Taiwan cares about its indigenous languages
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AntC reports:
Earlier this month, I travelled the length of Taiwan's East Coast by train. Every station is decked out with Indigenous art, with the location's name given in both Mandarin and the applicable Indigenous language (Roman script).
The serious attention paid to local languages AntC observed is corroborated by this article in a major newspaper:
"Taiwan celebrates International Mother Language Day: Education ministry-sponsored events spotlight Taiwan's language diversity", by Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News (Feb. 24, 2025)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Education organized two special events in Taipei on Sunday to promote International Mother Language Day (Feb. 21).
A forum was held at Eslite Spectrum Songyan featuring Tsai Ming-chun (蔡明純), director of Our Theatre (阮劇團), singer-songwriter Leaf Yeh (葉穎), and Indigenous singer Ilid Kaolo, according to an MOE press release. They spoke about their experiences preserving and promoting their mother languages and creating art in their native tongues.
A “mother language” market was set up in the Taipei New Horizon Building, offering interactive language activities, including proverb guessing games and information on Taiwan’s 16 recognized Indigenous tribes. Visitors collected stamps and exchanged them for special souvenirs.
There were also musical and dance performances organized by Water Droplet Creative Ensemble (小水滴創藝樂團) and singer-songwriter Yeh Yu-ting (葉鈺渟). The performances celebrated Taiwan’s linguistic diversity.
This year, the MOE partnered with public libraries and affiliated institutions around Taiwan to hold multilingual activities from February onwards, including, local language guided tours, storytelling sessions, and exhibitions and book fairs. Through these initiatives, the ministry aims to deepen the public’s appreciation for Taiwan’s languages and ensure they will be passed down to future generations.
VHM: Highly admirable!
Selected readings
- "Taiwan Railways Administration logo" (12/30/18) — see the comments for the announcement of train stations in various languages
- "Indigenous languages of Taiwan" (6/14/23)
- "Austronesian languages of Taiwan" (6/2/23)
- "A museum for the languages of Taiwan" (1/5/20)
- "Diversification of Proto-Austronesian" (2/26/23)
- "An Austronesian word for 'betel'" (5/23/21)
- "Taiwan's vanishing indigenous languages" (6/9/21)
- "Documenting and Revitalizing Austronesian Languages: free online book", Pinyin News (4/30/08)