Posted on 10/19/2004 5:44:26 PM PDT by Fishing-guy
Taipei, Taiwan, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Taipei is shifting toward teaching Taiwan's history and local dialects in schools, ahead of Chinese and English,
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Why do you think it's scary?
From an educational standpoint, I think it's a bit nutty, though. Both Chinese and English are languages with plenty of applicability in the modern world, while learning Formosan languages would be like our learning Cherokee - simply a novelty.
Taiwanese is the same as the dialect in Xiamen, Fujian, across the water. The native Taiwanese are ethnically Chinese. That is a simple fact. They seem to be wanting to deny their own cultural heritage, mainly for political reasons so as to justify independence from the mainland.
"...ministry officials considered the prevalent focus on English as "unhealthy," saying it was not the only path to globalization."
They don't want to teach English, yet when the bullets start flying, they want Americans to come to their rescue and do the fighting for them.
How are they going to call Washington, speaking in local dialects. Scary.
This is as nutty as those in the US who wish to teach ebonics as a viable language. Idiotic. The sooner Chen Shui-bian is voted out, the better.
You're right; that's scary! They think they can regress to some nativist huddle, and still expect the U.S. to defend them. If they don't want to participate in the modern (English-speaking) world, then China is welcome to them.
Of course, education types are the most useless and far-out dopes in our culture, so it shouldn't be surprising that they're appearing in Taiwan. They probably have Ford Foundation grants!
WOW,
This wills strike at the heart of Beijing's worst fears,
I'd wager.
The kids are more likely to use Taiwanese on the playground in most areas of Taiwan--especially the South.
Almost all Chinese speak a local dialect as well as Mandarin.
And, More Chinese speak English than Americans do.
They recognize English is needed in international business.
A lot of money changes hands to teach and learn English in Taiwan and China.
Taiwan fully supports the value of teaching and learning English. The proficiency levels have just been upgraded in the colleges for most engineering courses.
The main languages here are Chinese (Mandarin), Taiwanese - especially in the mid-to-south part of the island and the Hoklos/Hakka dialect-mostly in the central mountains.
Please filter any news about Taiwan thru a political BS filter before making predictions of doom & gloom. Politics here is a contact sport played by legislatures operating with the maturity level of a 14 yr old.
Having said that, just know that Taiwan really does like the USA, it is an independent country and fully deserves that status on the world stage. Have a nice day.
SOME
educators don't seem to have much horse sense, alright.
HOWEVER,
I gather that you did not hatch fresh out of the womb with all your current knowledge.
The odds are that SOME educators had a part in you learning how to wipe yourself; chew gum and walk and perhaps even how to type and navigate a computer.
I suppose you could be the world's 2nd Imaculate Contraption . . .
but I think the odds are that some good educators had a hand to play in some of your better qualities and learning experiences in terms of knowledge and how to use it.
There are some excellent teachers in Taiwan and China.
Uh...part of their cultural heritage is speaking Holo and also to a lesser extent Hakka dialects. Mandarin, in spite of its praticality has not been part of their cultural heritage until quite recently with the arrival of Zhiang Zhe Shi and friends. Needless to say, his arrival was not altogether pleasant for the residents of Taiwan and resulted, among other things, in the suppression of all dialects besides Mandarin and other traditions unqiue to Taiwan.
>The native Taiwanese are ethnically Chinese.
And most Americans are ethnically European. What's the big deal? Does this mean we can't celebrate the aspects of our culture that are uniquely American?
>They seem to be wanting to deny their own cultural
>heritage, mainly for political reasons so as to justify
>independence from the mainland.
Complete nonsense. Have you ever lived in Taiwan? If anything Taiwan is a better representation of traditional Chinese culture than China is. Many traditions/treasures were lost in the mainland during the communist/cultural revolution, etc. In any case, my view on this is the other way around. I don't see Taiwan denying it cultural heritage. I see mainland China cynically using Taiwan's cultural heritage as a justification of its aggression.
Then how do you explain Taiwan independence movement supporters' attempt to dissolve Republic of China (free China).
They don't even consider themselves ethnically Chinese and use all sorts of vague statements to confuse people who want to know details about their movement.
I lived in Taiwan for 2 years. Many of the younger generation (especially in Taipei) do not speak Taiwanese. It would be a mistake to teach Taiwanese in the school since it is not a useful dialect in global interaction. Mandarin and English are spoken by a majority of the world's population. Also, the policies of Chen Shui-bian and his administration toward independence are frightening and I agree that the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) needs to be voted out and replaced with the more moderate KMT (Nationalist Party).
You may as well say the Japanese or Vietnamese are ethnically Chinese, too. As far as Taiwan is concerned, this from another site:
http://www.de-han.org/taiwan/lgtw/#21
"The total area of Taiwan, including the main island and several small islands, is 35,961 square kilometers. The population of Taiwan in 1995 was around twenty one million (Ethnologue 1996). Generally speaking, there are four primary ethnic groups: aborigines (1.7%), Holo (73.3%), Hakka (12%), and Mainlanders (13%) (Huang 1993: 21). The Holo, Hakka, and Mainlanders are occasionally called Han people (Š¿l) and their languages are called Han languages in contrast to the aborigines. Even though they are called Han people and Han languages, they have different ethnic languages. That is, Holooe, Hakfa, and Taiwan Mandarin, are not mutually intelligible (DeFrancis 1990: 54-57). "
> Taiwan is a better representation of traditional
> Chinese culture than China is.
In the computer biz, the two markets are already split
along cultural lines, right down to the keyboards.
The Taiwan/ROC keyboard is called "traditional Chinese",
whereas the mainland/PRC is called "simplified Chinese".
In the movie "Sleeper", the state treated dissidents
with a device that "simplified" their brains.
Same sorta thing :-)
I think that depends on what the definition of "speak" is.
It depends on if you consider "Thisu isa booka" to be English.
Given a lot of the garble that somewhat passes for English since I've come back after 15 years . . .
I'd say again,
More Chinese speak English than Americans do.
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