Hoklo speakers and Taiwanese identity in south Taiwan

Abstract

AbstractTaiwanese identity is distinct from and juxtaposed against the Chinese identity. What explains the emergence of a Taiwanese identity – specifically in the south? This identity formation is surprising considering the multiple decades of authoritarian rule where the government championed a Chinese identity. In this article, weargue that the Taiwanese identity manifested from a linguistic tension betweenHokloand Mandarinspeakers.And while the Kuomintang adopted a strict Mandarin monolingual policy, thehomogeneity of theHoklo speakers in the south – i.e., they constituted a minimal winningsizeand they were regionally concentrated –ensured the survival of theHoklovernacular. This vernacular would become the instrument for the formation of a Taiwanese identity. In contrast,we see initial push back from the Hakka speakers who were excluded from the narrative of Taiwanese identity. Likewise,in the north where there weregreater linguistic heterogeneity and increasing interethnic marriages, Taiwanese identity was not as coherent.