Language in Taiwan: Lost in Romanisation

Nguồn tin: nguontinviet.com

THE policy of détente with China espoused by Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou, has caused fears among some Taiwanese that the island’s rowdy democracy will be pushed into Beijing’s political embrace. Fears of future reunification are even causing some Taiwanese cities to reject hanyu pinyin, the official system for Romanising Chinese words in both China and Taiwan, in favour of an older system.

Mr Ma’s government declared more than five years ago that the country would start using hanyu pinyin. The reasoning is sensible. It is the phonetic system used virtually everywhere in the world, including the United Nations and the International Organisation for Standardisation, for transcribing Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet. The one problem: it was developed in Communist China in the 1950s and so, for some Taiwanese, remains suspect.

Officials argue that its use will improve Taiwan’s economic competitiveness by co-ordinating with other Chinese-speaking societies. But some Taiwanese believe this is a ploy by Mr Ma covertly to integrate Taiwan more closely with mainland China.

Hanyu pinyin is now used on street signs in the island’s capital, Taipei, but some cities ruled by opposition mayors are staging a boycott. They include Kaohsiung, the island’s second-largest metropolis, and Tainan, a popular tourist spot filled with charming temples. These cities are clinging to the Romanisation system known as tongyong pinyin, which was introduced in 2002 and is closely associated with Mr Ma’s predecessor, Chen Shui-bian, a passionate advocate of independence. Tongyong pinyin is unique to Taiwan, and its use was once lambasted by Xinhua, the mainland’s official news agency, as a move to rid Taiwan of Chinese influence.

Expatriate newcomers who cannot read Chinese characters easily lose their way. The Altar of Heaven, a temple in Tainan, is located on a lane off Jhongyi Road on the city government website, but is off Zhongyi Road on Google Maps. A lingering third system known as Wade-Giles, used before both the others, confuses visitors even more. Mr Ma’s officials say there is no legal requirement for local governments to adopt hanyu pinyin and they are reluctant to push too hard, lest they stir up memories of the harsh martial-law regime that ended over two decades ago. But, even in language, Taiwan remains divided.

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