Hiang-kang e SCMP po-choa ma u choan-chai chit-chan siau-sit. --Hong-giau ----- Original Message -----
From: "Junko FOX"
To:
[Jit-bun theh-tiau.]

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Taiwan tribe seeks to revive dead language
ï¼South China Morning Posta̍2003.01.01ï¼

Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Taipei

A small Taiwanese tribe,with the help of a Dutch linguist,
is trying to revive its language which fell out of use 200
years ago.

The campaign to revive Siraya is being undertaken by the
Siraya Culture Society, which consists of about 100
descendants of the Siraya tribe in Tainan county, south
Taiwan.

Wan Shu-chuan, the director of the society, said: "Siraya
was spoken during the 1624 to 1662 Dutch colonisation of
Taiwan. There were tens of thousands of Siraya tribesmen
in south Taiwan. Over the 150 years since Dutchmen left,
Siraya gradually died out."

Dutch missionaries recorded Siraya with Romanised letters,
and Siraya tribesmen tradedwith the Chinese, signing
contracts in romanised Siraya.

But with the help of old writings and some trading contracts
written in Romanised Siraya, the society and Dutch linguist
Mark Alexander Adelaar are attempting to help the tribe
revive Siraya.

The first success of the campaign was the writing of a
theatrical play in Siraya that was performed last week in
a middle school in Tainan.

"Our next goal is to compile a Siraya-Chinese dictionary.
Our final goal is to revive Siraya so that Siraya tribesmen
can speak it," Mr Wan said.

Mr Wan said Siraya's word-endings and grammar were similar
to the Vizcaya dialect spoken in the Philippines. There is
speculation that some of Taiwan's aborigines came by boat
from the Philippines. The northern-most islet of the
Philippines is only 190km from Taiwan.

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Junko FOX

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