Taipei, April 8 (CNA) More than 1,700 academics have signed a petition asking the government to give priority to revitalizing indigenous languages, rather than expanding English, to create a multilingual nation, some of them said Friday.
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
ECFA at 10
There is a reason why people don’t remember the trade agreement: it did nothing to benefit Taiwan
By Michael Turton / Contributing reporter
With 2020 headed for the exit (good riddance), it’s time once again for the annual listicles and retrospectives. In that spirit, let me note that it’s been a decade the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) came into law in Taiwan on Jan 1, 2011. The “landmark” (in the sense that a shipwreck is a “landmark”) agreement, widely praised at the time by commentators who didn’t live in Taiwan, was formed after months of negotiations between the governments of China and Taiwan in 2010.