ROC mulls laws to protect aboriginal languages (fwd)

[Phil Cash Cash]

ROC mulls laws to protect aboriginal languages
http://publish.gio.gov.tw/FCJ/current/03081521.html

Publish Date:08/15/2003
Story Type:National Affairs;
Byline:Cecilia Fanchiang

         The ROC government recently identified specific measures to
conserve Taiwan's aboriginal languages as they continue to disappear
after centuries of modernization and assimilation. In February, the
Education Ministry's Mandarin Promotion Council wrote the Draft Law on
the Equality of Languages, highlighting a growing sensitivity to
aboriginal affairs and the belief that all of the island's linguistic
legacies should benefit from preservation efforts.

         MPC sources claim to have examined language policies and
regulations in Europe, North America and the Pacific region and drafted
the proposed law after consultations with other government agencies,
such as the Council for Hakka Affairs and Council of Indigenous
Peoples, as well as Academia Sinica's Preparatory Office for the
Institute of Linguistics. The goal was to protect the right of the
island's major ethnic groups to employ their native tongues in daily
life and during political, economic, religious and educational
activities.

         As written, the law would decree that native languages be
respected and enjoy legal equality with the nation's official language,
Mandarin Chinese. The draft would have made it illegal for a regional
authority to outlaw or willfully restrict any language.

         The draft stipulated that government agencies at every level be
responsible for preserving, studying and ensuring the continuity of
native languages. At the municipal and county levels, this means
special task forces would have been formed to observe and enforce
linguistic policies promulgated by the central government.

         All public addresses would be multilingual and language
programs, especially for endangered aboriginal languages, would be
encouraged in public schools, according to the bill. There was a
provision ensuring that competence in certain native languages be
included in Taiwan's civil-service examinations. Also, the government
would have been responsible for funding development of a linguistic
database.

         However, the MPC's draft will not be put before the Legislative
Yuan. Instead, it was given to the Council for Cultural Affairs for a
broader definition of language conservation. It is to be reworked in
order to shift its focus to the cultural and heritable aspects of
native languages. The CCA is currently leading other government
departments in mapping out a whole new set of stipulations for the
promotion and protection of native tongues.

         In the past, the government department that oversees native
affairs proposed a four-year indigenous languages revival project. As
part of the CIP's 2001-2004 plan for indigenous autonomy, the
administration's goals were to improve the regulatory environment and
the promotional mechanisms for aboriginal mother tongues.

         The CIP adopted strategies for education, romanization and
documentation as well as research into aboriginal languages. The
council is organizing the third annual nationwide Aboriginal Language
Skill Certificate Test in October in an effort to locate prospective
teachers of the nation's dying languages.

         Taipei City Hall has its own department to oversee aboriginal
affairs within city limits. The Indigenous Peoples Commission has also
set its sights on rescuing aboriginal languages from obsolescence. Kung
Wen-chi, IPC chairman, cited a recent survey conducted by National
Chengchi University that showed 11.3 percent of aboriginal families
still speak their mother tongues at home. "The indigenous languages are
losing ground quickly, especially in metropolitan areas," worried Kung,
adding that the government's aboriginal policy will see a changeover in
2005.

         The IPC is presently drawing up plans for what it calls the
autonomous development of aboriginal languages. The plan includes
incentives for aboriginal parents to teach the language at home, and it
would call for indigenous language courses at public institutions. It
is being touted as the blueprint for aboriginal-language education in
the capital.

         The city's plan will undergo a public hearing before becoming
law. "Pushed by City Hall, the IPC's plan for the autonomous
development of aboriginal languages is the first of its kind,"
explained Kung, alleging that the by-law would not contradict anything
in the central government's law when it gets passed.

         According to Kung, the spirit of the IPC bill lies in the
protection of aboriginal languages in the greater Taipei metropolitan
area. "It's the way City Hall pays its respects to aboriginal
languages," said Kung, who suggested that stops be announced on the
subway public-address system in aboriginal tongues, at least at certain
stations.

         With the help of National Taiwan Normal University, the
commission initiated the "Aboriginal Language Nest" program in July
2001. Language nests have been set up in every district of Taipei to
provide teachers of aboriginal languages resources relating to native
culture, language and history.