The institutional framework of Taiwanese National-Languages-related legislation and its policy adaptation: An analysis of the indigenous/Hakka regional languages in Taiwan (2/2)

In Taiwan, the concept of regional languages was firstly introduced in 2017 through the Indigenous Languages Development Act. Since then, the government have brought in a series of National-Languages-related legislation to protect the Taiwanese natural languages, such as Hakka and other languages. Under the banner of “all national languages shall be equal”, these laws somehow face a collision with each other. The collision is mainly caused by the fact that authorities tabled their own policies and by-laws without discussion. In order to combat the problem, the Executive Yuan finally established a forum under the Premier this year. Before soon, this new mechanism tabled a multi-billion project, entitled the “Overall Development Plan of Promoting National Languages” (2022-2026). Under this plan, authorities have to cooperate closely in the development of new promoting programs. As one can imagine, an umbrella system of national languages will soon be established through the work-in-progress practice. By adopting the paradigm of “language policy and planning”, this three-year research project attempts to analyze the institutional framework of National-Languages-related legislation in general, and the policies/practices of indigenous/Hakka regional languages in specific. Setting its fieldwork site in the multi-ethnic area of Taoyuan, this project aims to collect data through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participation observations. Also, in order to learn from other countries, a two-week fieldwork will be conducted in Canada. This project hopes to arrive a clearer understanding about the concept of national languages.