
• "Taiwanese resurgence" (12/24/21)

[Thanks to Mark Swofford]

January 4, 2022 @ 10:36 pm · Filed by Victor Mair under Language and education, Language policy and planning, Language teaching and learning, Topolects

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