More languages under threat?

The country of Taiwan is officially known as the Republic of China (ROC) and it has a population of 22.56 million (in August 2003), all bar 433,524 indigenous peoples (in 2002) Han Chinese. The majority language is Mandarin, imposed after the Chinese government in exile arrived in Taipei in 1949, and this is the island's official language, although increasingly Taiwanese is being spoken.

However, minority languages such as Hakka and indigenous languages have been suppressed and are being spoken by fewer people, and many who do speak them are bilingual. A report on the BBC outlines the problem, with half of the island's 14 indigenous languages on UNESCO's endangered list as a result of a continual onslaught from outside influences.

The Taiwanese government is beginning to take action to address the problem, with tribal languages taught in schools if enough members of the tribe are present, and other facilities available to teach the languages. However, there is a serious danger that the erosion has already reached tipping point and cannot be undone, and it's possible that education alone may not be enough to save these disappearing languages. As always, the solution lies with the younger generation and how necessary it will be for them to speak in their tribal tongues.