Self-ruled yet claimed by China, Taiwan remains a topic deeply shrouded in geopolitical tension. As an insightful and constructive addition to the scholarship of the neglected island, Gareth Price demonstrates that Taiwan's contemporary language politics can only be understood in its historical context, based on a framework that combines sociolinguistic and political sociological approaches.
The book is divided into three sections of two chapters each. The first section develops a theoretical framework of a political sociology of language on which the latter two empirical sections are based. Chapter 1 defines the analytical scope of the book by providing working definitions of language, society, and the state. It places emphasis on the interdependent relationships between society and the state, with the state being viewed, from a neo-Weberian perspective, as ‘an institution of institutions’ (13) that exercises power over civil society. State-society relations, as delineated in chapter 2, have a linguistic dimension, manifested in many areas that have been studied extensively in sociolinguistics, including language planning and policy, relationships between language and colonialization, nationalism and globalization, language rights and revitalization—all of which resonate with the struggles facing Taiwanese people.
Through archival research and a synthesis on historical accounts and early scholarly works, chapters 3 and 4 explicate various approaches to language planning and policy in Taiwan as well as responses from the public sphere in different periods, from early encounters between Austronesian-speaking indigenous populations and the Chinese, Dutch colonial rule (1624–1662), Chinese rule under Zheng and Qing (1662–1895), Japanese colonization (1895–1945) to the martial law period (1949–1987) imposed by the Kuomintang after it fled from Mainland China. The chapters demonstrate that early embryonic state structures in Taiwan were more concerned with problems of language that impeded administrative bureaucracy and the everyday business of rule, whereas ideological functions of language policy were only emphasized and prioritized for nation-building and assimilation of ethnic groups as the state became fully fledged when Japan took control of Taiwan.
Focusing on the period of democratic reform and liberalization after the end of martial law, chapter 5 reveals that language policy constitutes a site of contention in liberal democracy. It can be calibrated to achieve transitional justice and to promote a new form of cultural nationalism, while serving the interests of the ruling parties. Chapter 6 proceeds to examine Taiwan's contemporary sociolinguistic dynamics in the nexus of globalization, neoliberalism, and immigration. It addresses, in particular, how access to English becomes socioeconomically and geographically stratified amidst competition between public and private education sectors, and how delegitimization of the linguistic capital of foreign spouses and migrant workers engenders discussions of what counts as ‘good citizens’ and ‘good Taiwanese’ in public discourse.
The book ends with an epilogue assessing the future of multilingualism in Taiwan and the contribution of a political sociology of language to the study of language politics more broadly. While the prognosis is yet to be realized, it proves to be a collection of substance, craftsmanship, and inspiration for later work.
