Blundell, David
(2011)
Taiwan Austronesian Language Heritage
Connecting Pacific Island Peoples:
Diplomacy And Values.
International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), 7 (1).
pp. 75-91.
ISSN ISSN: 1823-6243
Abstract
As we engage in the current Pacific arena of diplomacy and cultural values, the
position of Taiwan as an early linguistic factor in the dispersal of its languages is
important to observe. The region is increasingly using this linguistic heritage to
seek collaboration and partnership. Since Neolithic prehistory, Taiwan has
ushered in the Austronesian languages that became about 1,200 in number
spreading across most of Island Southeast Asia and Oceania for several thousand
years, extending from origins, with examples found in the Formosan languages,
through the Malayo-Polynesian languages of the islands of Philippines, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Micronesia, Melanesian islands, Polynesia, and across the Indian
Ocean in Madagascar. These languages are valuable, regardless of their extent,
influence, or number of speakers, as part of the basic richness of humanity—a farreaching interconnecting legacy of communication and worldviews. This article
explores the concept of Taiwan and Austronesia—positioning historical roots and
contemporary languages and cultures as valuable peaceful and sustainable
development tools for island inter-connectivity across the Pacific that can be used
to seek collaboration and partnership due to their association with heritage.
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[img]](http://eprints.usm.my/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png)
