I am Professor of Linguistics at the Department of English, National Taiwan Normal University. My research spans sociolinguistics and pragmatics, focusing particularly on language and identity, language ideologies, gender, and (im)politeness in the context of Taiwan and transnational Chinese communities.
This paper explores the Taiwanese same-sex marriage debates from a particular analytical perspect... more This paper explores the Taiwanese same-sex marriage debates from a particular analytical perspective: (1) how the identity as a mother is employed as stancetaking moves in both the supporting and opposing discourses, and (2) how stances are taken through intertextual links among the same-sex marriage-related discourses and the larger discourses concerning motherhood. It examines the online posts of two mother bloggers, focusing on how evaluative stances and parodic frames are achieved and how intertextual links help both bloggers to align or misalign themselves with particular value positions. The analysis reveals how the mother identity, traditionally situated in the private sphere, can be mobilized to advance arguments in political debates. It also exemplifies the ideological contestation about motherhood and family in Taiwan, where traditional Chinese cultural ideologies and Western influences co-exist.
This paper explores the Taiwanese same-sex marriage debates from a particular analytical perspect... more This paper explores the Taiwanese same-sex marriage debates from a particular analytical perspective: (1) how the identity as a mother is employed as stancetaking moves in both the supporting and opposing discourses, and (2) how stances are taken through intertextual links among the same-sex marriage-related discourses and the larger discourses concerning motherhood. It examines the online posts of two mother bloggers, focusing on how evaluative stances and parodic frames are achieved and how intertextual links help both bloggers to align or misalign themselves with particular value positions. The analysis reveals how the mother identity, traditionally situated in the private sphere, can be mobilized to advance arguments in political debates. It also exemplifies the ideological contestation about motherhood and family in Taiwan, where traditional Chinese cultural ideologies and Western influences co-exist.
This study examines a prevalent discourse on Taiwanese politeness as part and parcel of identity ... more This study examines a prevalent discourse on Taiwanese politeness as part and parcel of identity and ideological work among Taiwanese residing in China. Using as data spontaneous discussions about politeness in interviews and online forum posts that evaluate politeness, this study explores how politeness is taken up as a sign to index Taiwan-China differences and how identity is simultaneously constructed throughout this ideological work, focusing on the succession of semiotic differentiations within or across talks and texts. Throughout this process, various qualitative contrasts are made and grouped by the soft/hard schema, and differentiation between Taiwan and China is constructed. The study also considers relevant historical and social conditions and explores how the complex Taiwan-China relations may give rise to the prevalence of such a discourse.
This study investigates the interwoven relationship between the metadiscourse of (im)politeness, ... more This study investigates the interwoven relationship between the metadiscourse of (im)politeness, language ideologies, and identity. It examines YouTube comments on a video recording of a controversial incident in Taiwan in which a Taiwanese American, J, insulted a bus driver in English, a marked language choice in the local context. It was found that J’s abusive language and his language choice being English were the top sources of offense as expressed in the comments, and four main strands of language ideologies are identified accordingly. We see the taking of offense in the critical comments as social actions in two senses: each comment is an individual pragmatic act sanctioning a perceived moral transgression, while, collectively, the comments serve as a discursive space where language ideologies are shaped, contested, and reinforced. We further explore how various identities, such as “foreigner”, “ABC”, and “Taiwanese” are discursively constructed in the process of impoliteness ...
This study investigates the slang term tai in Taiwan Mandarin and its interactions with gender no... more This study investigates the slang term tai in Taiwan Mandarin and its interactions with gender norms and local language ideologies. Initially a derogatory term denoting an undesirable type of localness, tai has been appropriated to emphasize non-conformity and local identity and has become a discursive site where ideologies concerning gender, language, localness, and cosmopolitanism interact with and shape each other. Using both questionnaire and news corpus data, the study reveals that female subjects evaluate tai more negatively and display a higher level of sensitivity to the role of linguistic practices in the discourse of tai than male subjects. Analysis of related news indicates that tai is strongly associated with non-standard language and non-conformity and is less compatible with the mainstream ideal of femininity. The study reveals how word meaning is embedded in an ideological matrix in which representations of language and gender constantly interact with various intersec...
This study investigates a newly emergent Taiwan Mandarin slang term taike and its derivative adje... more This study investigates a newly emergent Taiwan Mandarin slang term taike and its derivative adjective tai. Taike evokes a cultural stereotype of young Taiwanese adults whose lifestyle, linguistic repertoire, and fashion sense are considered distinctively local and unsuccessfully imitative of current trends, but the term has also been appropriated to index local identity and nonconformity. Drawing on data from 344 questionnaires, this study explores the ways the two terms interact with language ideologies and ideologies concerning localism, cosmopolitanism, and authenticity in Taiwan. Statistical results indicate current attitudes toward the terms in Northern Taiwan tend to be negative, with females, the higher-educated, and the younger evaluating the terms more negatively than their counterparts. Further exploration of the data indicates that the meaning contestation is ultimately associated with the global-local ambivalence prevalent in contemporary Taiwan.
Pragmatics. Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association, 2021
While teasing can cause offence, participants on television variety or game shows are generally e... more While teasing can cause offence, participants on television variety or game shows are generally expected to tolerate it. In this paper, we examine comments posted on YouTube in response to reports of a leaked recording of a television host in Taiwan swearing at and insulting a guest who teased the host about his “inability to take a defeat”. In so doing, we examine both the perceived limits of teasing (i.e. what is considered allowable and what goes too far), and the perceived limits of taking offence in response to teasing (i.e. what ways of indicating offence are considered allowable and what goes too far). We conclude that instances where there are disputes about whether taking offence is warranted by the teasing in question provides us with a useful lens to examine the role ideological discourses play in (re-)constituting the underlying moral fabric of social interaction.
... language attitudes in Taiwan. Huang's influential book-length study (1993) presents ... ... more ... language attitudes in Taiwan. Huang's influential book-length study (1993) presents ... Page 29. 16 Taiwanese. Along the line of Huang's study (1993), several recent studies (eg Huang, 2000; Tse, 2000) have shown a greater interest in discussing the relationship ...
This study quantitatively examines the variation of (ing) and (eng) in Taiwan, drawing data from ... more This study quantitatively examines the variation of (ing) and (eng) in Taiwan, drawing data from sociolinguistic interviews with subjects from Taipei and Tainan. It argues that, first, the two should be treated as two separate variables rather than one with two phonological conditions, and second, language external factors, including speaker’s place of origin, gender, current residence, and topic all influence the two variables, but to different extents. Place of origin has the strongest effect on the variation of (ing) and (eng), but the use of the merger variants of the two variables is respectively led by southerners and northerners, indicating a dialectal split. The merger variant [in] of (ing) is especially closely associated with regional identity. Gender also plays a substantial role in the variation of (ing), with males using the merger variant [in] significantly more than female subjects. In contrast, the relation between gender and (eng) appears more opaque, with Taipei fe...
bilingual skills. This study focuses on the code-switching between Mandarin and Taiwanese in thre... more bilingual skills. This study focuses on the code-switching between Mandarin and Taiwanese in three telephone conversations that took place in Taiwan and pursues the following research questions (1)How do bilingual Taiwanese speakers express their identities and define interpersonal relationships by manipulating the two codes? (2) How is code-switching used as a resource by bilingual Taiwanese speakers to perform communicative tasks in daily life?
This paper explores the Taiwanese same-sex marriage debates from a particular analytical perspect... more This paper explores the Taiwanese same-sex marriage debates from a particular analytical perspective: (1) how the identity as a mother is employed as stancetaking moves in both the supporting and opposing discourses, and (2) how stances are taken through intertextual links among the same-sex marriage-related discourses and the larger discourses concerning motherhood. It examines the online posts of two mother bloggers, focusing on how evaluative stances and parodic frames are achieved and how intertextual links help both bloggers to align or misalign themselves with particular value positions. The analysis reveals how the mother identity, traditionally situated in the private sphere, can be mobilized to advance arguments in political debates. It also exemplifies the ideological contestation about motherhood and family in Taiwan, where traditional Chinese cultural ideologies and Western influences co-exist.
This paper explores the Taiwanese same-sex marriage debates from a particular analytical perspect... more This paper explores the Taiwanese same-sex marriage debates from a particular analytical perspective: (1) how the identity as a mother is employed as stancetaking moves in both the supporting and opposing discourses, and (2) how stances are taken through intertextual links among the same-sex marriage-related discourses and the larger discourses concerning motherhood. It examines the online posts of two mother bloggers, focusing on how evaluative stances and parodic frames are achieved and how intertextual links help both bloggers to align or misalign themselves with particular value positions. The analysis reveals how the mother identity, traditionally situated in the private sphere, can be mobilized to advance arguments in political debates. It also exemplifies the ideological contestation about motherhood and family in Taiwan, where traditional Chinese cultural ideologies and Western influences co-exist.
This study examines a prevalent discourse on Taiwanese politeness as part and parcel of identity ... more This study examines a prevalent discourse on Taiwanese politeness as part and parcel of identity and ideological work among Taiwanese residing in China. Using as data spontaneous discussions about politeness in interviews and online forum posts that evaluate politeness, this study explores how politeness is taken up as a sign to index Taiwan-China differences and how identity is simultaneously constructed throughout this ideological work, focusing on the succession of semiotic differentiations within or across talks and texts. Throughout this process, various qualitative contrasts are made and grouped by the soft/hard schema, and differentiation between Taiwan and China is constructed. The study also considers relevant historical and social conditions and explores how the complex Taiwan-China relations may give rise to the prevalence of such a discourse.
This study investigates the interwoven relationship between the metadiscourse of (im)politeness, ... more This study investigates the interwoven relationship between the metadiscourse of (im)politeness, language ideologies, and identity. It examines YouTube comments on a video recording of a controversial incident in Taiwan in which a Taiwanese American, J, insulted a bus driver in English, a marked language choice in the local context. It was found that J’s abusive language and his language choice being English were the top sources of offense as expressed in the comments, and four main strands of language ideologies are identified accordingly. We see the taking of offense in the critical comments as social actions in two senses: each comment is an individual pragmatic act sanctioning a perceived moral transgression, while, collectively, the comments serve as a discursive space where language ideologies are shaped, contested, and reinforced. We further explore how various identities, such as “foreigner”, “ABC”, and “Taiwanese” are discursively constructed in the process of impoliteness ...
This study investigates the slang term tai in Taiwan Mandarin and its interactions with gender no... more This study investigates the slang term tai in Taiwan Mandarin and its interactions with gender norms and local language ideologies. Initially a derogatory term denoting an undesirable type of localness, tai has been appropriated to emphasize non-conformity and local identity and has become a discursive site where ideologies concerning gender, language, localness, and cosmopolitanism interact with and shape each other. Using both questionnaire and news corpus data, the study reveals that female subjects evaluate tai more negatively and display a higher level of sensitivity to the role of linguistic practices in the discourse of tai than male subjects. Analysis of related news indicates that tai is strongly associated with non-standard language and non-conformity and is less compatible with the mainstream ideal of femininity. The study reveals how word meaning is embedded in an ideological matrix in which representations of language and gender constantly interact with various intersec...
This study investigates a newly emergent Taiwan Mandarin slang term taike and its derivative adje... more This study investigates a newly emergent Taiwan Mandarin slang term taike and its derivative adjective tai. Taike evokes a cultural stereotype of young Taiwanese adults whose lifestyle, linguistic repertoire, and fashion sense are considered distinctively local and unsuccessfully imitative of current trends, but the term has also been appropriated to index local identity and nonconformity. Drawing on data from 344 questionnaires, this study explores the ways the two terms interact with language ideologies and ideologies concerning localism, cosmopolitanism, and authenticity in Taiwan. Statistical results indicate current attitudes toward the terms in Northern Taiwan tend to be negative, with females, the higher-educated, and the younger evaluating the terms more negatively than their counterparts. Further exploration of the data indicates that the meaning contestation is ultimately associated with the global-local ambivalence prevalent in contemporary Taiwan.
Pragmatics. Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association, 2021
While teasing can cause offence, participants on television variety or game shows are generally e... more While teasing can cause offence, participants on television variety or game shows are generally expected to tolerate it. In this paper, we examine comments posted on YouTube in response to reports of a leaked recording of a television host in Taiwan swearing at and insulting a guest who teased the host about his “inability to take a defeat”. In so doing, we examine both the perceived limits of teasing (i.e. what is considered allowable and what goes too far), and the perceived limits of taking offence in response to teasing (i.e. what ways of indicating offence are considered allowable and what goes too far). We conclude that instances where there are disputes about whether taking offence is warranted by the teasing in question provides us with a useful lens to examine the role ideological discourses play in (re-)constituting the underlying moral fabric of social interaction.
... language attitudes in Taiwan. Huang's influential book-length study (1993) presents ... ... more ... language attitudes in Taiwan. Huang's influential book-length study (1993) presents ... Page 29. 16 Taiwanese. Along the line of Huang's study (1993), several recent studies (eg Huang, 2000; Tse, 2000) have shown a greater interest in discussing the relationship ...
This study quantitatively examines the variation of (ing) and (eng) in Taiwan, drawing data from ... more This study quantitatively examines the variation of (ing) and (eng) in Taiwan, drawing data from sociolinguistic interviews with subjects from Taipei and Tainan. It argues that, first, the two should be treated as two separate variables rather than one with two phonological conditions, and second, language external factors, including speaker’s place of origin, gender, current residence, and topic all influence the two variables, but to different extents. Place of origin has the strongest effect on the variation of (ing) and (eng), but the use of the merger variants of the two variables is respectively led by southerners and northerners, indicating a dialectal split. The merger variant [in] of (ing) is especially closely associated with regional identity. Gender also plays a substantial role in the variation of (ing), with males using the merger variant [in] significantly more than female subjects. In contrast, the relation between gender and (eng) appears more opaque, with Taipei fe...
bilingual skills. This study focuses on the code-switching between Mandarin and Taiwanese in thre... more bilingual skills. This study focuses on the code-switching between Mandarin and Taiwanese in three telephone conversations that took place in Taiwan and pursues the following research questions (1)How do bilingual Taiwanese speakers express their identities and define interpersonal relationships by manipulating the two codes? (2) How is code-switching used as a resource by bilingual Taiwanese speakers to perform communicative tasks in daily life?
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