The Ministry of Education (MOE) this week announced that it plans to change the name of its official certification test for Hoklo from Minnanyu (閩南語, “Southern Min [abbreviation of Fujian Province]”) to Taiyu (台語, “Taiwanese”).
The ministry on Thursday said it planned to amend Article 2 of the Minnanyu Language Certification Test’s Examination Fees Standards based on the Executive Yuan’s national language development plan launched on Aug. 22, 2022.
Suggestions are welcome during the 60-day public comment period, the ministry said, adding that barring any significant changes, the amendment is expected to be promulgated as soon as September.
Photo:Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Book publishers have said that they have long used the term Taiyu in their educational materials, citing works by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰) grandfather Lien Heng (連橫), which also used the term Taiyu, the government said.
Academics and experts who compile and edit Taiwanese Minnanyu dictionaries have said that the version spoken in Taiwan is different from that used in China’s Fujian Province.
The education ministry in 2009 created the first Taiwanese Minnanyu proficiency certification test.
However, the following year, under then-president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, the Nine-Year Education Program was updated to change all references of “Taiyu” and “Taiwanese Minnanyu” to simply “Minnanyu.”
In 2011, the ministry’s certification test was renamed the Minnanyu Proficiency Certification Test.
In 2019, during then-president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration, the legislature passed the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法), which certified that all “natural languages” used by ethnic groups in Taiwan and Taiwanese sign language are national languages.
In 2022, the Executive Yuan demanded that all government facilities prioritize using indigenous languages, Hakka, Taiyu, the Matsu dialect of the Eastern Min and Taiwanese sign language.
The directive was intended to promote uniformity in promoting national languages and standardizing language development, documents and other materials, the Executive Yuan said at the time.
About 30,000 to 40,000 people take the exam each year.
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