The Ministry of Education yesterday urged Taiwanese to join efforts to keep the nation’s native languages alive.
It made the call with the Council of Indigenous Peoples, the Hakka Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture at the National Taiwan Science Education Center in Taipei to promote International Mother Language Day, which is on Feb.21.
Introduced by UNESCO in 1999 and formally adopted by the UN in 2002, International Mother Language Day seeks to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and promote multilingualism.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
Deputy Minister of Education Lin Ming-yu (林明裕) said Taiwan is a hub of linguistic diversity.
Since the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法) was promulgated, many government agencies have joined the effort to promote native language education in schools, he said, urging teachers to incorporate native languages in cultural and sports activities to ensure that the languages are not only used during designated lessons.
Education ministry-affiliated museums and institutes are to hold activities to promote science and native language education, as well as provide guided tours in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) and Hakka, he said.
Hakka Affairs Council Deputy Minister Fan Tso-ming (范佐銘) said his agency is planning to hold an awards ceremony to recognize excellent Hakka-language teachers on International Mother Language Day.
Hakka lessons are part of native language courses from elementary to senior-high school, Fan said, adding that he hopes they contribute to keeping the language alive.
Council of Indigenous Peoples Deputy Minister Afas Falah said her agency’s efforts to keep Taiwan’s native languages alive included publishing a book titled The Origins of the Austronesians last year.
This year, the council is planning to bestow an award on an ethnic Han wife of a Tao man who has passed the highest level of the Certification of Aboriginal Language Abilities in her husband’s language, she said, adding that the woman works as a Tao-language teacher.
Deputy Minister of Culture Lee Ching-hwi (李靜慧) said that while language education focuses on children, adults are responsible for keeping native languages alive, too.
Adults should speak with their children in the languages, she said, encouraging people to learn additional languages native to Taiwan besides their mother tongue.
Education ministry-affiliated museums and institutes, as well as public libraries, are planning to hold 462 mother language promotion events nationwide, including guided tours, board game activities, professional lectures, storytelling sessions, concerts, theater performances, book exhibitions and puppet shows, officials said.
National Education Radio is to hold a “Speak Up in Your Mother Language — Mother Language Experiencing Day” on Sunday next week, they said, adding that the station invites parents and children to record dialogues in their mother language at the Sound Story Studio in Taipei.
The Kaohsiung Public Library and its 31 branches are planning to hold native language-themed events, including book exhibitions and nursery rhyme reading sessions for young children, while the Hualien City Library is planning to hold a series of activities, including storytelling events, to encourage people to use their mother languages, they said.
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