Mixed Emotions and Indigenous Language Maintenance in Post-Disaster Reconstruction Communities

The Austronesian languages, spoken from Hawai'i to Madagascar to Taiwan, comprise one of the world's most widespread families--yet it is only among the many small Austronesian Indigenous groups on Taiwan that the family's deepest internal linguistic diversity is found. Chun-Mei Chen's fascinating study considers the challenges of maintaining one of those languages, Paiwan, in the face of community migration away from a natural disaster. Her work is particularly important for its sensitive documentation of the social and emotional texture of this process, contributing to literature on language loss around the world and demonstrating that the ways in which people are attached to and moved by their ancestral languages can reflect distinct and unique intellectual, aesthetic and affective orientations, with a range of different social and cultural outcomes. This insightful book delves into the intricate relationship between emotions and the preservation of the Paiwan language within families navigating post-disaster reconstruction in Mandarin-dominated Taiwan. Exploring linguistic and cultural dimensions through sociocultural theory, it unveils the pivotal role emotions play in sustaining the Paiwan language and identity amidst societal shifts. What sets this book apart is its comprehensive exploration of not just the linguistic but also the psychological aspects of heritage language identity and inter-generational communication within the Indigenous Paiwan communities in Taiwan. The author provides enlightening insights into the vital role emotions play in strengthening family bonds and sustaining the use of the family language amidst unique societal changes. Additionally, the captivating data collection methods employed, including family storytelling and homework conversations, offer valuable potential for application in heritage language preservation efforts.