ANU opens Australia’s first Taiwanese language course -Ministry of Education Republic of China (Taiwan)

ANU opens Australia’s first Taiwanese language course

Date: 2017-07-31

The first “Taiwanese” language course in Australia was offered by the School of Culture History and Language at the Australian National University (ANU) from 19 June to 12 July as an intensive winter session course. So-called “Taiwanese” is also known as
‘Hoklo” or “Taiwanese Hokkien”and it is a Chinese dialect that is part of the Hokkien or Minnanyu language group. As well as in Taiwan, it is also spoken in the southern part of Fujian Province in the People's Republic of China, and in many diasporic communities in Southeast Asia.

This introductory course is part of the Taiwan Studies Program at the ANU, cosponsored by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan and the university, to enhance and make more broadly available knowledge of the history, society, languages and culture of Taiwan and its academic engagement with the Asia- Pacific region. The Taiwanese language course was taught by Professor Li Khin-huann Li (李勤岸). Professor Li is a poet, dedicated scholar and long-term chair of the Taiwan Culture, Languages, and Literatures Department at National Taiwan Normal University. Li leads a group of linguists who have been dedicated to standardising and reviving the Taiwanese language since 2005.

This introductory course places emphasis on the use of this language in daily settings in Taiwan.
It covers basic pronunciation and grammar. Students can learn to conduct everyday conversations and to use common content and function words in conversation and writing. It also aims to develop students’ knowledge of the cultures and traditions that have shaped features of the language, one of the oldest surviving Sinitic dialects.
The details of Taiwanese course at ANU can be found at:https://programsandcourses.anu.edu.au/course/CHIN6016