In Taiwan We Speak

How do you translate Sherlock Holmes stories into a language that doesn’t have a commonly accepted writing system? This is the question faced by Kí Phín-tsì (紀品志), a Tâi-gí linguist, translator, and co-creator of the Bite-Size Taiwanese podcast. In this #InTaiwanWeSpeak episode, Phín-tsì shares the challenge of translating world literature into his native Tâi-gí — a language many people in Taiw...

In the last part of our conversation, Tayal community activist and scholar Wasiq Silan speaks about the Sámi Indigenous representation in her second home, Finland. She also shares her experience voicing Taiwan's lesser-known Indigenous histories internationally. New episodes are released every Tuesday at 21:00 (Taipei, GMT+8). For engaging updates and video snippets of #InTaiwanWeSpeak, follow...

Providing Tayal elders with Indigenous-centred care is a matter of respect, says Wasiq Silan, a Tayal activist and researcher. She dedicated years to studying elderly care and its potential to give Indigenous elders the truly fulfilled ageing they deserve. Hear more about decolonising care in Taiwan in the second part of our conversation with Dr. Wasiq Silan, where she also invites us all to a wal...

Gao I-An was raised in a small Indigenous community among the mountains of New Taipei and, like most other Indigenous kids, was discouraged from embracing her ancestral language. But even far from home, the Tayal heritage accompanied her throughout the years and eventually inspired her to reclaim her language and name — Wasiq. In this #InTaiwanWeSpeak episode, we hear from Dr. Wasiq Silan, a Tayal...

The Siraya language was considered long lost until a recent discovery revealed religious texts written by Dutch missionaries centuries back in a local tongue. They have become a primary source of knowledge about the Siraya language and a basis for its revitalisation. In the last part of this series, we speak with the Sirayan scholar and activist Jolan Hsieh about her language's path towards re...

“Plains Indigenous” or “Mountains Indigenous” — a colonial framework of categorising Taiwan’s Austronesian peoples that is still prevalent in its legal system and policies. But Jolan Hsieh, a Siraya activist and scholar, believes that this is a “false dichotomy” that only serves to divide and separate Indigenous communities. In the second part of the #InTaiwanWeSpeak interview, Dr. Hsieh discusses...

This year, Tainan celebrates its 400th anniversary as Taiwan’s oldest city. In this place in 1624, the Dutch built Fort Zeelandia, their first colonial outpost on the island. But they were not the first to settle this land. As the Dutch fort rose from the ground, the Siraya and other Indigenous peoples of this land faced an uncertain future of oppression, assimilation and cultural erosion that wou...

Once again, in Taiwan we speak Tâi-gí... Except, who are “we”? Which “we” are we exactly? Our guest has at least three answers to that! Find out what makes Tâi-gí pronouns so unique and why the language is written in both Chinese and English-like characters — listen to the last part of our conversation with Dr. Lîm Ka-î from the National Academy for Educational Research. New episodes are released...

“It has given me direction in life.” That is how Lîm Ka-î speaks about her native language Tâi-Gí. Although she did not grow up speaking it fluently, it has now become the work of her life. In the second part of our conversation with Dr. Lim, she reflects on her work reviving and promoting Tâi-Gí, and on the future that her language has ahead. New episodes are released every Tuesday at 21:00 (Taip...

What is the difference between Taigi, Taiwanese, Taiwanese Hokkien, Minnan and Hoklo? These are only some of the names different people use for Tâi-gí, one of Taiwan’s most spoken languages. So what should we call the language that, to this day, remains the native language of the absolute majority of Taiwan’s population? To make sense of this naming mess, we talk with Lîm Ka-î, or Liz Lim, a resea...

Dear listener, to make sure that all your wishes come true in 2024, Olek went down the hallway of Radio Taiwan International and collected your New Year wishes from our hosts speaking different languages. The result is 15 languages! (That's 15 wishes — use them wisely!) In order of appearance: English, Ukrainian, Thai, German, Malay, Tuvan, Korean, French, Indonesian, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin...

What kind of future awaits Hakka TV, when fewer and fewer Taiwanese watch television or understand Hakka? Find out in the final part of our chat with Paul Shiang, where he talks about his TV station’s efforts in promoting the language. New episodes are released every Tuesday at 21:00 (Taipei, GMT+8). For engaging updates and video snippets of #InTaiwanWeSpeak, follow Radio Taiwan International on...

What do lion, tiger, cheetah, duck, monkey, elephant and deer have in common? They all are used to memorise tones in the Hailu dialect of the Hakka language. What else, besides having seven tones, makes Hakka a great language to learn this week? Tune in to the second part of our interview with Paul Shiang to find out. Who can teach us better, than the director of the only Hakka-language TV channel...

“Have you eaten yet?” “食飽吂?” This is a common greeting used by the Hakka people, the second-largest ethnic group in Taiwan that has long been considered the island’s “invisible minority.” In this episode, we start our conversation on the Hakka language and its speakers who are actively revitalising their language, reclaiming their voices, and building their way out of invisibility. And to answe...

Indigenous cultures, in all their diversity, have come to inform Taiwan’s modern-day art. One example is TAI Body Theatre, a contemporary dance troupe founded in 2012 by the Truku artist Watan Tusi. In this episode, we hear from the theatre’s executive producer Lin Chihyu about the role linguistic heritage plays in their creative process and take a peek into their upcoming performance “Flying Bete...

Paiwan is an endangered language, but there is hope that it will be preserved and popularised again. In the last part of our interview with a Paiwan activist Ljius Kulivu, we talk about language preservation in Taiwan and ask the question — “What else needs to be done?” New episodes are released every Tuesday at 21:00 (Taipei, GMT+8). For engaging updates and video snippets of #InTaiwanWeSpeak, fo...

With only 15,000 speakers, Paiwan is so unique that it is even considered a language group of its own. We continue our conversation with the Paiwan activist and translator Ljius Kulivu to learn about his language’s distinct features and some really interesting “untranslatables”. New episodes are released every Tuesday at 21:00 (Taipei, GMT+8). For engaging updates and video snippets of #InTaiwanWe...

Paiwan, Taiwan’s second-largest Indigenous language, comes to us from a small mountainous area in southern Taiwan. What is the Paiwan homeland like? Let’s hear from Ljius Kulivu, an activist passionate about preserving and promoting his ancestral language. New episodes are released every Tuesday at 21:00 (Taipei, GMT+8). For engaging updates and video snippets of #InTaiwanWeSpeak, follow Radio Tai...

What language do people speak in Taiwan? Taiwanese? Or Chinese? Let me tell you, there’s so much more to it — Taiwan’s linguistic diversity will blow your mind! So how about we explore this lingo-multiverse together? New episodes are released every Tuesday at 21:00 (Taipei, GMT+8). For engaging updates and video snippets of #InTaiwanWeSpeak, follow Radio Taiwan International on socials and YouTube...