The differing languages in Taiwan and their coverage in modern news
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Calls to make English official second language
“Legislators and educators called on the government to make English the nation’s second language” – Jason Pan of Taipei Times, April 30, 2017.
They are those in the DDP (Democratic Progressive Party) trying to push for English to be added alongside Mandarin Chinese as the second official language of the country, as a way to assist Taiwan in the global marketplace. There is also a desire for English to be funded for learning, such as that of native languages and less spoken dialects currently are in taught in schools.
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Taiwan’s campaign for traditional Chinese characters
“As a growing number of people around the world learn simplified Chinese instead of the more complicated traditional characters, young creatives in Taiwan are fighting to promote what they fear will become a dying art…Creators of a new Taiwanese app game called “Zihun” hope to help stem the tide. Players assume the identities of literary figures from ancient China and compete on speed and accuracy in writing traditional characters.” – Khmer Times, November 28 2017.
This illustrates that, even in terms of the official spoke language being the same as that of Mainland China, Taiwan is attempting to hold on to the traditional writing system as a way of standing apart. This app is a brilliant use of technology to help users learn traditional characters and have fun while doing so.
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Taiwan Attracting More Chinese-language Students
“The Government has Undertaken Various Initiatives To Promote The Island As A Center For Learning Mandarin.” – Matthew Fulco of Taiwan Business Topics, November 11 2017.
This shows that, even though Mainland China is the focus of the Chinese learning craze, there are particular benefits to learning in Taiwan versus the Mainland, such as learning traditional characters versus the Mainland’s usage of simplified ones, a supposedly more rigorous testing system for Mandarin Chinese proficiency and less of a concern for Westerners on the politics of the country.
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Hakka group slams caucus whip’s comments
“Hakka members of the Taiwan Society yesterday denounced Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Te-fu’s (林德福) “verbal violence,” after he on Monday asked Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yung-te (李永得) not to speak Hakka at the Legislative Yuan.” – Lin Chia-nan of Taipei Times, November 15 2017.
This not only shows that languages are not thought of as being on the same level as each other, but the article further details that a push from the government to preserve languages that are going extinct via the Taiwanese education system. This is an interesting contrast to the fact that one of the languages was shut down when it came to its open usage.
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Taiwan‘s cultures and customs are basically the same as the Southern China, and mainly retains on ancient Fujian and Guangdong’s style. The traditional festivals in Taiwan and the mainland have always been the same, such as the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid Autumn Festival are all celebrate in the same ways.
However, Taiwan is a place of diversity in its politics and culture. The large amount of immigration to Taiwan caused the political instability. Taiwan’s culture is mixed with many different places. Besides Chinese festivals, Taiwanese also celebrates for Thanksgiving Day which is adapted from the American culture.
“TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The number of Vietnamese women marrying Taiwan men keeps increasing, but at the same time, the life of migrant brides also improves as they become easily integrated into Taiwan society, Vietnam media reported.
Vietnam news agency websites recently reported that the Vietnam-Taiwan relationship not only thrives in economic and trade domains, but cross-cultural marriages also continue increasing” (Taiwan News).
The recent news shows the number of cross-marriages between Taiwanese and Vietnamese is increasing. The article states that the Vietnamese women are more adapted into Taiwanese life. As the immigration increased in Taiwan, the government proposed new laws for immigrants to Taiwan in order to give assistance to the immigrants.
The website Taiwan News provides all recent news of Taiwan’s languages, culture, politics, economy, and society. The website offers daily English-language news of Taiwan.
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It is through these new stories that we can see that languages, whether dialect or not, still have ways of shaping the society in Taiwan.