Wiki: Map of highland tribes

Reviving Ethnic Diversity:

Preserving Taiwan’s Austronesian[1] Aboriginal Languages

“Language is much more than collections of words with meaning that can be translated – they embody whole perspectives on meaning which are not readily capable of translation, and they are a key resource for understanding culture.”

“Taiwan has been colonized by the Spanish (1626-1642), the Dutch (1624-1662), Ming Dynasty loyalist Koxinga (1662-1683), the Ching Dynasty (1663-1895), the Japanese (1895-1945), and the Republic of China (1945 to the present).”[2] As a result Taiwan’s Austronesian Aboriginal population have suffered injustice, hardship, subjugation, and forced cultural assimilation. Today they represent less than two percent of Taiwan’s 22 million people, a similar proportion to that of Canada (3%) and Australia (1.8%).[3]

The Aboriginal population was divided, by colonisers, for convenience, into two groups the Pingpu (plains) people and Kaoshan (mountain) people.[4] These two groups were further divided into nineteen groups, twelve of which are now officially recognised by the Taiwanese government. The colonial classifications are rejected by some and are just one of many issues contested by the island’s 400,000 Aboriginal people in their fight to reassert their cultural identity.[5]

Today their cultural loss is exacerbated by widespread societal discrimination that assists in maintaining inequities in employment and education. “Household incomes of Taiwanese Aboriginal peoples are less than 40 percent of the national average and Aboriginal unemployment is significantly higher than the national average.”[6]

Due to forced relocations of aboriginal communities and decades of forced cultural assimilation the indigenous cultures and languages of Taiwan are seriously endangered. “A recent survey found only 10 percent of Aboriginal children are fluent in their respective Native languages, a particularly worrying fact given the large number of Aboriginal languages, especially those of the plains groups, that are either extinct or severely endangered.” [7]

Wiki: Rukai Chief

Present day causes for the decline include pressure on children, from parents, to adopt the language of the dominant Han culture, or a foreign language, in order to assist them in adapting to mainstream society. Among Taiwanese aboriginals there is no perceived competitive advantage in indigenous languages; they come a distant fourth after Mandarin, Ho-lo[8] and/or English. This combined with widespread societal discrimination has led younger generations to abandon their native tongues. The languages have also been susceptible to decline because none of Taiwan’s Aboriginals had a written language.[9]

Social change

“The starting point for cultural recovery is clear cultural identity.”[10] Language recovery is an essential part of this process. If Taiwan’s aboriginal population is to become an empowered part of modern day Taiwan they must first revive their language, cultural roots and sense of community.

If cultural identity can be asserted it can be used as the basis for learning about all aspects of cultural heritage such as; environmental knowledge, land management practices, dance, traditional medicines, traditional foods, traditional building practices and traditional art and crafts.

The self confidence gained through the assertion of cultural identity can also be used to gain political access which is “important both because it is the basis of a group’s sense of worth and effectiveness and because it affects its economic prospects”[11]. It also strengthens a group’s ability to defend itself against injustice.

Through language recovery the disadvantaged groups can begin to “shed their inferiority complexes, regain their self-esteem, and inject their respective cultural heritages with a new vitality.”[12] In Taiwan’s case, the newly revived ethnic diversity can help ease ethnic tensions in order to focus on the national goal of self-determination and international recognition.

Who would benefit?

Who would benefit from preserving Taiwan’s Austronesian Aboriginal languages is a fascinating question in terms of Taiwan’s fight for self determination and international recognition. It is clear that the indigenous populations would benefit from a cultural resurgence after centuries of oppression. In addition to this the nation also benefits from a more inclusive national identity and because it is Austronesian heritage that now serves the “Taiwanese as a cultural and racial emblem of self-identity to distinguish them from the Chinese mainland.”[13]

Institutional and other arrangements to facilitate social change

1. Teaching of the vernacular languages should be started in kindergarten. The concept should be the same as the successful Kohango Reo (language nests) set up to save Maori language in New Zealand, in 1982.[14] Supporters of initiatives such as these argue that “vernacular languages should be used in the teaching of the national language… and other subjects until students’ command of Mandarin is good enough to use it as a medium of instruction.”[15] Studies by UNESCO have found that “the mother tongue was the best language for literacy”[16] and recommended “that the use of mother tongue in education be extended to as late a stage as possible.”[17] It was also proven “that the teaching of a mother tongue in the way proposed will not slow down students’ acquisition of a national language.”[18]

2. Adapt the current education system, at all levels, to become more multicultural. This would begin changing the ingrained views about minorities in Taiwan and foster a more inclusive society.

3. Require that all national level exams, i.e. civil service exams, have an optional local/indigenous language component. This would provide a competitive advantage for indigenous languages. It would also require the Examination Yuan to hire/come in contact with aboriginal people. (The Examination Yuan is considered by many to be a very conservative bureaucracy run by ‘Mandarin monoglots’ from the previous regime.)

4. Pass the Linguistic Equality Law. The bill is designed to give all native languages equal legal status with Mandarin Chinese.[19]

Update September 2008: The Linguistic Equality Law has yet to be passed. It was drafted in 2004.

5. Preserve indigenous languages by promoting written versions of them employing some form of phonetic script.[20]

6. Promote autonomous development of aboriginal languages. Include incentives for aboriginal parents to teach the language at home. Provide resources relating to native culture, language and history.

7. Cultural exchanges between ethnic groups should be encouraged at all levels. Ethnic and linguistic diversity should be promoted as a national asset.

8. All forms of media should be used to raise the profile of indigenous languages. To enable indigenous people to reassert their cultural identity, on their on terms, they should be encouraged to produce their own programs. Music production should also be encouraged.

9. Widen political access for indigenous people. Raise awareness among indigenous people about the need to be politically active in order to protect their culture and language, and improve educational and economic prospects.

Related stories: Taiwan’s first Aboriginal ambassador

Found a link at David on Formosa to Documenting and Revitalizing Austronesian Languages: free online book

Traditional Tao (Yami) boat