@inbook {7548, title = {Working out languages: An interactionist analysis of vitality issues for Taiwanese Austronesian languages}, booktitle = {Streams Converging into an Ocean: Festschrift in Honor of Professor Paul Jen-Kuei Li on His 70th Birthday}, volume = {W5}, number = {Language and Linguistics Monograph Series}, year = {2006}, publisher = {Academia Sinica}, organization = {Academia Sinica}, address = {Taipei}, abstract = {

Claire Saillard

UFR Linguistique

Universit\é Paris 7, France

Working out languages:

An interactionist analysis of vitality issues for Taiwanese Austronesian languages

Abstract

This article presents the results of a field research in interactionist sociolinguistics conducted in Hualien. Through the description of multilingual strategies in face-to-face interactions between Austronesian language speakers and their co-workers in two given professional settings, the research aimed to answer the question of vitality of Austronesian languages in a multiethnic society like Taiwan. It was found that, although the workplaces investigated were favorable to the use of Austronesian languages both for professional and extra-professional purposes, Austronesian languages were not the preferred choice of the Aborigine workers. The prevalence of standard Chinese was made quite clear whenever the speakers mastered this language sufficiently. Other non-official languages, such as Japanese and Minnan Chinese, were found to fulfill some unexpected social functions. An investigation of language attitudes as indicated by the names given to Austronesian languages corroborated the feeling of linguistic insecurity exhibited by the Aborigine speakers\’ language choices. The article ends with some perspectives on the future of Taiwanese Austronesian languages in a changing society.

Keywords : Interactionist sociolinguistics, Taiwanese Austronesian languages, language choice, language vitality, functions of languages.

}, isbn = {978-986-00-6784-2}, author = {Saillard, Claire} }