New dictionary entries rarely make the news. Lexicography is an understated, technical kind of work in which scholars keep faithful records and trace how words change over time.
The recent inclusion of the word “Taiwania” in a major US dictionary feels like a piece of cultural recognition. I recently noticed the word’s addition to Merriam-Webster’s online edition. It defined Taiwania as “a genus of tall evergreen trees of the cypress family (Cupressaceae) of eastern Asia consisting of a single slow-growing species (Taiwania cryptomerioides) that has awl- to sickle-shaped leaves when young and small, scalelike, triangular leaves when mature, is valued for its durable, aromatic wood, and is related to and resembles the Japanese cedar.”
Taiwania is a towering conifer native to Taiwan. Its inclusion in Merriam-Webster, unique among major English dictionaries, offers a refreshing reminder that Taiwan is more than geopolitics or semiconductors, highlighting the nation’s rich natural ecology and old-growth forests.
Language carries weight: Once a word enters the dictionary, it often gains a degree of permanence in global perception. Taiwania’s inclusion in Merriam-Webster is a milestone.
Recently, one of its kind reaching a height of 84.1m was discovered in a remote valley of Daan River (大安溪) in Shei-Pa National Park (雪霸國家公園). It has been named “Heaven Sword of Daan River” (大安溪倚天劍), and is the tallest known tree in Taiwan and the tallest recorded in East Asia.
Granting the coniferous giant a level of permanence in the English lexicon, this is a dictionary listing that gives Taiwan another entry point into global consciousness — this time through its ecological landscape.
Hugo Tseng has a doctorate in linguistics, and is a lexicographer and former chair of the Soochow University English Department.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader
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