The Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) language program of Les Cours d’Adultes de Paris, one of the largest public language learning institutions in France, graduated its first class in an online event on June 25.
The program, which was launched in October last year, enrolled 66 students from around the world, offering classes taught remotely by Taiwanese professors, a representative of the center told the Central News Agency.
Graduates demonstrated their proficiency in the virtual ceremony by giving presentations on a topic about Taiwan, simulating social interactions or singing songs.
Photo: CNA
Eleonore, a graduate of the course who fell in love with Taiwan in high school and has visited as an exchange student, said she was happy to “learn Hoklo idioms through Taiwanese bands, such as EggPlantEgg (茄子蛋).”
“As someone who wants to live and work in Taiwan, I signed up as soon as I learned that the Paris municipal government was opening classes,” she said, adding that the program has helped her understand Taiwanese culture, Hoklo syntax and its differences from Mandarin.
Eleonore studied Taiwan and geopolitics at the Institute of Political Studies of Lyon and the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, she said.
Coline Mailleux, a lecturer at the Center for Language Education and Research of Sophia University in Tokyo, sang the Taiwanese classic Express Love Letter (愛情限時批) by Wu Bai (伍佰) and China Blue (萬芳) with her classmates.
“I imagine being at a karaoke [club] in Taiwan every time I hear this song,” she said, adding that she visited the nation 15 years ago and has wanted to live there ever since.
“Taiwan is a country full of promises for the future,” she said.
Telecommunications integration engineer Benjamin, who made a presentation on Taiwanese beer, Kaoliang liquor and whiskey, said that he is learning the language because his wife is Taiwanese.
“Hoklo is an important part of the world’s cultural heritage and is worth protecting,” he said.
Pan Yi-ling (潘怡伶), the program’s instructor for students without prior proficiency in Mandarin, said that learning about Taiwanese culture is an important part of the class, as some students have never been there.
Instructing students without a Chinese-language background presents additional challenges for teaching the meaning and context of phrases, which must be explained in French, making exact translations of idioms difficult, he said.
“I am amazed that so many French people with no relationship to Taiwan would want to learn Hoklo,” she said.
“The effort they poured into learning the language is deeply inspiring,” she added.
Miao Lin-Zucker (林季苗), an associate professor in the foreign language department at the University of Lyon and one of the program’s founders, said that new classes would be opened in August next year.
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The New Taipei City Art Museum this weekend plans to celebrate its first anniversary with a two-day extravaganza featuring live concerts and a large-scale synchronized fireworks and drone display, the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said. The two-day celebrations are to take place in the museum’s outdoor park, with markets and live performances by singers including Ann Bai (白安), Bii (畢書盡) and the Cosmos People (宇宙人), the department said. The highlight on both evenings would be the "Echoes of Light" show, an aerial spectacle combining fireworks and drone performances designed around the concept of "dual stages in the sky," it
RSS