Written by Karen Huang.
Image credit: TikTok by Solen Feyissa. / Flickr, license: CC BY-SA 2.0.
What is a ‘video clip’ in Mandarin Chinese? In Taiwan, a video clip is yingpian (影片), while in China, it is referred to as shipin (視頻). Similarly, tomatoes are called fanqie (番茄) in Taiwan, but xihongshi (西红柿) in China. These vocabulary differences between Taiwan Mandarin (Guoyu 國語) and PRC Mandarin (Putonghua 普通话) are expected. After all, it is natural for different dialects of a language to have some differences in their vocabulary—just like how ‘rubbish bin’ in British English is ‘garbage can’ in American English.
However, in the past decade, increasingly Taiwan Mandarin speakers have been observed using PRC terms (zhongguo yongyu 中國用語) online or in their daily life. The use of PRC terms in Taiwan Mandarin is not well perceived and is often called out directly. On the internet, those who actively correct others for using PRC terms are called zhiyu jingcha (支語警察; China-language police), which uses the derogatory term zhina (支那; Shina) to indicate China. The act of netizens’ language policing has become an internet subculture, with memes of zhiyu jingcha being posted to either ‘warn’ those who use PRC terms or to mock the language policies for being overly sensitive or hypocritical.
The grassroots censorship of the PRC terms is certainly controversial. Not all Taiwanese people hold a linguistic purist point of view. Some do not mind PRC terms, and others disapprove of the spontaneous censorship. Furthermore, Taiwanese netizens sometimes disagree on what constitutes PRC terms in Taiwan Mandarin. For example, Taiwanese netizens disagree on whether using guji (估計) to indicate ‘likely’ is considered using a PRC term because Taiwan Mandarin also uses guji to mean ‘to estimate’. The debate on PRC terms has become a hot topic in Taiwanese digital media. It has been frequently discussed in news articles, opinion pieces, blog posts, YouTube videos, and podcasts. New Media the News Lens has even created a special report series, ‘A year without PRC terms’, to analyse PRC terms.
An online debate between 2020 and 2021 provided a rich source of discourse for analysing how Taiwanese netizens perceive PRC terms in Taiwan Mandarin. The debate started with a Taiwanese YouTuber’s video discussing PRC terms. The video went viral and generated about 12,000 comments, which inspired a group of Taiwanese netizens to make online ‘quizzes’ to test people’s knowledge in identifying PRC terms and to collect participants’ attitudes toward these PRC terms. Their second quiz eventually received over 275,000 responses, reflecting netizens’ enthusiasm for this topic. The organisers shared the results and the raw data of the first 57,228 responses online, which I analysed in my 2023 article.
The survey result showed that 79% of the Taiwanese participants, predominantly millennials, admitted using PRC terms in their speech, and 95% said they had observed other Taiwanese using PRC terms in person or online, showing the prevalence of PRC terms in Taiwan Mandarin. However, participants pointed out that not all PRC terms should be treated equally. The PRC terms that do not have a Taiwan Mandarin equivalence are generally more acceptable. For example, zouxin (走心), ‘to take something seriously,’ an expression with no Taiwan Mandarin direct equivalence, was more acceptable than PRC terms such as zhiliang (質量) ‘quality,’ which is pinzhi (品質) in Taiwan Mandarin. The latter example was frowned upon because zhiliang in Taiwan Mandarin means ‘mass’ in physics.
My thematic analyses found that those who are not overly concerned about PRC terms treated PRC terms as loanwords from any other foreign nation. They pointed out that foreign loanwords are natural results of language contact. For example, Taiwan Mandarin has many Japanese loanwords such as biandang (便當) ‘bento.’ While PRC terms reflect the growing influence of Chinese entertainment and internet culture, using PRC terms does not reflect one’s identity. The anti-purists further believed that using PRC terms illustrates linguistic hybridity, which reflects Taiwan’s embracement of progressive values such as cultural diversity, freedom of speech and inclusiveness. The netizens who took the anti-purism stance did not support PRC terms. Instead, they confidently treated Taiwan as an independent nation but condoned the act of censoring PRC terms because Taiwan is a country with democracy and freedom. Their anti-purist language ideology was a way to highlight the differences between Taiwan and China.
However, many participants do not believe that PRC terms are simply ‘any’ foreign loanwords because China is not just any other neighbouring country. With the PRC’s increasingly aggressive moves to signal their intention to annex Taiwan, many comments expressed their anxiety through their negative attitudes towards PRC terms. The PRC terms were conceptualised as a product of the CCP propaganda and United Front work that brainwashed and infiltrated Taiwanese society. Participants described the PRC terms as a form of cultural ‘invasion,’ ‘assimilation,’ or even using the word ‘genocide.’
Others further elaborated on their perceived impact of the ‘cultural invasion,’ suggesting that the use of PRC terms is more than symbolising a threat from China. They argued that these terms influenced Taiwanese identity, as they believed that language shapes culture, and culture shapes identity. For some netizens, a ‘pure’ form of Taiwan Mandarin signified loyalty to Taiwan, while ‘using PRC terms’ was seen as ‘identifying with China.’ In this perspective, Taiwan Mandarin terms serve to distinguish ‘self’ from the ‘other’ (PRC terms), similar to how traditional Chinese characters have been used to distinguish Taiwan from China, which uses simplified Chinese characters.
As Taiwanese gradually lost proficiency in their local languages due to decades of Mandarin-only policy, Taiwan Mandarin has emerged as a marker of the Taiwanese identity, symbolising a point of differentiation from China. In other words, this ideological stance uses Taiwan Mandarin to represent a strong Taiwanese identity, while PRC Mandarin is seen as representing a PRC identity.
Participants also commented on the covert and gradual nature of China’s linguistic influence from China. Much of the anxiety stemmed from the fact that many Taiwanese were unaware they were using PRC terms. As one comment put it, ‘It’s okay to be influenced, but it’s not okay to be influenced unconsciously.’ This concern is echoed in the title of an opinion piece, ‘Beware! Zhiyu are right beside you!,’ which mirrors the popular slogan from the Martial Law period, ‘Beware! Enemy spies are right beside you!’ This analogy suggests that the apprehension towards PRC terms arises from their subtlety and elusiveness, much like the CCP spies in the 1950s and 60s. Given China’s increasing use of ‘sharp power’ to interfere with Taiwan through various covert tactics, this reaction is understandable. While PRC terms themselves might not be alarming, their covert nature symbolises the CCP’s surreptitious interferences in Taiwan, causing deep concern for some Taiwanese.
Moreover, millennials were particularly worried about Generation Z’s inability to distinguish PRC terms in Taiwan Mandarin. Millennials grew up before PRC entertainment became prevalent in Taiwan. However, Generation Z has grown up with Chinese entertainment and TikTok videos. One participant’s comment captured Taiwanese millennials’ concern over Generation Z: ‘These children love PRC things so much. Will they feel closer to China when they grow up? Will they feel indifferent about where they actually grow up?’ The possibility that the younger generation is unknowingly assimilated by PRC culture worries the millennials, who fear that younger Taiwanese may not share the same sense of Taiwanese national identity they have.
As Gal and Irvine noted, ‘Statements about language are never only about language…. statements about language are never merely statements.’ The debate over PRC terms shows that these words are far more than simple linguistic choices. Like all language ideologies, the language ideologies surrounding PRC terms are deeply embedded in social, cultural, and political contexts. For those who view PRC terms negatively, these terms serve as cultural materials to (re)produce political distinctions from China. A purist stance against PRC terms expressed a strong sense of Taiwanese nationalism, vocalising resistance to China’s hostility. On the other hand, those who hold an anti-purist view use linguistic diversity, inclusivity, and freedom of speech to highlight Taiwan’s differences from China. In both cases, the language ideologies surrounding PRC terms are effectively employed to create and express Taiwanese national identity. The debate over PRC terms in Taiwan Mandarin can, therefore, be seen as a social movement that raises awareness of China’s influence while asserting Taiwanese identity.
Karen Huang is a Senior Lecturer in Chinese at the University of Auckland. She holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Her research focuses on language and identity, language ideology, and language planning in Taiwan.
This article was published as part of a special issue on ‘Media Dynamics Across the Strait’.
Taiwan Insight 