Forging ahead with Taiwanese literature

Much of the journal Tai-bun Thong-sin (台文通訊), one of the largest Taiwanese language journals, is unreadable for a native Mandarin speaker, and even for a Taiwanese speaker. Some instruction in the various systems of Taiwanese transcription would be needed to understand it. In a single edition of the journal, some writers rely heavily on Chinese characters, while others have opted for a wholly romanized transcription system.

This illustrates how relatively unformed the state of Taiwanese literature presently is. A further indication is the fact that virtually all Taiwanese readers come with audio CDs to give students easier access to the text. For better or for worse, Taiwanese literature is still some way from escaping the shackles of a spoken vernacular.

Part of the reason for this has been political, as both the Japanese and the KMT governments suppressed the use of Taiwanese. This has given the movement for Taiwanese a strongly political flavor that goes beyond simply finding a way of transcribing Taiwanese speech.

While not wanting to make too much of the political issues, Lu said that in the case of the University Taiwanese Reader editors, there is definitely an issue of differentiation from Chinese. "We reserve the right to correct the texts. To make them more correctly Taiwanese," he said. "Sometimes authors become over influenced by Mandarin, so that you are simply reading Mandarin using Taiwanese sounds. This is clearly something to be avoided."

The community that seeks to create Taiwanese literature might be widely divided on exactly how to do so, but it is gradually building recognition for the Taiwanese language.

The publication of the University Taiwanese Reader by Yuanliou (遠流) is a milestone in itself, an indication that Taiwanese literature (albeit in textbook form) has broken into the mainstream. This is quite an achievement considering the Department of Taiwan Literature at Alethia University, to which Lu belongs, was only created in 1997.

Lu avoids any predictions about what Taiwanese literature will ultimately look like, but sees the current trends in the publication and teaching of Taiwanese literature as an unprecedented opportunity. "The best way of expressing Taiwanese will emerge through use," he said.

Taiwanese literature is also available on the Internet. In addition to Tai-bun Thong-sin, mentioned above (taiwantbts.org), there is Bong (www.bongpo.com.tw) and Lien Chiao Hui (蓮蕉花) at home.kimo.com.tw/lichukeng/lianchiauhoe.htm.