|
Prior to reading this book, I didn't fully grasp the breadth or depth of Li's research. After some cogitation it became clear to me that this was because my previous perception of linguistics was quite narrow. Much like many other sciences, the scope of modern linguistics has expanded outward to become all-embracing. It is now as much philosophic as it is scientific.
－Chang Kwang-chih, international authority on archeology
Over the past ten years the major significance of Formosan languages has come to be recognized by a number of specialized linguists of international repute. Formosan languages are the key to tracing the origins and early migration/dispersal of Austronesian peoples. Formosan languages also provide evidence crucial to the reconstruction of proto Austronesian culture. The four essays comprising the first section focus on the origins, migration and dispersal of Austronesians in Taiwan. Recognizing the significance of Taiwan's Austronesian languages, the task of preserving and developing these precious languages is paramount, they are disappearing fast. The six essays in the second section address this very issue.
|
|
|
About
the author:
Paul Jen-kuei Li, a leading specialist on Formosan languages, got his PhD in linguistics at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and is a research fellow at the Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. Li lives in Taipei with his family when he’s not wandering the mountain trails in his life-long bid to preserve as many of the 14 Formosan languages as he can. This is his true contribution.
About
the translator:
Noah Sauvé has worked as a freelance Chinese-English translator for more than ten years. His recent projects include The Khmer Rouge and Red China – My Untold Story, Taipei Fine Art Museum's 2011 Annual Report, and the fourth issue of Mahota quarterly. He has a very close connection to the culture of Taiwan, where he lived for more than a decade, and due to his degree in History from National Chengchi University, is well-versed in the island's past.
|
