About me and my language community

Hi, this is Yi-Chun. I am a bilingual speaker in Taiwanese Hokkien and Mandarin. At home, my parents speak Taiwanese Hokkien to me and this is few ways that I can practice speaking Taiwanese Hokkien since Mandarin is the dominant language in Taiwan.
 
Although I speak Taiwanese Hokkien, I have never learned it formally. Thus I can’t write and read it in Taiwanese Romanization System, which is a writing system for Taiwanese Hokkien released by the government around ten years ago.
 
Less and less people are willing to speak Taiwanese Hokkien due to the stigma on the language and the prominence of Mandarin. The government has been aware of the problem and make Taiwanese Hokkien one of the optional languages classes for 12-year education program.
 
Although the language is taught in class, it is elective. Plus, there is limit environment for children to speak and use the language. It seems that there is still long way to go on revitalizing Taiwanese Hokkien.
Name: Yi-Chun 
Contact: chenyc