A French-language book titled 80 mots de Taiwan (80 Words of Taiwan) tells the story of Taiwan through 80 of the nation’s most distinctive words, with the author praising Taiwan as a culturally diverse society where multiple languages are spoken.
Published on May 7 by L’Asiatheque, the book — written by Aurelien Rossanino, a French national living in Taiwan — introduces terms unique to contemporary Taiwan, selected from Mandarin, Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Hakka and indigenous languages.
Examples include “Taiman” (台漫), meaning Taiwanese manga, and “adju,” meaning sister in Paiwan.
Photo: Screen grab from the Overseas Community Affairs Council’s Web site
The book also explores the influence of Japanese and English on Taiwan’s vocabulary and includes terms related to its democracy, aimed at helping French readers better understand Taiwanese history.
Rossanino described the book as “more of a literary work than a dictionary,” saying it focuses on telling the stories of modern Taiwanese through the words, rather than simply defining them.
He said in a media interview that while Taiwan is gaining attention in French media, most French-language books about the country remain academic or geared toward tourists.
His goal is to present contemporary Taiwanese society through a lens that highlights its humor, modernity and “underground” culture, he said.
“My main job is to interview people and make sure their voices are heard, so I can present what Taiwanese people actually see,” he said.
As the host of a music-themed podcast and an independent journalist, Rossanino said he has met many Taiwanese artists in music, art and culture, adding that they showed him how humorous and creative Taiwanese are with language, inspiring his fascination with Taiwan’s linguistic culture.
Another major inspiration was Emily Y. Wu (吳怡慈) and other political journalists at the Taiwan-based podcast network Ghost Island Media, who encouraged him to include Taiwan’s democratic history in his work, Rossanino said.
While seeking information about Taiwan’s indigenous cultures for the book, he received an invitation from Paiwan singer Sauljaljui to visit her hand-built home deep in the mountains of Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹), he said.
The township is a historic battleground where Taiwan’s indigenous peoples fought against Japanese soldiers in 1874.
Describing the area as “a different world compared to Taipei,” Rossanino said that writing the book gave him the privilege of visiting such a historically significant place, a rare experience for someone from an ordinary village in southern France.
In the interview, he also paid tribute to French musician Arnaud Lechat, who lived in Taiwan for 30 years and played a key role in the book before he died last year.
“I hope he is satisfied with the book in heaven,” Rossanino said.
When asked about his thoughts on Taiwan, he expressed optimism about its development in infrastructure and national identity, applauding Taiwan for “heading in a more beautiful direction.”
“I want to present Taiwan in 2025 — a modern nation that keeps moving forward,” he said.
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