Title: Paiwan Yu Choa Church Promotes Mother Tongues Taiwan Church News 2838, 17-24 July 2006
Reported by Ko Ui. Written by David Alexander
Because Mandarin Chinese has become their language of primary communication, many young Aborigines in Taiwan have lost the ability to use their mother tongues, placing the continued existence of these languages at risk. Yu-choa Presbyterian Church in the Aboriginal Paiwan Presbytery offered a “Language Nest” theme for its summer youth gathering this year. It was designed to mold a linguistic environment for children and adolescents.
Vuluk, the pastor of Yu Choa Church, said, “On one side the government’s Committee on Aboriginal Affairs has been promoting village and family life in recent years, and the Aborigianal Ministry Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has stressed mother tongue revival. That led to our church deciding to focus on culture and language this summer, giving community children the opportunity to come and learn. Our two-week activity began on 12th July.”
Vuluk set out a systematic basic course that began with standard pronunciation and orthography. From there the participants moved to simple conversation, and progressed to church songs and memorization of the Lord’s Prayer. By the end of the second week, the group was able to demonstrate what they had acquired. They were able to use Paiwan language to sing traditional songs and offer an anthem in church.
Vuluk’s father was also a clergyman. He grew up visiting many churches and was nourished on his mother tongue. It is useful to him in all his pastoral work. From early on he experienced the power of language. Much of what he can say in Paiwan can not be expressed in Mandarin Chinese. In his view, if the PCT is to stop the attrition of its membership, language will be key. The younger generations in Aboriginal churches operate much better in Mandarin, but the older generations hold the power. A deep gap has come to divide villages linguistically.
Paiwan education in his village will not cease with the conclusion of the summer “language nest” activity. Weekend gatherings will be used to reinforce what has happened in the two-week intensive, and the linguistic gap in the village will be narrowed.
For more information vuluk@hotmail.com
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