Socio-political Aspects of Language Behaviour in Taiwan

Socio-political Aspects of Language Behaviour in Taiwan PDF Author: Cornelia Neumann
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638761169
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 57

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: 1,7 (A-), Humboldt-University of Berlin (Institute for Anglistics/American Studies), course: Sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics: a merger, 19 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The Seminar 'Sociolinguistics and Anthropological Linguistics: A Merger' included an intensive e-mail exchange with Taiwanese students. My keypal 'Cherlene', told about the linguistic diversity of her country. Besides, I had the opportunity to read the letters which were exchanged between my classmates and their assigned Taiwanese students. People in Taiwan have to deal with a multilingual society. Although Mandarin Chinese is the official language, there are in fact several more languages one is confronted with in everyday life. Cherlene pointed out that choice of code differs not only between social classes, ethnic communities and generations, but also between other domains of life such as school, university, jurisdiction, the media and advertising. Each of our e-mail partners was multi- or at least bilingual in Mandarin plus one or two other Chinese languages. Besides, all of them knew English or/and another European language. The reality of Taiwanese society requires the ability to switch codes flexibly according to the occasion. This complex situation is the result of political changes, power-shifts, two main, contradictory waves of language promotion, and a strict language policy by the government until the late 1980s. Consequently, it is indispensable to look at historical and social developments in order to understand and evaluate the present situation. This paper is based on Cherlene's first-hand information and the general impression received from the other e-mails. The linguistic information is embedded in a historic-political context, because I was especially interested in how such a situation could develop and how language use reflects power-relations.

Socio-political Aspects of Language Behaviour in Taiwan

Socio-political Aspects of Language Behaviour in Taiwan PDF Author: Cornelia Neumann
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638761169
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 57

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: 1,7 (A-), Humboldt-University of Berlin (Institute for Anglistics/American Studies), course: Sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics: a merger, 19 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The Seminar 'Sociolinguistics and Anthropological Linguistics: A Merger' included an intensive e-mail exchange with Taiwanese students. My keypal 'Cherlene', told about the linguistic diversity of her country. Besides, I had the opportunity to read the letters which were exchanged between my classmates and their assigned Taiwanese students. People in Taiwan have to deal with a multilingual society. Although Mandarin Chinese is the official language, there are in fact several more languages one is confronted with in everyday life. Cherlene pointed out that choice of code differs not only between social classes, ethnic communities and generations, but also between other domains of life such as school, university, jurisdiction, the media and advertising. Each of our e-mail partners was multi- or at least bilingual in Mandarin plus one or two other Chinese languages. Besides, all of them knew English or/and another European language. The reality of Taiwanese society requires the ability to switch codes flexibly according to the occasion. This complex situation is the result of political changes, power-shifts, two main, contradictory waves of language promotion, and a strict language policy by the government until the late 1980s. Consequently, it is indispensable to look at historical and social developments in order to understand and evaluate the present situation. This paper is based on Cherlene's first-hand information and the general impression received from the other e-mails. The linguistic information is embedded in a historic-political context, because I was especially interested in how such a situation could develop and how language use reflects power-relations.

Socio-political aspects of language behaviour in Taiwan

Socio-political aspects of language behaviour in Taiwan PDF Author: Cornelia Neumann
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638324672
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: 1,7 (A-), Humboldt-University of Berlin (Institute for Anglistics/American Studies), course: Sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics: a merger, 19 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The Seminar ‘Sociolinguistics and Anthropological Linguistics: A Merger’ included an intensive e-mail exchange with Taiwanese students. My keypal ‘Cherlene’, told about the linguistic diversity of her country. Besides, I had the opportunity to read the letters which were exchanged between my classmates and their assigned Taiwanese students. People in Taiwan have to deal with a multilingual society. Although Mandarin Chinese is the official language, there are in fact several more languages one is confronted with in everyday life. Cherlene pointed out that choice of code differs not only between social classes, ethnic communities and generations, but also between other domains of life such as school, university, jurisdiction, the media and advertising. Each of our e-mail partners was multi- or at least bilingual in Mandarin plus one or two other Chinese languages. Besides, all of them knew English or/and another European language. The reality of Taiwanese society requires the ability to switch codes flexibly according to the occasion. This complex situation is the result of political changes, power-shifts, two main, contradictory waves of language promotion, and a strict language policy by the government until the late 1980s. Consequently, it is indispensable to look at historical and social developments in order to understand and evaluate the present situation. This paper is based on Cherlene‘s first-hand information and the general impression received from the other e-mails. The linguistic information is embedded in a historic-political context, because I was especially interested in how such a situation could develop and how language use reflects power-relations.

Language, Society, and the State

Language, Society, and the State PDF Author: Gareth Price
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 161451464X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Using Taiwan as a case study, this book constructs an innovative theory of a political sociology of language. Through documentary and ethnographic data and a comparative-historical method the book illustrates how language mediates interactions between society and the state and becomes politicized as a result; how language, politics and power are intertwined processes; and how these processes are not isolated in institutions but socially embedded.

Language Choice and Identity Politics in Taiwan

Language Choice and Identity Politics in Taiwan PDF Author: Jennifer M. Wei
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1461633729
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
Jennifer M. Wei argues that construction and perceptions of language and identity parallel sociopolitical transformations, and language and identity crises arise during power transitions. Under these premises, language and identity are never well-defined or well-bounded. Instead, they are best viewed as political symbols subject to manipulation and exploitation during socio-historical upheavals. A choice of language—from phonological shibboleth, Mandarin, or Taiwanese, to choice of official language—cuts to the heart of contested cultural notions of self and other, with profound implications for nationalism, national unity and ethno-linguistic purism. Wei further argues that because of the Chinese Diaspora and Taiwan's connections to China and the United States, arguments and sentiments over language choice and identity have consequences for Taiwan's international and transnational status. They are symbolic acts of imagining Taiwan's past as she looks forward to the future.

Language Choice and Identity Politics in Taiwan

Language Choice and Identity Politics in Taiwan PDF Author: Jennifer M. Wei
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 9780739123522
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
Language Choice and Identity Politics in Taiwan brings new perspectives to--and invites comparative study within--the general study of language choice through its empirical focus on Chinese sociopolitical contexts and cultural practices.

Culture Politics and Linguistic Recognition in Taiwan

Culture Politics and Linguistic Recognition in Taiwan PDF Author: Jean-Francois Dupre
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317244206
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
The consolidation of Taiwanese identity in recent years has been accompanied by two interrelated paradoxes: a continued language shift from local Taiwanese languages to Mandarin Chinese, and the increasing subordination of the Hoklo majority culture in ethnic policy and public identity discourses. A number of initiatives have been undertaken toward the revitalization and recognition of minority cultures. At the same time, however, the Hoklo majority culture has become akin to a political taboo. This book examines how the interplay of ethnicity, national identity and party politics has shaped current debates on national culture and linguistic recognition in Taiwan. It suggests that the ethnolinguistic distribution of the electorate has led parties to adopt distinctive strategies in an attempt to broaden their ethnic support bases. On the one hand, the DPP and the KMT have strived to play down their respective de-Sinicization and Sinicization ideologies, as well as their Hoklo and Chinese ethnocultural cores. At the same time, the parties have competed to portray themselves as the legitimate protectors of minority interests by promoting Hakka and Aboriginal cultures. These concomitant logics have discouraged parties from appealing to ethnonationalist rhetoric, prompting them to express their antagonistic ideologies of Taiwanese and Chinese nationalism through more liberal conceptions of language rights. Therefore, the book argues that constraints to cultural and linguistic recognition in Taiwan are shaped by political rather than cultural and sociolinguistic factors. Investigating Taiwan’s counterintuitive ethnolinguistic situation, this book makes an important theoretical contribution to the literature to many fields of study and will appeal to scholars of Taiwanese politics, sociolinguistics, culture and history.

Taiwan

Taiwan PDF Author: Cal Clark
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781536198713
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
"At the turn of the century, Taiwan appeared to be a success story in both its economic and political development. Rapid economic growth and economic transformation had commenced in the 1960s and continued through the 1990s, earning the name of a "'miracle" in the 1980s. While considerably delayed, the country's transformation from a one-party dictatorship began slowly in the late 1980s but was completed without much trauma by the mid-1990s, reflecting both reforms from above by the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and pressure from below by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The first two decades of the 21st century brought generally bad news, however. The economy slowed and became considerably more dependent on China, who claimed sovereign control over Taiwan; and politics became more conflictual as Taiwan's situation worsened. In terms of issues, national identity and cross-Strait relations dominated Taiwan politics throughout much of the democratic era. However by the late 2010s, economic and social issues had become important concerns as well. Consequently, as the 2020s opened, Taiwan was clearly at a crossroads in its international, political, and social situation. This book analyzes issues in contemporary Taiwan. The first two chapters consider a variety of issues; the next four analyze cross-Strait relations; then come three chapters on issues and the party system and three on constitutional and legal issues; and the final one focuses on a social issue"--

Language, Politics and Identity in Taiwan

Language, Politics and Identity in Taiwan PDF Author: Hui-Ching Chang
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135046352
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
Following the move by Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalist Party Kuomingtang (KMT) to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the late 1940s, and Chiang’s subsequent lifelong vow to reclaim the mainland, "China " has occupied—if not monopolized—the gaze of Taiwan, where its projected images are reflected. Whether mirror image, shadow, or ideal contrast, China has been, and will continue to be, a key reference point in Taiwan's convoluted effort to find its identity. Language, Politics and Identity in Taiwan traces the intertwined paths of five sets of names Taiwan has used to name China since the KMT came to Taiwan in 1949: the derogatory "Communist bandits"; the ideologically focused "Chinese Communists"; the seemingly neutral geographical designators "mainland" and "opposite shore/both shores"; and the ethnic and national label "China," with the official designation, "People's Republic of China." In doing so, it explores how Taiwanese identities are constituted and reconstituted in the shifting and switching of names for China; in the application of these names to alternative domains of Taiwanese life; in the waning or waxing of names following tides of history and polity; and in the increasingly contested meaning of names. Through textual analyses of historical archives and other mediated texts and artifacts, the chapters chart Taiwan's identity negotiation over the past half century and critically evaluate key interconnections between language and politics. This unique book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Taiwan studies, Chinese politics, communication studies and linguistics.

Taiwan

Taiwan PDF Author: Chris Shei
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351047833
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Taiwan: Manipulation of Ideology and Struggle for Identity chronicles the turbulent relationship between Taiwan and China. This collection of essays aims to provide a critical analysis of the discourses surrounding the identity of Taiwan, its relationship with China, and global debates about Taiwan’s situation. Each chapter explores a unique aspect of Taiwan’s situation, fundamentally exploring how identity is framed in not only Taiwanese ideology, but in relation to the rest of the world. Focusing on how language is a means to maintaining a discourse of control, Taiwan: Manipulation of Ideology and Struggle for Identity delves into how Taiwan is determining its own sense of identity and language in the 21st century. This book targets researchers and students in discourse analysis, Taiwan studies, Chinese studies, and other subjects in social sciences and political science, as well as intellectuals in the public sphere all over the globe who are interested in the Taiwan issue.

Learning and Using Languages in Ethnographic Research

Learning and Using Languages in Ethnographic Research PDF Author: Robert Gibb
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
ISBN: 1788925939
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
Learning and Using Languages in Ethnographic Research breaks the silence that still surrounds learning a language for ethnographic research and in the process demystifies some of the multilingual aspects of contemporary ethnographic work. It does this by offering a set of engaging and accessible accounts of language learning and use written by ethnographers who are at different stages of their academic career. A key theme is how researchers’ experiences of learning and using other languages in fieldwork contexts relate to wider structures of power, hierarchy and inequality. The volume aims to promote a wider debate among researchers about how they themselves learn and use different languages in their work, and to help future fieldworkers make more informed choices when carrying out ethnographic research using other languages.