Taiwan Church News

3339 Edition

February 22 - 28, 2016

Church Ministry

Aboriginal Names Urged To Be Spelled In Roman Alphabets In Response To Mother Language Day

Reported by Chen Yi-fan

On February 21st, International Mother Language Day, Mrs Kolas Yotaka, the new-elect DPP lawmaker at large urged Taiwan's central government "accept the Romanized spelling as one of our official languages" in an youtube video produced by Taiwanese Languages League.

In order to make Taiwan society recognize the legitimacy and practical demands of the Romanized spelling to the aboriginal peoples, Yokota expressed she would help push two amendment bills, Name Act and Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, in the new session of Legislative Yuan.

Taking her personal experience as an example, Yotaka explained that she was bluntly rejected to register her Romanized aboriginal name in the Central Election Committee, when she intended to run for an member of parliament. Instead, before her Romanized name as "Kolas Yokata", she was obliged to put her Chinese name first to meet the so-called stipulations.

"How can the government differentiate and trample down the rights of knowledge belonging to the aboriginal peoples, just to satisfy the fixed reading habits in the Chinese text?", questioned angrily by Yotaka, "I believe, for many people, allowing their names changed into Romanized spelling through two amendment bills may be not a big deal. But, for the aboriginal peoples in Taiwan, getting their real name back in whatsoever spelling, without being restricted in the Chinese character and pronunciation only, should be a respect paid by Taiwan society at least".

Translated by Peter Wolfe