In the current state of accelerated globalisation and cross-cultural pollination, lexical assimilation of new terms, new products and new ideas is an inevitable and necessary process for any modernising society to undertake in order to participate in the expanding world community. The undeniable reality of English assuming the role of lingua franca of the world also accelerates the linguistic consumption of the dominating American pop culture and the ubiquitous electronic lingo. As Kowner's proposal (2001) to the University of Haifa for this book project points out, 'lexical borrowing and assimilation is an essential and natural process in any modernisation process and has long-term implications on the identity and position of cultures, both in the past and the present'. While etymology may provide us linguistic DNA and its mutations of foreign-born lexicon of a certain language, the study of lexical borrowing patterns gives us insights into how languages and cultures interact and affect each other.

This chapter investigates the infiltration of English into Taiwan Mandarin, known as Guoyu (national language), and how it reflects Taiwan's attitudes towards globalisation, nationalism and linguistic multiculturalism. After three decades of an official policy of promulgating Mandarin as the sole official language in Taiwan, on 12 February 2003, the Taiwan government quietly dropped the policy without public discussion or publicised announcement. Moreover, it is now entertaining the possibility of making English the second official language. At the same time, a bill of linguistic equality for all the recognised ethnic languages spoken in Taiwan has been passed by the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan's equivalent of Parliament), now pending for implementation. Under such a climate of enthusiasm for English and linguistic democracy, Taiwan Mandarin, both spoken and written, is in an accelerated process of mutation.