Language stereotypes in contemporary Taiwan: Evidence from an experimental study
Resource
Journal of East Asian Studies
Journal
Journal of East Asian Studies
Journal Volume
14
Journal Issue
2
Pages
211-248
Date Issued
2014-12-01
Date
2014-12-01
Author(s)
Lu, Jie
Abstract
We collected original experimental data, using the matched-guise technique, to examine the Taiwanese people's evaluational reactions to two major spoken languages in contemporary Taiwan: Mandarin and Taiwanese. Taking advantage of the effectiveness of the experimental technique in controlling for possible unobserved confounding variables, we clearly and systematically demonstrate that (1) language stereotypes do exist in today's Taiwan, and (2) there are some serious and significant implications for Taiwan's public opinion and democratic politics. Our data show that such language stereotypes are of great salience and consistently decoded for political issues, less so for socioeconomic issues, and almost insignificant for personality features. Our data also confirm that these language stereotypes are not just proxies of Taiwan's regional divisions; the Taiwanese people cognitively differentiate between the spoken languages' political and socioeconomic implications (despite some mild halo effect between the two).
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Type
journal article
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