French language and culture institute INALCO is bringing Taiwan to its students thanks to an elective course that is unique in the country.
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00:00Here in this Paris classroom, a lecture unlike anything you'll find elsewhere in France is underway.
00:08Under the guidance of Pindong County native Liu Jianyue, these students are picking up a piece of Taiwan,
00:13in the form of one of the country's major languages.
00:16Just what to call this language can be a bit contentious.
00:20On the official wall of languages offered, this university, in Aokou, just uses the word Taiwanese,
00:26though others might prefer a range of names, from Taiwanese Dai Yi to Taiwanese Hokkien to Hoklo or Minnan.
00:33But whatever name is used to refer to the language, it is the ancestral tongue of much of Taiwan's population.
00:39And in the five years since this course opened, over 400 students have taken it as an elective course,
00:44as part of a degree in Mandarin Chinese.
00:47For some, the reasons are very personal.
00:56Claire didn't grow up with this language, but hopes studying it will help her better connect with her Taiwanese mother.
01:07Though Taiwanese Tai Yi belongs to the same language family as Mandarin,
01:10even students with the requisite three years will find plenty of fresh challenges.
01:15For one thing, there are around twice as many tones to master as in Mandarin.
01:19And unlike in Mandarin, what you see isn't what you get.
01:22Within words and phrases, tones swap positions according to an intricate set of rules
01:27that come naturally to native speakers, but which learners must master.
01:31Those who take the plunge are rewarded, though.
01:38With the real deal, including, say, some of the pop songs that are a real part of everyday life in Taiwan.
01:44But giving students here this special peek hasn't been simple,
01:47due to sensitivities over anything called Taiwanese, given China's claims to Taiwan.
01:52Instructor Liu Jianyue is proud to give his students a special look into his homeland.
02:17In the halls of this esteemed French Center of Language Learning,
02:35a tongue with close ties to Taiwan takes its place.
02:38Howard Zhang and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
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