This brief comparison between the national indigenous languages survey reports of Taiwan (made in 2012 & 2014) and the survey reports of Australia (made in 2005 & 2014) came out in Aboriginal Educational World《原住民教育情報誌》No. 63 (June, 2015). pp. 58-61.
My article argues that for a language survey report to be really useful, it should contain a detailed analysis of the language's current status based on both quantitative and qualitative survey results; it should generate localized endangerment and vitality factors from the detailed analysis; and it should also propose ways to redress that correspond to each distinct language endangerment case. There is definitely not one miracle pill for all types of loss.
To present survey results alone with numerous tables and statistic formulas is not helpful. Numbers are important, but it is the story of those numbers that truly enlightens.
It celebrates the island's indigenous cultures and remembers how indigenous rights came to be recognized by Taiwan's constitution since the Indigenous Rights Movement in mid-1980s.
1984 - Taiwan's indigenous peoples asked the government to call them by 'indigenous people' （yuan-zhu-min, 原住民 ）instead of the stigmatizing 'mountain tribe' or mountain fellow'（shan-bao, 山胞 ）.
1994 August 1- 'Indigenous People' made it into the constitution of Taiwan and replaced 'mountain tribe'.
1997- 'Indigenous People' became 'Indigenous Peoples', signifying the recognition of each indigenous group as a collective entity.
From 'raw savage', 'cooked savage' to 'mountain tribe' to 'indigenous people', this process marks our continuous fight against the naming power of colonizers. Nothing is by no means granted here.
For ILRDC, a center built to revitalize endangered indigenous languages, how else can we feel the meaning of the day other than speak our own languages and tell people not only do we have our own names, but we also have our own ways of saying them? We have our own languages; they too deserve to be recognized and used more in fact.
With that spirit, ILRDC launched 'Challenge Our Mother Tongues in Ten Seconds'（挑戰十秒說族語）, inviting people to film themselves speaking their own languages in ten seconds. By the end of 31st July, the center has 38 films from 19 language variations. Here they are.
Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day.
May indigenous languages continue to strive and stay alive.
I prepared the talk in English (with a brief introduction in my mother tongue Paiwan) for my target audience - Austronesian linguists from all over the world - and I intended to take them on a time journey from the 17th century onward, so they may see the language shift on the island.
Generally speaking, indigenous languages in Taiwan are now in the hospital. Policies, including those supporting ILRDC, are the medicines. Treatments have so far been given for two decades.
After the report, Ethnologue showed excitement that it has found a new source of information with which they could revise their website, and they would be happy to keep in contact. Personally, I also think it is time to reevaluate the vitality of Taiwan's indigenous languages. UNESCO Interactive Atlas isn't really accurate in the case of Taiwan; Global Language Hotspots can also use some new data.
But such revision isn't an ode to the success of previous revitalization efforts. Though encouragement intended, the purpose here is, instead, rather to know where kai na kacalysiyan (indigenous peoples' language) truly are, so as to come up with really good plans, feasible and effective, that will keep the languages alive.
Presented at 2015 Conference on the Development of Taiwan Aborigines and China's Ethnic Minorities (July 4, 2015). My role was the commentator for the third session of the Forum.
I used two concepts, 'co-management' and 'empowerment', to respond to the presentations on language revitalization and the design of ecological compensation standard and cultural-touristic zone. Whether it comes to developing indigenous languages, tourism, land or civil rights, it is my belief that indigenous peoples and minorities should have a say and a role in any decision-making process. There is no development if the people's very own voice is not heard. ILRDC, which works so closely with indigenous language teachers and villagers via a number of channels, is working towards the goals of comanagement and empowerment.
Presented at The 7th International Conference on Taiwanese Romanization (May 22 2015) at National Cheng Kung University.
That experience was itself quite interesting; Mandarin was nowhere allowed in the conference. Everyone else was speaking TSM, reminding each other of the evil of a state-imposed national language, while I (probably the only indigenous speaker) presented in English and conversed in TSM, which seems to be surprisingly sufficient. TSM has the largest speaker-population in Taiwan but Mandarin became the national language in the 1950s.
To be frank, indigenous peoples and Holo-lang (or Hoklo Taiwanese that speak TSM) aren't always at peace. The studies I read as well as the fieldwork I did also tell me despite of their increase, TSM loanwords are the least popular with indigenous peoples, in comparison, who also tend to deny their existence. This certainly is a point to elaborate for the publication of the same topic. Maybe in September.
miperepereperi kalevelevanaza aris
soaring in sky the eagle
(Verb + Place + Subject)
Translation: The eagle is soaring in the sky.
This syntax is typical for Austronesian languages such as Paiwan. Verbs are essential and always in the first place, whose meanings are determined by the focus system.
In this sentence, the unconjugated verb is 'perepere' or 'perper' (to fly) in Raleigh Ferrell's 1982 Paiwan Dictionary. 'mi' is an agent marker that attributes the movement to the subject (the eagle); therefore, 'mi-perepere' or 'mi-perper' means fly or flies. and to duplicate the verb stem by a single syllable (perepere becomes 'perepereper') makes the verb a present participle or V-ing; so, 'mi-perepere-per' means flying.
But the book is actually not about Paiwan language. It is about a Paiwan woman's journey to West Tibet that seems to bring her so far away from home, yet in fact even closer to where she originally came from. It is, as I like to see myself as well, returning by leaving, settling while moving.
