Taiwan is hosting the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) for the first time, welcoming more than 400 young linguists from 43 nations to National Taiwan University (NTU).
Deputy Minister of Education Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said at the opening ceremony yesterday that language passes down knowledge and culture, and influences the way humankind thinks and understands the world.
Taiwan is a multicultural and multilingual nation, with Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, 16 indigenous languages and Taiwan Sign Language all used, Chu said.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
In addition, Taiwan promotes multilingual education, emphasizes the cultural significance of languages and supports the international mother language movement, he said.
Taiwan has long participated in the IOL and students at this year’s event would build friendships and shared memories, he added.
NTU president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said he is proud of the university’s Graduate Institute of Linguistics for hosting the international competition.
Language is an innate and vital human ability that helps us make friends, learn about culture and make the world a more peaceful place, Chen said.
When used precisely and appropriately, language promotes mutual understanding, but when used improperly, it can lead to division, he said.
Chen encouraged participants to not only take on the challenges of linguistic puzzles, but to use language to make friends and learn about each other’s cultures.
The IOL promotes international exchanges and cultivates young leaders in the field of linguistics, he added.
The NTU Graduate Institute of Linguistics began promoting the Taiwan Olympiad in Linguistics 10 years ago under the leadership of professor Hsieh Shu-kai (謝舒凱), the institute said.
Hosting the IOL highlights the importance of language in cross-cultural communication, and demonstrates Taiwan’s commitment to fostering global dialogue and academic excellence, it added.
The IOL is one of 12 International Science Olympiads for secondary-school students.
Since its inception in 2003, it has brought together outstanding young linguists every summer for individual and group challenges that test their linguistics abilities.
The IOL fosters intellectual development, cultivates cultural awareness, and exposes participants to lesser-known and endangered languages.
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