00:00Tabe, or hello in the Siraya language, is the first phrase these fresh-faced elementary
00:12school students in southern Taiwan are learning in their first Siraya language class. It's a
00:18mandatory course that's part of the Kobe Experimental Elementary School's mission
00:22to revitalize this once-extinct plain's indigenous language.
00:30Students in this third grade class are learning to introduce themselves and ask each other's
00:36names through music. The song's composer Edgar Macapiti from the Philippines has been fundamental
00:43to the language revival movement.
00:45Nobody heard Siraya spoken, right? So the phonological structure and the grammatical structure of Siraya
00:52must be established first and then only then you can compose the music. For example, I
00:59compose this, what is your name, right? I compose one of these melodies.
01:05Nanang au tatitakalang nanang tinta si sakaray nanang au tatitakalang kamang tananang oho
01:14That means my name is Takalang. Your name is Sakaray. What about you? What's your name?
01:20Together with his Siraya partner, Uma, and linguists interested in Taiwan's Austronesian languages,
01:28they created language guides based on historical archives written in the Xingang script, a Latin
01:34letter-based writing system developed by the 17th century Dutch clergyman and the first written
01:41words in Taiwan's recorded history. But until recently, Siraya hadn't been spoken for more
01:47than a century, gradually fading as first Taiwanese Daiyi, then Japanese, and finally Mandarin Chinese
01:55became more dominant. The plains in the west were typically the Chinese migrant colonies where
02:02they did very well and where they became organized and where they controlled the city and the economy.
02:08And in those places, the local Siraya was sort of slogan for stuff, as you can expect. They didn't
02:15even know their culture. But in the case of Siraya, they have become Chinese without really knowing
02:22what is what was about. Some Siraya are today are actually being done. They get it slowly. They
02:30were integrated. The Koubi school teaches Mandarin and Taiwanese Daiyi, also called Taiwanese
02:36or Mingnan, and similarly taught using the Latin alphabet. The principal says the alphabet helps students
02:44learn both Taiwanese Daiyi and Siraya at the same time.
02:47We are also able to use the Chinese language to use the international alphabet.
02:49We are able to use the international alphabet. The international alphabet is completely
02:54to the international alphabet. We also help children find a bigger sky. It is really
03:01helping to learn English. We are also able to learn English.
03:06Of course, there are a few of them are more望ous, but it's not a problem.
03:12because when we teach them, they will be able to learn from the children.
03:19But teaching Seraya in other schools is challenging.
03:23Despite the Tainan city government recognizing the group since 2005,
03:28Taiwan doesn't officially recognize the Seraya as an indigenous nation
03:32with a unique language and culture.
03:35For example, when we first entered a school,
03:38the teachers would ask,
03:39teacher, do you have a certificate?
03:40Or, teacher, do you have a certificate for me?
03:44But Seraya is not a certificate in the legal level,
03:50so we can't give these things.
03:54Many teachers take on other subjects or have other jobs to get by,
03:58as few other schools provide Seraya language classes.
04:02And even when they can't teach the language,
04:05sometimes there's not enough students.
04:07Because we were asked,
04:08why do you still teach Seraya?
04:10It's only one week,
04:12but it's only one week.
04:13If we plan on our current time,
04:16especially when we have some young people
04:20who have a better job,
04:22but they want to continue to teach Seraya.
04:27We feel it's not easy.
04:29We don't know how long we can keep this information.
04:33We've been able to prove it.
04:36We've been able to prove it.
04:37But we feel it's very difficult.
04:40But these challenges haven't stopped the Seraya
04:42from fighting to reclaim their identity and heritage.
04:46So while challenges remain,
04:50the future of the Seraya language and culture
04:53is now being shaped by the voices of a new generation.
04:56Yusin Chen and Irene Lin in Tainan for Taiwan Plus.
05:22This is a to-
05:27Welcome to Tainan of cultivating
05:32too.
05:33That makes sense to me as
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