Civic groups and academics yesterday requested that the government rethink its Bilingual 2030 concept and instead consider what they call multilingual, English-friendly Taiwan, prioritizing Taiwan’s native languages.
The government’s current push for Mandarin and English “bilingualism” ignores the other languages in Taiwan that make millions of Taiwanese already bilingual or multi-lingual, and overlooks Taiwan’s multiethnic population, Taiwan Languages and Literature Society director Chiang Min-hua (江敏華) said.
While the Bilingual 2030 plan would elevate English to one of Taiwan’s working languages, it could affect Taiwan’s rich language heritage and diminish Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Hakka, along with other indigenous mother tongues,
ERODING IDENTITY: The English 2030 ‘bilingual’ policy shuns other languages spoken by indigenous communities and threatens Taiwan’s linguistic heritage, experts saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporter