<div dir="ltr">
<h1>Taiwan mulling English as an official language, but is it ready?</h1>
<div class="gmail-date">2018/01/27 16:57:23</div>
<div id="gmail-cphdefault_cphcontent_NewsView_PnlCont" class="gmail-box_0 gmail-clearfix">
<div class="gmail-box_1">
<img src="http://img5.cna.com.tw/Eng/WebEngPhotos//CEP/20180127/201801270011t0001.jpg" style="width: 400px;"><h2>Photo courtesy of Tainan City Office of English as the Second Official Language</h2>
</div><div class="gmail-box_2">
<p><b><font color="blue">[Editor's note: This is part one of a
five-part series that takes a look at the Taiwan government's proposed
plan to introduce English as a second official language in Taiwan. The
rest of the series will be published in the coming four days.]</font></b><br><br>By Shih Hsiu-chuan, CNA staff reporter <br><br>Most
countries with English as an official language were once ruled by the
United States or United Kingdom, so it might seem far-fetched for Taiwan
to even consider the idea, but the government is now thinking of making
it a reality.<br><br>Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has asked Education
Minister Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) to lead a feasibility study on the issue
and submit a report, though the way Lai and Pan have talked about the
plan suggests they believe it has a future.<br><br>In launching the
study, Lai directed the ministry to break down what he said was a "major
policy goal" into steps and outline how each step can be achieved
within a given time frame.<br><br>Pan would not say in an interview with
CNA on Jan. 8 if the government has already made up its mind to go
ahead with the plan, but he seemed to be behind it.<br><br>Declaring
"English as a second official language" as a policy goal, he said, would
"help us focus our efforts" on elevating English standards in Taiwan,
which is important considering the widespread use of English in
international transactions and communications.<br><br>"If that objective
is set, everyone will know where we are heading. We must set our own
pace and work to attain the objective a certain number of years from
now," Pan said.<br><br><img src="https://i.imgur.com/NeIK71E.jpg" width="500"><br><b><font color="purple">(Pan Wen-chung speaks to CNA; photo courtesy of the Ministry of Education)</font></b><br><br>Though
Mandarin Chinese is Taiwan's most mainstream language, Taiwan does not
have any legally established official languages, so it is rather unclear
what having English as an official language would mean in practical
terms.<br><br>Pan said an official language is generally understood as a
language "commonly used in society and within government in our daily
life," just like "how we use Mandarin Chinese."<br><br>Beyond that,
however, Pan was not ready to define what such a policy might entail,
other than to dismiss concerns that it would mean the government
operating in two languages right away or establishing certain measures
that would be hard for people to fulfill.<br><br>"The point is not to define what an official language is but to create a rich English language environment," he said.<br><br>If
Taiwan goes ahead with the initiative, it could adopt Tainan as a
model. When Lai was mayor of Tainan, he launched a 10-year project in
2015 to make English the city's second official language, and Pan said a
national program would take even longer.<br><br><img src="https://i.imgur.com/NisaDji.jpg" width="500"><br><b><font color="purple"><br>(The
Tainan project assisted night markets and shops in providing English
menus for foreign customers; photo courtesy of Taipei City Office of
English as the Second Official Language)</font></b><br><br><br><b><font color="blue">Studying the idea for the first time</font></b><br><br>The
idea of making English an official language was first proposed in 2002
by then president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on the heels of Taiwan's
admission to the World Trade Organization, but this is the first time an
evaluation of the concept is being done.<br><br>The committee led by
Pan to conduct the study is composed of 20 or so people who are
professors of English, experts with international experience, and
government officials and has already met twice.<br><br>At the first
meeting of the committee on Nov. 14, such issues as the desirability and
implications of English being made a second official language, whether
it is necessary to stipulate an official language, how to put it into
practice, and problems with English instruction in Taiwan were on the
agenda, Pan said.<br><br>The group reached a high degree of consensus at
the second encounter on Jan. 17 that Taiwan needed to improve its
linguistic environment because it is a key factor in language
acquisition whether or not English becomes an official language or not,
Pan said.<br><br>They also suggested that if English is to be made an
official language, the government needs to map out steps and
complementary measures to be taken down the road toward attaining the
goal, he said.<br><br>Those and other questions will be further
discussed in the next few months before the feasibility report is
concluded in May, he said.<br><br><img src="https://i.imgur.com/GgFJsHz.jpg" width="500"><br><b><font color="purple"><br>(Committee
members visited Tainan's Chongming Elementary School last December to
see the bilingual program there; photo courtesy of the Ministry of
Education)</font></b><br><br><img src="https://i.imgur.com/774qpLo.jpg" width="500"><br><b><font color="purple"><br>(Committee
members visited Tainan's Grand Matsu Temple last December to see the
bilingual program there; photo courtesy of the Ministry of Education)</font></b><br><br><b><font color="blue">Hot debate</font></b><br><br>Whatever
the committee's conclusion, it will likely spark debate, as Democratic
Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) found after rekindling the
goal of making English an official language at a legislative hearing in
October 2017, when she urged Lai to list it as one of the nation's
"strategic goals."<br><br>She also suggested that an office be set up under the Executive Yuan to direct efforts toward achieving the objective by 2050.<br><br><img src="https://i.imgur.com/QtF3aqw.jpg" width="500"><br><b><font color="purple">(Premier
Lai Ching-te (left) instructs the Education Ministry to study the
feasibility of listing English as a second official language when
fielding questions from Rosalia Wu (right) on the legislative floor last
year)</font></b><br><br>According to Wu, her vision has received
encouragement from Taiwan-based globetrotters whom she says have seen
firsthand how Taiwan's lagging language skills have adversely affected
Taiwan's global standing.<br><br>Criticism has come, she said, from
pro-independence activists who argue that Taiwanese, also known as
Hokkien, is less spoken today by the younger generations and should be
given priority.<br><br>Wu said she was also attacked by Chinese media,
which labeled her idea as an attempt at "de-sinicization" with the goal
to sever Taiwan's links to Chinese culture.<br><br>The arguments made by the critics suggest they consider languages to be political tools, "but for me, they are not," she said.<br><br><b><font color="blue">'We don't just want to talk to people in Taiwan'</font></b><br><br>"Languages
are existential skills and help us see the world through the eyes of
another," Wu said. "I also support promoting Hokkien, but we don't just
want to talk to people in Taiwan, do we?<br><br>"English proficiency is
vital to promoting Taiwan's internationalization," she said, arguing,
for example, that language deficiencies have made it hard for Taiwan to
participate effectively in international conferences, diminishing
Taiwan's opportunities to gain a foothold in the world.<br><br>But is making English an official language really the appropriate remedy?<br><br>Michael
Kau (高英茂), a member of the "feasibility study" committee, admits to
being hesitant about the idea because it would incur "overwhelming
translation costs" as government documents would have to be translated
into English.<br><br>English is of critical importance in making Taiwan
more competitive in today's global economy, Kau said, but considering
the complexity and potentially high costs of making it an official
language, he suggested it be listed as a "working language" with the aim
of developing it into a "primary" language.<br><br>An official with the
National Development Council (NDC), which would likely have a role in
promoting the policy, said determining whether and how the idea fits the
needs of the nation's development has to be clarified first.<br><br>"What
would we need English government texts for? Would that help attract
tourists or investment? Would requiring public servants to become
proficient in English distract them from work? Could resources needed to
make this happen be put to better use or help preserve native tongues
at risk of extinction?" she asked.<br><br>But Juang Li-lan (莊麗蘭),
responsible for projects to build an English-friendly environment from
2002 to 2012 as part of a Cabinet-level task force, said she hoped the
government would take concerted action to enhance efforts in this area.<br><br>Bilingual
road signs and government websites, the use of immersion teaching at
school, and English hotline services for foreign nationals in Taiwan
would not have been possible had the projects not been implemented over
the 10-year period, Juang said.<br><br>Whatever the study's outcome, Pan
said English, which is spoken by nearly half of the world's population,
is essential to communicating in this day and age.<br><br>"English proficiency opens up opportunities for young people. We must do this for the next generation," he said. <br></p></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
</div>