wfn.org | TCN: Halt in certification programs hampers development of Taiwanese

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>2971 Edition

>February 2~8, 2009

Halt in certification programs hampers development of Taiwanese

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong, Chen Wei-jien

>Written by Lydia Ma

The Legislative Yuan called an impromptu meeting on the budget  just before Lunar New Year holidays. After a third reading and with the  support of the Nationalist (KMT) Party members, the budget that included  a 1.1% deduction in spending was passed without much difficulty.  According to reports, this deduction includes stripping $30 million NTD  from “228 Museum Administration Fee”, $300 million NTD from  “228 Peace Fund”, and $40 million from promotion of Taiwanese  certification programs.

These deductions are generating much controversy and concern as  critics see them as means by which the Nationalist (KMT) Party is  undermining Taiwanese culture and education, and playing the ideology  card once again. National Taiwan Normal University Graduate Institute of  Taiwan Culture, Languages, and Literature Professor and member of the  Ministry of Education National Language Promotion Committee, Li  Khin-huan, believes the national legislature’s decision to slash  the budget allocated for promoting Taiwanese was politically motivated.

Members of Taiwanese Certification Alliance, an organization  founded in 2006 to promote Taiwanese certification and education,  believe that the latest budget cuts will impact Taiwanese certification  programs the most. The Ministry of Education entrusted National Cheng  Kung University (NCKU) Taiwanese Testing Center with the administration  of the certification program and after several trial runs, official  testing were finally set to begin in 2009 for the first time. The latest  budget cut would delay public certification indefinitely.

According to CEO of Taiwanese Romanization Association Ho Sin-han,  the certification of Taiwanese plays an important role in the  development of the language. There are currently many spelling systems  in use for Taiwanese and creating a standard system is the only means to  ensure that writing, publishing, and instruction of Taiwanese can  continue smoothly. From examples throughout history, Ho is very aware  that languages that cannot be written down are doomed to extinction in  the long run, and only languages that can be passed down in written form  can stay alive.

When interviewed about the merits of the program, Ho said the  certification of Taiwanese would mirror other language certification  programs in Taiwan, such as English, aboriginal dialects, and Mandarin,  by offering public testing that will in turn give interested  organizations a reliable standard or guideline to judge a person’s  Taiwanese proficiency.

The certification would also elevate the importance of Taiwanese  and get rid of the perception that it is merely a dialect used  exclusively by the lower class instead of a language used by the  majority of Taiwanese people. When these perceptions are rectified  through mass certification, Taiwanese could witness unprecedented  revival and development.

Furthermore, certification programs could boost research and  progress of Taiwanese in the academic field as experts strive to be  impartial and accurate when they evaluate answers given in examinations.

Li worries that stopping certification programs for Taiwanese may  lead citizens to wonder whether Taiwanese is a nationally accepted  language and severely harm the development of Taiwanese. Furthermore, it  will raise doubts about the qualification of teachers to teach Taiwanese  in public schools even though they have completed the required 36 hours  of training.

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