Print

Mail

wiki links

Ministry split over new Romanization

Former New Party Legislator Chen Kuei-miao, a respected linguist, explains the differences between the Hanyu Pinyin system and the rival Tongyong Pinyin system at the Legislative PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES

The Mandarin Promotion Council yesterday held a news conference to support its choice for an official Mandarin Romanization system, even though the Minister of Education has said he has reservations about the system.

Analysts say the education ministry has split into two camps: those against the new system, headed by Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗), and those for the Tongyong Pinyin system (通用拼音).

"I will have to cautiously assess the merits and disadvantages of all the alternatives because a matter of such significance should not be made hastily," Tzeng said.

"It is true that languages are always changing. However, before making changes, we need to calculate the price we have to pay for the changes," he said. "Reports claim there is almost 90 percent similarity between the Tongyong Pinyin and China's Hanyu Pinyin (漢語拼音). Why then do we have to adopt a discrepant system because of this difference?"

Tzeng said he was also wary about adopting a system that was incompatible with the current widely used system. "One needs to be aware of the effect a 10 percent difference could have on language learning. It might affect communication between Taiwan and the rest of the world. For instance, we could find it difficult searching for information in Chinese in libraries overseas or on the Internet."

Yesterday's meeting was organized by the Mandarin Promotion Council in an attempt to bolster its decision, made on Oct. 7, to use the Tongyong Pinyin system in Taiwan.

Opponents claim the decision was made without thorough consideration and for political reasons.

Those who attended the meeting included various council members, including Hwang Hsuan-fan (黃宣範), director of National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of Linguistics; Chiang Wen-yu (江文瑜), associate professor at the language institute; and Lin Sheng-an (林生安), director of the General Assembly Office of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan.

Tsao Feng-fu (曹逢甫), director of the council, said the decision to adopt the Tongyong system had not been made in haste, as there had been three meetings held since July.

Presenting documents which purportedly showed how scrupulously the subject had been investigated since 1986, Tsao said many professionals had an input into the finished system.

"It is very complex because it involves similarities in pronunciation with the native languages in Taiwan ... and how much it will cost to introduce. These were the vital criteria leading us to pick Tongyong as the best system for our society," Tsao said.

Chiang took the opportunity to demonstrate the virtues of the Tongyong system and correct the idea that it is difficult to use.

"Tongyong was invented for several reasons: First of all, it is a system that is 85 percent identical to Hanyu; it will make globalization of Mandarin easier; and has improved the morphemes in Hanyu Pinyin that are currently flawed."

"Most importantly," he said "we believe using Tongyong will facilitate the process of learning Hokkien, Hakka and Aboriginal languages."

Meanwhile, DPP lawmaker Wang Li-ping (王麗萍) yesterday held a news conference to help preserve a little-known language system.

She gave out a news release signed by representatives of the Li Kang-khioh Taiwanese Foundation (李江卻台語文教基金會) and Southern Taiwan Society (台灣南社), and also appealed to the government to recognize the Taiwanese Romanized Alphabet -- a system created by Christian missionaries settling in Taiwan 150 years ago and still used by Taiwan's Presbyterian Church.

The statement said there were countless documents about Taiwan's history that were written in this Romanized alphabet and only by understanding this language could Taiwan's cultural heritage be understood and restored.
This story has been viewed 2439 times.