Will vietnamese language be maintained in taiwan language use and attitude of vietnamese new immigrants in taiwan

W IL L VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? LANGUAGE USE AND ATTITUDE O F VIETNAMESE NEW IMMIGRANTS IN TAIWAN Wi-vun Chiung (Tưởng Vi Văny Thai Thị Thanh Thủy In trod u ction Marriages between persons from different countries have become more and more common in the globalization area Taiwan is no exception to this phenomenon According to the statistics o f Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency, Ministry o f Interior, foreign spouses in Taiwan numbered 459,390 in December 20111 These foreign nationals account for 1.98% o f Taiwan’s total population2 Among the foreign spouses, many were from China (308,535), followed by Vietnam (86,249), then Indonesia (27,261), Thailand (8,262), Philippines (7,184), Cambodia (4,299), Japan (3,677), Korea (1,085) and other countries together (12,838) In general, about 1/5 o f marriage number is contributed by the foreign spouses in Taiwan’s recent decade3 Among the Southeast Asian countries Vietnam is the major source country o f foreign spouses Among the Vietnamese spouses, most o f them are female, and only 0.34% or 292 persons are male In addition to the international marriages between Taiwanese and Vietnamese citizens, economic and educational exchanges between the two countries have also significantly increased in the two recent decades In December 1986, the Communist Party o f Vietnam approved the Economic Renovation Policy (Đổi mới), which was followed by a series o f attractive economic open policies for foreign investors Taiwanese businessmen were some o f the earliest foreign investors to come right after Vietnam's economic renovation policy (Shiu 2003: 124-127) A few * Center for Vietnamese Studies & Department o f Taiwanese Literature, National Cheng Kung University Available at By the end o f year 2010, the amount o f Taiwan’s total population is 23,162,123 according to Taiw an’s recent updated Statistical Yearbook o f Interior, available at Data available at 775 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TÉ LÀN THỨ TƯ years later, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) was established in Hanoi, Vietnam, in Novem ber 1992 to promote a mutual cooperation between the two countries Thereafter, economic activities between Taiwan and Vietnam have flourished tremendously Soon Taiwan became one o f the top three investors in Vietnam Taiwan and Vietnam share a similar cultural and historical background Allegedly, Taiwan and Vietnam are both descendants o f the Hundred Viet tribes in ancient time During the period o f Chinese occupation, both Vietnam and Taiwan were greatly influenced by the Chinese culture For example, Han characters and Confucianism were exported to Vietnam and Taiwan Lunar New Year festival is kept and considered the biggest festival in Vietnam and Taiwan Due to close cultural relationship, Taiwanese people are more likely to choose Vietnam rather than other countries Language use and attitude are usually the key points in determining whether language shift and death will occur or not The purpose o f this study is to investigate language use and language attitude o f the Vietnamese female immigrants in the Ka-tiann (^íĩsễ) and Oo-lai Districts o f Kaohsiung city in Taiwan Based on the findings, we would be able to predict whether Vietnamese language will be inherited in Taiwan or not Socio-linguistic background Taiwan is a multi-lingual and multi-ethnic society Traditionally, it is divided into four primary ethnic groups Because nation-wide linguistic census have not been conducted in recent decades, no accurate ethnolinguistic demographics are available However, according to frequently cited data, the speakers o f each ethnic group were estimated as follows: indigenous (1.7%), Hakka (12%), Taigi or Taiwanese (73.3%), and Chinese Mainlanders (13%) (Huang 1993: 21) In addition to the traditional ethnic groups, international marriages have become more common since the 1990s Thus, the foreign spouses, or new immigrants are the fifth ethnic group in Taiwan In addition to being a multi-ethnic society, Taiwan has been colonized by several foreign regimes since the seventeenth century Two centuries later, the sovereignty o f Taiwan was transfeưed from China to Japan in 1895 as a consequence o f the Sino-Japanese War At the end o f the World War II, Japanese forces surrendered to the Allied Forces Chiang Kai-shek, the leader o f the Chinese Nationalist (KMT or Kuomintang) took over Taiwan and northern Vietnam on behalf o f the Allied Powers under General Order N o.l o f September 2, 1945 (Peng 776 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? 1995: 60-61) At the time, Chiang Kai-shek was fighting against the Chinese Communist Party in Mainland o f China In 1949, Chiang’s troops were completely defeated and then pursued by the Chinese Communists At that time, Taiwan’s national status was supposed to be dealt with a peace treaty among the fighting nations However, because of Chiang’s defeat in China, Chiang decided to occupy Taiwan as a base from which he would fight back and retake M ainland China (Kerr 1992; Ong 1993; Peng 1995; Su 1980) Consequently, Chiang’s political regime the Republic o f China (R.O.C) was relocated and resurrected in Taiwan and has remained there since 1949 During the Chinese KMT era, Taiwan was under the control o f martial law from 1949 to 1987 The National Language Policy, or monolingual policy, was adopted during the Chinese KM T occupation o f Taiwan In the case o f the KM T’s monolingual policy, the Taiwanese people were not allowed to speak their vernaculars in school and in public Moreover, they were forced to learn Mandarin Chinese and to identify themselves as Chinese through the national education system (Cheng 1996; Tiun, 1996) As Hsiau (1997: 307) has pointed out, “the usage o f Mandarin as a national language becomes a testimony o f the Chineseness o f the KMT state.” Consequently, the younger generations are severely loosing their language ability in ethnic mother tongue This phenomenon is more apparent in the northern areas than the southern areas o f Taiwan Researches such as Chan (1994) and Young (1988) have revealed that a language shift toward Mandarin is in progress Huang (1993: 160) goes so far as to suggest that the indigenous languages o f Taiwan are all endangered Mother tongue education was not implemented nation-wide until 2001, the year after the KM T lost the ROC presidential election for the first time in Taiwan Since then, all elementary school classes are required to have a class called “local language,” ( ^ ± f p a o r ;f c d :f § l f ) lasting 40 minutes, once a week in school The schools may choose which local language would be taught in accordance with the demands o f the students In addition, more multi-lingual policies were adopted However, many policies have been changed since 2008, the year Chinese KMT won the presidential election and re-took the regime of ROC, In short, Mandarin Chinese has become the dominant language in Taiwan This is the major reason why most new immigrants choose Mandarin Chinese as their first language to learn in Taiwan Vietnam is a country' with a rich diversity o f ethnicities, including such l anguage groups as Austro-Asiatic (94% o f total population), Daic (3.7%), MiaoYao (1.1%), Austronesian (0.8%) and Tibeto-Burman It is reported that there are 54 official ethnic groups, 106 living languages, and extinct language (Lewis 2Ơ09: 537; Dang 2000: 1; Tổng cục Thống kê 2010) Among the ethnic groups, Việt or 777 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LÀN THỨ T Kinh is the majority, and it accounts for 85.7% o f V ietnam ’s total population, which was reported to be 85.8 million in Vietnam’s 2009 census (Tổng cục Thống kê 2010) The mother tongue o f ethnicity Viet is called the Vietnamese language The Vietnamese language is known to its native speakers as Tieng Viet Vietnamese is currently the official language o f Vietnam Vietnamese is an isolating language, that is, one in which the words are mostly monosyllables, there is no overt morphological alternation, and syntactic relationships are shown by word order, just as in the cases o f Taiwanese and Chinese Traditionally, Vietnamese was regarded as monosyllabic because most o f Vietnamese words consist o f single syllables However, recent statistical studies have shown that there is a clear tendency toward poly-syllabicity in m odem Vietnamese (Nguyen 1997: 35) In addition, Vietnamese is a tonal language M odem Vietnamese possesses six tones, which distinguish different lexical meanings o f words Tone sandhi in Vietnamese is neither as substantial nor as rich as in Taiwanese Various foreign influences have influenced the development o f the Vietnamese language because o f the contacts in the past between the Vietnamese and other peoples Among them, Chinese is probably the strongest and most lasting one donor language (Nguyen 1971: 153) The modem Vietnamese language is based on the varieties spoken in Vietnam’s capital city o f Hà Nội and surround Red River basin Traditionally, Vietnamese vernacular types were proposed by Henri M aspero (1912) dividing the language into two main groups: 1) the Haut-Annam group, which comprehended numerous local speech types o f the small villages stretching from the north o f Nghệ An province to the south o f Thừa Thiên province, and 2) Tonkinese-Cochinchinese, which covers all the remaining territory (Thompson 1987: 78) Generally speaking, Vietnamese variation forms a continuum from north to south, each pattern somewhat is different from a neighboring one on either side Hà Nội, Hue, and Sài Gòn (nowadays Ho Chi Minh city), located respectively in north, central, and south parts, represent three major remarkable dialects in Vietnam (Nguyen 1997: 10) Most Vietnamese immigrants in Taiwan are from the Mekong delta, so they mainly speak southern dialect Since the 1990s, more and more Vietnamese women have married Taiwanese man Most o f the Vietnamese women were from countryside o f the Mekong delta areas, where have poor living conditions Many o f them married foreign husband in search o f econemic improvement for household Language and living skill couses are usually offered for free by local governments or non-profit organizations for the new immigrants Among the language 778 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? courses, mostly arc Mandarin Chinese, and only a few courses are Taiwanese or Hakka language M ethodology and conducting procedure This research plan was conducted through questionnaire, in-depth interview, and observation o f Vietnamese immigrants’ daily life Due to time limit, subjects were limited to immigrants living in Ka-tiann and Oo-lai districts o f Kaohsiung city in southern Taiwan were interviewed A total o f 64 subjects (38 from Ka-tiann and 26 from Oo-lai) were interv iewed during the period o f Decem ber 2010 and March 2011 Most subjects were former classmates or friends o f the female researcher Thai Thi Thanh Thuy, who is a Vietnamese immigrant too, and has been living in Taiwan for over fifteen years Immigrants’ language ability, use and attitude were surveyed primarily based on their self-report on written questionnaire The ratings were based on semantic differential scales, ranging from the lowest to the highest For example, concerning language ability, means “alm ost unintelligible,” means “general or so so,” and means “like a native speaker.” Questionnaire and interviews were given in Vietnamese and were conducted by the female researcher Background information on the 64 interviewed Vietnamese immigrants was listed in Table for readers Ka-tiann and Oo-lai are two neighboring districts beside the border o f Tainan city and Kaohsiung city In general, Ka-tiann is a fishing village nearby Taiwan Strait It comprises 30,987 residents by January 2012 Am ong the residents, 193 are female and male o f Vietnamese immigrants Oo-lai is a village o f both agriculture and aquaculture oriented There are 28,825 residents by January 2012 Among them, 136 are all female Vietnamese immigrants.1 Both Ka-tiann and Oo-lai are traditionally Taiwanese-speaking communities However, due to Mandarin Chinese policy by the KMT, people in these two districts are currently bilingual in both Mandarin and Taiwanese Table B ackground inform ation on the interviewed V ietnam ese im m igrants persons Items categories Ages under 20 0.00 21-25 7.8 26-30 32 50.0 Census by Kaohsiung city government, available at and 779 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LẦN THỨ T Education level Years o f marriage Years in Taiwan Job experiences outside family 31-35 17 26.6 36-40 12.5 above 41 3.1 unfinished elementary 3.1 elementary 15 23.4 junior high 31 48.4 senior high 16 25.0 college 0.00 graduate school 0.00 1-3 3.12 4-6 13 20.3 7-9 26 40.6 10-12 19 29.7 above 13 6.3 less than 0.00 1-3 4.7 4-6 12 18.8 7-9 25 39.1 above 10 24 37.5 never 13 20.3 4.7 1-3 15 23.4 4-6 18 28.1 7-9 10 15.6 7.81 yes 48 75.00 not yet 16 25.00 0 0.00 26 40.6 30 46.9 12.5 only couples 17 26.6 couples and parents 46 71.9 1.0 less than above 10 Got Taiwan’s ID No o f children above Members in family with relatives 780 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? Getting along with members very well 32 50.0 well 31 48.4 1.6 not well total number: 64 Results and discussions 4.1 Language abilities o f the immigrants In average, the 64 immigrants have been living in Taiwan for years Based on their self-report on the questionnaire, the time they have spent on learning Mandarin Chinese or Taiwanese are summarized and listed in Table It shows that the average years they have spent on learning Mandarin is years, and they spent 1.5 hours per day in average As for learning Taiwanese, they have spent years, and 1.3 hours per day It reflects that new immigrants have chosen Mandarin as the first priority language to learn since Mandarin is regarded as the official language by ROC Table Time spent on learning Mandarin and Taiwanese items categories Years in learning Less than year 0.00 Mandarin 1-3 7.81 4-6 13 20.3 7-9 25 39.0 above 10 21 32.9 10.9 persons Hours in learning Less than hour Mandarin per day 23 35.9 30 46.9 6.3 above 0.00 Years in learning Less than year 3.1 Taiwanese 1-3 17 26.6 781 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LÀN THỨ T 4-6 16 25.0 7-9 18 28.1 above 10 11 17.2 Hours in learning Less than hour 14 21.9 Taiwanese per day J 26 40.6 19 29.7 7.8 above 0.00 Immigrants’ language abilities were further divided into listening, speaking, reading and writing skills Theoretically, the immigrants should take official language tests to show their language skills However, practically, it is difficult to take this way So, the skills were based on their self-report answers with the researcher’s observation The ratings o f language skills were based on semantic differential scales, ranging from the lowest to the highest The results are listed in Table through Table 10 The results have shown that the overall language abilities o f the immigrants are Vietnamese, M andarin, Taiwanese to English, in descending degree Vietnamese language is the mother tongue o f the immigrants; no doubt, it is the most fluent language As for the other languages, it seems that the immigrants’ performance o f the languages is reflecting Taiwan’s current sociolinguistic facts Among the four language skills, listening and speaking skills are more fluent than reading and writing skills Table Listening abilities of the immigrants general fluent like native Hevel not fluent almost none No % No % No % No % No % Mandarin 13 20.3 37 57.8 14 21.9 0.0 0.0 Taiwanese 13 20.3 22 34.4 17 26.6 14.1 4.7 Vietnamese 62 96.9 3.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 English 0.0 0.0 4.7 6.2 57 89.1 lg- 782 \ WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? Table Listening abilities of the imm igrants by scores languages mean s.d fluent order Mandarin 3.98 0.65 Taiwanese 3.52 1.11 Vietnamese 4.97 0.18 English 1.16 0.48 Table Speaking abilities o f the im m ig n ts c - -• x\ level lg like native general fluent not fluent almost none - x No % No % No % No % No % Mandarin 32 50.0 26 40.6 6.2 3.1 0.0 Taiwanese 17 26.6 22 34.4 16 25.0 7.8 6.2 Vietnamese 63 98.4 1* 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 English 0.0 0.0 4.7 6.2 57 89.1 * She used to be the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Table Sp eak ing abilities o f the im m ig n ts b y scores languages mean s.d fluent order Mandarin 4.38 0.75 Taiwanese 3.67 1.14 Vietnamese 4.98 0.13 English 1.16 0.48 Table R eading abilities o f the im m ig n ts \ lg level \ like native fluent general not fluent almost none No % No % No % No % No % Mandarin 4.7 14.1 38 59.4 10 15.6 6.2 Taiwanese 6.2 3.1 22 34.4 15 23.4 21 32.8 Vietnamese 59 92.2 4.7 3.1 0.0 0.0 English 0.0 0.0 4.7 6.2 57 89.1 783 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LẰN THỨ T Table Reading abilities of the immigrants by scores languages mean s.d. fluent order Mandarin 2.95 0.86 Taiwanese 2.27 1.14 Vietnamese 4.89 0.40 English 1.16 0.48 Table W ritin g abilities o f the im m ig ran ts Nv level like native fluent general almost none not fluent No % No % No % No % No % Mandarin 3.1 7.8 29 45.3 23 35.9 7.8 Taiwanese 0.0 1.6 18 28.1 11 17.2 34 53.1 Vietnamese 54 84.4 6.2 4.7 1.6 3.1 English 0.0 1.6 3.1 4.7 58 90.6 l g ' Table 10 W ritin g abilities of the immigrants by scores fluent order m ean s.d Mandarin 2.62 0.86 Taiwanese 1.78 0.92 Vietnamese 4.67 0.89 English 1.16 0.54 languages 4.2 Vietnamese ability o f the immigrants’ husband and children In addition to imm igrants’ language abilities, Vietnamese ability o f the immigrants’ husband and children were also surveyed and summarized in Table 11 and Table 12 It reveals that Vietnamese language is almost completely unintelligible to most o f the immigrants’ husband (67.2%), and only 32.8 % o f the husbands could speak a few sentences in Vietnamese 784 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? female teachers of language 51 79.7 9.4 3.1 1.6 3.1 51 79.7 10.9 0.00 1.6 7.8 51 79.7 10.9 0.00 1.6 7.8 male neighbors 31 48.4 12.5 9.4 9.4 13 20.3 female neighbors 31 48.4 12.5 9.4 9.4 13 20.3 courses male social workers female social workers Table 14 Mean score of language use of Mandarin with different targets target mean s.d in order husband 4.48 1.01 husband’s father 2.09 1.87 13 husband’s mother 2.12 1.84 12 husband’s brothers 3.95 1.55 husband’s sisters 3.81 1.69 husband’s relatives 3.59 1.59 10 husband’s friends 4.11 1.32 Vietnamese friends 1.39 0.61 14 children 4.08 1.67 teachers of children 4.47 1.35 friends of children 4.53 1.25 teachers of language courses 4.52 1.20 social workers 4.53 1.14 neighbors 3.59 1.63 11 787 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TÉ LẰN THỨ T ♦National Immigration Agency 788 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? Table 16 M ean score o f language use of M a n d arin in different domains domain mean s.d in order Traditional market 3.98 1.51 11 supermarket 4.59 1.02 convenient store 4.62 0.93 temple or church 4.11 1.47 10 hospital 4.58 1.07 public clinic 4.52 1.18 NIA* 4.67 0.96 district officeia-^^T 4.72 0.79 4.70 0.85 factory or company 3.86 1.79 12 post office 4.44 1.18 bank 4.33 1.22 household registration office f íỈỊ&ĩ1íl& Table 17 Language use of Taiwanese with different targets \fre q u e n c y target Husband husband’s father husband’s m other husband’s brothers always usually sometimes seldom rare No % No % No % No % No % 25 39.1 9.4 14 21.9 10 15.6 14.1 38 59.4 1.6 6.2 10.9 4.7 39 60.9 1.6 9.4 10.9 3.1 25 39.1 4.7 7.8 16 25.0 14 21.9 789 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YỂU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TÉ LÀN THỨ TƯ husband’s sisters 24 37.5 4.7 7.8 16 25.0 13 20.3 husband’s male relatives 36 56.2 9.4 4.7 10.9 12 18.8 husband’s female relatives 36 56.2 9.4 4.7 10.9 12 18.8 husband’s male friends 24 37.5 3.1 10.9 13 20.3 18 28.1 husband’s female friends 24 37.5 3.1 10.9 13 20.3 18 28.1 male Vietnamese friends 0.00 0.00 6.2 17 26.6 43 67.2 female Vietnamese friends 0.00 0.00 6.2 17 26.6 43 67.2 Sons 26 40.6 7.8 12.5 10 15.6 14.1 daughters 26 40.6 7.8 12.5 11 17.2 12.5 male teachers of children 12 18.8 3.1 11 17.2 14.1 27 42.2 female teachers of children 12 18.8 3.1 11 17.2 14.1 27 42.2 male friends of children 14.1 3.1 11 17.2 14.1 31 48.4 female friends of children 14.1 3.1 11 17.2 14.1 31 48.4 male teachers of language courses 13 20.3 1.6 11 17.2 13 20.3 24 37.5 female teachers oflanguage courses 13 20.3 1.6 11 17.2 13 20.3 24 37.5 90 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? male social 11 17.2 1.6 12.5 11 17.2 33 51.6 11 17.2 1.6 12.5 11 17.2 33 51.6 male neighbors 39 60.9 7.8 10.9 9.4 10.9 female neighbors 39 60.9 7.8 10.9 9.4 10.9 workers female social workers Table 18 M ean score o f lan gu age use o f T a iw a n ese w ith d iffe r e n t targ ets target mean s.d in order husband 3.44 1.49 husband’s father 3.48 2.02 husband’s mother 3.64 1.90 husband’s brothers 3.09 1.71 husband’s sisters 3.00 1.76 husband’s relatives 3.73 1.65 husband’s friends 3.02 1.70 Vietnamese friends 1.39 0.61 14 children 3.17 1.81 teachers o f children 2.28 1.60 11 friends o f children 2.11 1.48 13 2.37 1.57 social workers 2.16 1.50 12 neighbors 3.98 1.45 teachers o f language courses 10 791 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LÀN THỨ T Table 19 Language use of Taiwanese in different domains frequency always usually sometimes seldom rare domain No % No % No % No % No % Traditional market 31 48.4 6.2 12 18.8 12.5 14.1 supermarket 14 21.9 4.7 10 15.6 11 17.2 26 40.6 convenient store 11 17.2 1.6 14.1 13 20.3 30 46.9 temple or church 25 39.1 6.2 12.5 14.1 18 28.1 hospital 16 25.0 4.7 12.5 11 17.2 26 40.6 public clinic 17 26.6 3.1 10.9 11 17.2 27 42.2 NIA* 13 20.3 1.6 10.9 14 21.9 29 45.3 11 17.2 1.6 14.1 11 17.2 32 50.0 11 17.2 3.1 12.5 10 15.6 33 51.6 factory or company 24 37.5 7.8 9.4 9.4 16 25.0 post office 13 20.3 1.6 12.5 13 20.3 29 45.3 Bank 13 20.3 1.6 14.1 13 20.3 28 43.8 district office household registration office Table 20 Mean score of language use of Taiwanese in different domains domain mean s.d in order Traditional market 3.62 1.53 supermarket 2.50 1.58 convenient store 2.22 1.49 10 temple or church 3.14 1.71 792 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? hospital 2.56 1.64 public clinic 2.55 1.67 NIA* 2.30 1.55 district office 1ak'/iffii 2.19 1.50 11 2.19 1.52 12 factory or company 2.91 1.93 post office 2.31 1.55 bank 2.34 1.55 household registration office ỉỳL 'Jí$ỷJ?r Table 21 Language use of Vietnamese with different targets X\ frequency target Husband husband’s father husband’s mother husband’s brothers husband’s sisters husband’s male relatives husband’s female relatives always No % No % 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.00 friends sometimes seldom rare No % No % 7.8 16 25.0 43 67.2 0.00 0.00 53 82.8 0.00 0.00 0.00 55 85.9 0.00 0.00 0.00 63 98.4 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 61 95.3 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 r husband’s male usually No % 0.00 793 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUÓC TẾ LẦN THỨ TƯ husband’s female friends 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 male Vietnamese friends 64 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0) female Vietnamese friends 64 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0) Sons 12.5 4.7 18 28.1 14 21.9 15 234 Daughters 10.9 1.6 18 28.1 16 25.0 16 250 male teachers of children 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 109 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 105 male friends of children 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 10) female friends of children 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 10) male teachers of language courses 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 10) female teachers of language courses 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 10) male social workers 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 10) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 10) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 10) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 10) female teachers of children fem ale social workers m ale neighbors fem ale neighbors 794 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? Table 22 Mean score of language use of V ietnam ese w ith differen t targets target mean s.d husband 1.44 0.75 husband’s father 0.97 0.18 husband’s mother 0.97 0.18 husband’s brothers 1.00 0.00 husband’s sisters 1.00 0.00 husband’s relatives 1,00 0.00 husband’s friends 1.00 0.00 Vietnamese friends 5.00 0.00 children 2.33 1.46 teachers of children 1.00 0.00 friends of children 1.00 0.00 teachers of language courses 1.00 0.00 social workers 1.00 0.00 neighbors 1.00 0.00 No Vietnamese and English were used by the immigrants in public domains Table 23 Language use of English w ith d ifferen t ta rg e ts ^ xfrequency target \ always Usually sometimes seldom rare No % No % No % No % No % Husband 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 husband’s father 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 53 82.8 husband’s mother 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 55 85.9 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 63 98.4 husband’s brothers 795 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LÀN THỨ TƯ husband’s sisters 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 61 95.3 husband’s male relatives 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 husband’s female relatives 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 husband’s male friends 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 husband’s female friends 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 male Vietnamese friends 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 female Vietnamese friends 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 Sons 0.00 0.00 3.1 1.6 61 95.3 daughters 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 58 90.6 male teachers of children 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 female teachers of children 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 male friends of children 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 female friends of children 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 male teachers of language courses 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 fem ale teachers of language courses male social workers 96 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? female social workers L male neighbors female neighbors 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 64 100 Table 24 M ean score o f language use o f E n glish w ith d iffe re n t targets target mean s.d husband 1.02 0.13 husband’s father 1.00 0.00 husban d ’s mother 1.00 0.00 husband’s brothers 1.00 0.00 husband’s sisters 1.00 0.00 husband’s relatives 1.00 0.00 husband’s friends 1.00 0.00 V ietnam ese friends 1.00 0.00 children 0.97 0.47 teachers o f children 1.00 0.00 friends o f children 1.00 0.00 teachers o f language courses 1,00 0.00 social workers 1.00 0.00 neighbors 1.00 0.00 In summary’, the Vietnam ese female new im m igrants tend to speak Taiwanese with their family members On the contrary, outside their families they use Chinese language They consistently use Vietnamese language to communicate among their Vietnamese fellows At other places such as religious premises, market they use Taiwanese At the administrative places, on the contrary they usually use Chinese Af for the immigrants’ children, some o f them arc able to listen and speak coiversational Vietnamese 797 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LÀN THỨ T 4.4 Language attitude Table 25 Attitudes towards Mandarin Questions mean s.d in order 1 think Mandarin is helpful in life 4.92 0.27 2 Mandarin is helpful to children’s education 4.97 0.18 Mandarin is helpful to find job 4.91 0.29 Mandarin is helpful to raise status in family 4.12 1.10 It’s proud to speak fluent Mandarin 3.72 1.37 My children must learn Mandarin since childhood 4.89 0.32 am afraid not being able to teach kids Mandarin 4.45 1.13 Mean 4.57 0.67 (5=strongly agree 4=agree 3= Neutral 2= disagree 1= strongly disagree) Table 26 Attitudes towards Taiwanese Questions mean s.d in order 1 think Taiwanese is helpful in life 4.64 0.68 2 Taiwanese is helpful to children’s education 4.66 0.65 Taiwanese is helpful to find job 4.47 0.82 4 Taiwanese is helpful to raise status in family 4.34 1.19 It’s proud to speak fluent Taiwanese 3.67 1.37 My children must learn Taiwanese since childhood 4.58 0.92 am afraid not being able to teach kids Taiwanese 4.36 1.09 Mean 4.39 0.96 (5=strongly agree 4=agree 3= Neutral 2= disagree 1= strongly disagree) Table 27 Attitudes towards Vietnamese mean s.d in ordei It is necessary to teach kids Vietnamese 4.19 1.30 2 It is not necessary to teach kids Vietnamese 1.64 1.09 want Vietnamese program to be provided on TV 4.73 0.74 Questions 798 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? My kids should learn Vietnamese since childhood 3,83 1.46 think Vietnamese would have negative influence on kid’s Mandarin learning 2.80 1.78 6.1 think Vietnamese would have negative influence on kid’s Taiwanese learning 2.80 1.78 am afraid thai I would forget Vietnamese ifl did not use it frequently 1.77 1.51 (5=strongly agree 4=agree 3= Neutral 2= disagree 1= strongly disagree) Table 28 R easons teaching V ietnam ese to ch ild ren It is helpful and useful to lean one more language Yes No 39.1 25p Yes Because mother is a Vietnamese It is the obligation of children with Vietnamese mother No 50.0 32p 50.0 32p No Yes 14.1 9p 60.9 39p 85.9 55p p: persons Table 29 R eason s not teaching V ietnam ese to ch ild ren It could have negative effects on children’s school homework It could have negative effects on learning Mandarin and Taiwanese it is not necessary to use Vietnamese in Taiwan No Yes 25.0 16p Yes No 3.1 2p 62p 96.9 No Yes 0.00 0p 75.0 48p 64p Yes 100.0 No It is opposed by family members 5p 7.8 59p 92.2 p: persons 799 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LÀN THỨ TƯ Conclusions The female Vietnamese new immigrants all agree that Chinese and Taiwanese languages are beneficial and helpful to their lives They also agree that their children should learn both Chinese and Taiwanese during the childhood A t the same time they are worcied about their inadequate capability o f Chinese and Taiwanese in the education o f their children M ost immigrants expressed their love for their Vietnamese m other tongue Although most o f them would like Vietnamese language to be inherited by their children, less than h a lf o f their children can speak Vietnamese in practical cases In other words, Vietnamese is not very likely to be inherited and preserved in Taiwan under this situation References Chan, Hui-Chen, 1994, Language shift in Taiwan: social and political determinants Ph.D dissertation: Georgetown University Cheng, Robert L., 1996, policy] In C.H Si (pp 21-50) § i^kapfnU'IEfc:^ [Democracy and language Dang, Nghiem Van, et al 2000, Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam Hanoi: The Gioi Grimes, Barbara 2000, Ethnologue: Language o f the World (13rd edition), Dallas: SIL International Hsiau, A-chin, 1997, Language ideology in Taiwan: the KMT’s language policy, the Tai-yu language movement, and ethnic politics Journal o f Multilingual and Multicultural Development 18 (4), 302-315 Huang, Shuan F, 1993, In H i t # ỆịM M lầĩềịLanguage, Society, and Ethnic Identity] Taipei: Crane Kerr, George H., 1992, |$:tfcỉltỂfà pUS [Formosa Betrayed] Taipei: Chian-ui Press Lewis, Paul M (ed.), 2009, Ethnologue: Language o f the Worlds (16th ed.) Dallas: SIL International Nguyen, Dinh Hoa, 1997, Vietnamese John Benjamins 10 Nguyen, Khac-Kham, 1971, Influence of old Chinese on the Vietnamese language Area and Culture Studies 21,153-181 Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies ll.O n g , Iok-tek, 1993, Independence Press [Taiwan: a depressed history] Taipei: 12 Peng, Ming M and Ng, Yuzin c , 1995, Taiwan] Taipei: Taiwan Interminds Publishing Inc 800 legal status o f WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? 13 Shiu, Wen-tang, 2003, A decade of development in Taiwan-Vietnam relations In Hsiao, Hsin-Huang (ed.) Taiwan and Southeast Asia: Go-South Policy and Vietnamese Brides, pp 117-161 Taipei: Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies, Academia Sinica 14 Su, Beng, 1980, Í E Ềf Culture Associates 5t fTaiwan's 400 year history] San Jose: Paradise 15 Thompson, Laurence, 1987, A Vietnamese Reference Grammar Hawaii: University of Hawaii 16 Tổng Cục Thống Kê, 2010, Báo cáo kết thức tỏng điều tra dân số nhà 1/4/2009 [2009 Vietnam’s Census and houses] 801 ... Peng, Ming M and Ng, Yuzin c , 1995, Taiwan] Taipei: Taiwan Interminds Publishing Inc 800 legal status o f WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? 13 Shiu, Wen-tang, 2003, A decade of development... Among the language 778 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? courses, mostly arc Mandarin Chinese, and only a few courses are Taiwanese or Hakka language M ethodology and conducting procedure... the immigrants? ?? husband (67.2%), and only 32.8 % o f the husbands could speak a few sentences in Vietnamese 784 WILL VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BE MAINTAINED IN TAIWAN? Table 11 Vietnamese ability of