TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Monday (Feb. 21) made a statement for International Mother Language Day, saying while Taiwan is internationalizing, it will not forget its roots and through multilingual learning, an inclusive country will emerge.
Lai made a social media post proclaiming mother tongues to be the most beautiful voice to be passed down through the ages, per a CNA report. He said Taiwan is linguistically rich and diverse and that International Mother Language Day reminds everyone to value linguistic inheritance, promote respect and solidarity with each other, and cherish the culture of the nation.
He said that Taiwanese, Hakka, Aboriginal languages, Mindong (spoken in the Matsu archipelago), and the native languages of new residents all mingle together in Taiwan, and that language is the carrier of culture. Enabling children to speak their mother tongue freely and letting the world see Taiwan through their mother tongue has always been an ideal long pursued by the Tsai administration, he said.
Lai says since the Development of National Languages Act was established, elementary schools have now added seven Southeast Asian languages as electives while Mindong and Taiwan Sign Language has been added to the junior high school curriculum. There are a number of specific policies that all aim to promote the culture, beauty, and history of each language.
Lai said on International Mother Language Day people should seize this chance to “speak our tongue now” (“現在開始說我們的話”）and further build an inclusive Taiwan through language.
